Do you find yourself staring at an ever-growing to-do list with seemingly no end in sight? Are you seeing more additions than deletions to your to-do list? Well, you are not alone. Many people struggle with accomplishing the long list of to-do’s. But why? Sure, some people are short on time and want to pack more things into a day than will fit, but for most people, a bit of organization will bring help bring satisfaction and a since of completion.

Without organization, the list begins to take on a chaotic feel, with too many choices and, if you’re like most people, you’ll end up doing things based on what you see or how you feel. In other words, you do a task because it visually gets in the way or you happen to see it. Or you let your mood dictate which task you select, whether it be a more active or sedentary one. So, what is the solution to this ever growing list?

Organize your to-do list into these 4 categories that will help you prioritize and stay focused.

1. Do Now!!

Obviously, these to-do’s are of a very urgent nature. They are likely things that have a timeline attached to them and ones which, if put off until the very last moment will reap regretful consequences. Or these may be activities that should really be on a list entitled, “Do yesterday!!” They may be things like pay your bills, gather documents for a meeting that is forthcoming, buy an anniversary card, and so on.

2. Do Tomorrow!

These tasks are still in the urgent category, but they can wait just until the “Do Now” ones are done.

3. Do Soon

These are projects that do need to get done; however, they are not as pressing or have a timeline attached, yet accomplishing these will make life, home, family, or self-confidence better. It could be anything from organizing the garage to organizing and digitizing that wall of CD’s from the 80’s and 90’s.

4. Do When you get Some Extra Time

These tasks are similar to the ones in the “Do Soon” category, but are ones that do not impact anyone’s life or happiness. Maybe a small piece of trim work came loose from the shed and needs to be repaired. Eventually you would like to have it fixed but organizing the garage (above) has a greater impact on you and potentially others.

Now that you have some coherence to your list and categories that help you prioritize, you will systematically accomplish your goals in life.