How to Make Better To-Do Lists

ABOUT THE SPIRITED MAN:
The Spirited Man is an unlimited series about the spirited man or woman who lives inside all of us (and fixing things).

ABOUT VAN NEISTAT:
A pioneer in digital filmmaking, Van Neistat made his first internet video, The Holland Tunnel, in 2000. He went on to collaborate with New York City artist Tom Sachs, directing a series of short films shown at the Guggenheim Museum in Berlin. Van has since directed dozens more films for the Tom Sachs Studio. In 2010 HBO aired The Neistat Brothers, an 8-episode series of short videos made entirely by Van and his brother Casey Neistat. Van Neistat’s directorial debut feature, A SPACE PROGRAM, co-written by Tom Sachs, premiered at the 2015 South by Southwest Film Festival and opened in theaters nation-wide in spring, 2016. In 2018 Neistat Directed the short film Paradox Bullets, co-written with Tom Sachs, narrated by Werner Herzog, and starring Ed Rushca. Neistat has written and directed commercial projects for Nike, Hurley, Kate Spade, Tory Burch, J. Crew, Twitter, Sleepy Jones and Frances Valentine. His work has been exhibited in museums throughout the world. He lives in Topanga, California.

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#VanNeistat #TheSpiritedMan #Productivity

[sansmojo]

I just open a million tabs in a browser on every device I have. My system isn't terribly effective.

[copperthumb]

I shop at a local second hand yacht supply business in Newport Beach, CA. I buy up old maritime maps as most use GPS. I then cut the maps down to Field Notes sized folders and staple them into books. I write on the blank backs and doodle on the map side. Yes, you can doodle the Loch Ness monster in Cape Hatteras. I did.

[kurthinxman]

The first thing I put on my To Do list is, "Make a to do list." That way I have something I can immediately cross off so I can feel like I am making progress!

[joeblincoe]

This may be helpful to me, as I get older or perhaps more distracted, I feel my memory slipping. Love the category separation, that it all folds down and can fit in pocket, but more importantly that it is all there for u. I’m also happy to see that yours looks as worn and dirty as mine would after a few hours.

[dylanesslinger]

Why are you videos just so soothing to the brain😭

[oxymoronv]

If you cut 1 of the 4 fold lines, so you can fold it down to show 1 list with a plane back. And makes the list you are using at the time the focus and a hand held size.

[cosmonauts]

I’m a notes person myself. I feel like it’s easier to remember stuff after writing it down, but I know it’s not for everyone. Also had a bad experience losing notes (was dabbling in notes apps) because the power went out, and having those physical notes really saved me

[extremelydave]

Van has such an awesome mind. Strange as it may be... : )

[pretzelandmustard]

Same. I mull over my lists several times a day. I keep lists to give my ideas a place to rest and room to grow outside of my head. I only tackle the things on the day, when I’m confident they have outgrown the pages and are ready to be messed around with in the real world. If they aren't ideas, then it's the mindless junk I need to remember, but don't want to fill my head with. To-do lists are a good way to keep your brain invested and divested all at the same time.

[misterguysenior]

Thank you for this. I REALLY needed it.

[BluJns]

🎉🎉🎉 I love your detail!
My problem?
I need EVERYTHING neatly printed & neatly crossed out! If I write sloppy? I have to start over. Soooo... I started using my phone notes.
Now I've discovered Frixon Erasable Gel Pens! AMAZING! big help

[melyraps]

Yup, big fan of lists. Mine are on my phone though. I can't be trusted w/ paper. Search feature is a bonus too.

[dande]

I do the exact same thing except with spreadsheets. I have one mastersheet that has all the links to the other spreadsheets. lol. Love your content.

[LetsGoSid]

I also have the same kind of method Van!
My postits are also this form, and used on a single big paper

[samueltremblay]

It's the simplest and best analog productivity technique I've ever seen. I'm a programmer and always in front of a computer and always have my smartphone in my pocket but I still think to use this analog method just to be more connect as a human with my things. Something harder to achieve with programs.

[micssticksnpipes]

I basically do exactly the same!!! but one for each area in life- work, home, house extension, etc. I’m trying to some how plot these into a diary for the future too!

[JoelRosenfeld]

I’ll have to give this a try! Thanks Van! You’re an inspiration!

[eblanco]

I use to the guy with a thousand scraps of paper in my pocket. I switched to a pocket notebook. But the notebook eventually would deteriorate, get lost or fall apart.
I switched to a free app that works sort of like a book, you can make chapters.
Life changer for me.

[westernbear]

My daily organizing looks similar to this, too. Kinda started with the Eisenhower matrix and evolved from there.

[rinabinette]

He has created a physical system and way of processing information and functions. A tangible mind map for the real world.