Using Google Documents to Create a To-Do List

Google Documents is a great place to keep a to-do list for personal productivity. While other online applications exist solely for this purpose, I feel that a spreadsheet on Google Documents is one of the best to-do lists that a person can have. In this article, I am going to explain why Google Documents is great for this function and how to set up a functional to-do list using Google Documents.

It's a well-known fact that personal productivity systems can only be effective if they are actually used. While I've tried a variety of online applications for task management, I've found that the best systems are ones that are easy to use and readily accessible. Because I already use Google Documents and other Google applications on a regular basis, having a to-do list on Google Documents is extremely convenient and the list is more likely to be used and followed.

Other advantages of making a to-do list on Google Documents is that the list can be accessed, customized, and printed from any computer with an internet connection. Likewise, Google Documents is a free service that requires no subscription and no download. In other words, if you have an internet connection, you can use Google Documents.

Now that I have justified why I believe that Google Documents is a great way to keep a to-do list, I will explain how to set up such a to-do list. Before beginning, it is necessary to open a Google account.

First, open a new spreadsheet in Google Documents and give it a name. Next, begin building the list. I prefer to organize my tasks in rows, so vertical columns are used to describe various aspects of each task. From columns A to H, I have the due date, task importance, time necessary for completion, percentage progress, task, area of task (such as a course or area of my life), notes, and goal end date.

This is the system that works for me, but obviously everyone will have his or her own preferences. Use your own judgment and add touches such as centering text and bolding the names of categories. I like to center all text horizontally and vertically and to bold category names. I also like to color code tasks according to the category to which they belong and their completion status. With the right touches, you should be able to create a to-do list to maximize your own productivity.

Google Documents offers a friendly interface for all of this, whether it is color coding cells, sorting, or adding and deleting rows. While other spreadsheet programs offer the same advantages, they may cost money, take up valuable hard drive space and RAM, and be less user-friendly. Google Documents offers a very usable platform for to-do lists and allows for access from any internet-connected computer. Most importantly, the step from Gmail to Google Documents is an easy one, and one that makes it much more likely for a to-do list to be used.

I hope that this article has at least made you consider using Google Documents to create your own to-do list. Good luck in your pursuit of productivity. Thanks for reading!