The problem with most of the to-do lists we make ourselves is that they're haphazard and selective, according to David Allen.

They don't contain all the things we have to do, and what they do contain is often too vague for us to act upon. involves five stages, and list-making only comes in at the third. Before making lists you need to corral all the material that needs your attention, and define exactly what the next steps you need to take are.

1 Collect - Everything you have to complete - all your "open loops" as Allen puts it - goes into an in-tray. If you can't physically put it in an in-tray, write it on a piece of paper and put that in instead.

2 Process - Clear the in-tray item by item. Ask yourself: "Is it actionable?" If no, file it or throw it out. If yes, you need to identify the "next action" that will help complete the task or project.

3 Organise - Put everything in its rightful place. You'll need a bin and a set of files for your non-action items, a calendar and a set of lists for the actionable ones.

4 Review - A quick weekly review keeps your system total, so you don't start worrying again about things that might have fallen through the cracks. Those who swear by say the review stage is the key to its success.

5 Do - Trust your intuition about what to do at any given time. With the pre-planning, you shouldn't be wondering whether there's something more important you've forgotten.