How to Prioritize Your Daily Task List Without Rewriting Everything

You know that feeling when your daily task list is packed… and instead of helping you, it starts stressing you out? You look at the page and your brain can’t even “sort” what to do first. Some things are urgent but can’t be done until later. Other things are important, but they don’t look important on the list.

Today I want to teach you one simple way to calm that chaos down. This idea comes from The Advanced Day Planner User’s Guide, and it’s a practical way to separate your tasks so your list starts working for you again.

The Problem: One Big List Makes Everything Feel Equally Urgent

When everything is in one long list, you end up mentally shuffling tasks all day: “Should I do laundry first… or return that call… or answer email… or start dinner?” It’s exhausting.

Key point: If you can’t quickly tell what you can do right now, your planner will feel heavy instead of helpful.

Idea #1 (from the book): Split Your Daily Task List into Sections

One user in the book divided the Daily Task List into three sections: Work, Family/After-Hours, and Values. That way, you’re not constantly comparing “work things” to “home things” like they’re competing.

Why this works:

Work tasks stay in the work lane.
Home tasks don’t get ignored just because you’re busy.
Values reminds you that your day is more than errands and emails.

My Favorite Version: Work vs Home + Simple Codes

Here’s the version I want you to try (because it’s fast and you can use it on any planner page): split your list into Work and Home… then use simple codes so you can prioritize without rewriting your entire list.

How the codes work

Work tasks: A1, A2, A3 (A1 = most important work task)
Home tasks: 1A, 2A, 3A (1A = most important home task)

A1 = top work priority
A2 = second work priority
A3 = third work priority
1A = top home priority
2A = second home priority
3A = third home priority

What this does is stop your brain from trying to compare two different worlds. You’re not asking, “Is laundry more important than that email?” You’re asking, “What’s my top work task?” and “What’s my top home task?”

Another Smart Tip from the Book: Draw a Line

Another user shared a trick for when new tasks pop up during the day: after you prioritize your list, you draw a line. New tasks go below the line. Then you compare the “below the line” tasks with the “above the line” tasks and let the highest priority win.

This helps you stop re-prioritizing all day.
You’re not constantly rewriting your list—just adding and comparing.

Try This Today (5 Minutes)

Draw two sections: Work and Home.
Write your tasks where they belong (don’t overthink it).
Label your top 3 work tasks: A1, A2, A3.
Label your top 3 home tasks: 1A, 2A, 3A.
Pick one: do A1 or 1A next.

Quick encouragement: Your list doesn’t have to be perfect to be useful. It just needs to help you choose the next right thing.

Wrap-Up

When your planner feels overwhelming, the answer usually isn’t “a better planner.” It’s a better way to see what matters—without making you rewrite your whole day.

If you try the Work/Home coding method (A1/A2/A3 and 1A/2A/3A), I’d love to hear how it goes. Did it make your list feel lighter?