We need more than just a

To-Do List.

To-Do lists are so wonderful—think of something to be done, pull up the list app or get that notebook, and enter the new task. Now we won’t forget! All we need to do is to complete it. But here’s where things get tricky. We’re more skilled at adding to our list than checking items off.

A solution?

How about a second list—a Not-To-Do-Yet list.

What would we put on it? All those time wasters we indulge in: binge-watching shows on Netflix; checking social media and email; chatting with coworkers; shopping across town or online. Too easily do these fill up our day, where we squander away precious time needed for the essentials.

But by using the two lists, we’ll find the time for things on both. In adding our time-wasters to the Not-To-Do-Yet list, we’re not saying we’ll never do them again. Just not right now. First, we’ll do some of those To-Do tasks in our newly carved out time.

Then, feeling good about our accomplishments, we can take a short, predetermined break for non-essential things.