160 Useful Lists To Make To Organize Your Life

How many lists do you need to organize your life once and for all? Depends on who you ask! I currently operate with 30 lists at a time (let’s clarify: these aren’t daily lists).

Most people will say one or two, but my brain cannot operate with one list only, and I need to categorize and systemize things so I feel engaged with them and care enough actually to keep up with my tasks and ideas.

You might need a few more or less than me, but what’s even more important than the number of lists is to have the ones you need!

Today, I share with you 160 list ideas that are meant to inspire you, spark that interest inside you for exploring your list potential, have fun, and get organized! (The bold ones are those I made, just in case you are curious.)

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you sign up or make a purchase I might get a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my business. See full disclosure.

Useful lists to make to get organized

Health and Wellness lists to make

1. Self-care activities
2. Emotional wellness activities
3. Relaxation techniques
4. Medication and supplements list
5. Yearly health appointments list tracker
6. Mental health check-in
7. “Things to do on a bad day” list with ideas
8. Daily exercise routine ideas
9. Routines to try
10. Stress management technniques
11. Weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly health challenges to try
12. Healthy recipes to try
13. Healthy snack options
14. Skincare products I use / to try
15. Detox foods – recipes list
16. Detox drinks recipes list
17. Health podcasts/books list
18. List with self-rewards for job well done or achievement
19. Things to do instead of snacking – list
20. Things that make me happy
21. Things I do Well
22. A positive word of the day
23. Values list
24. Acts of kindness you received list
25. Things to buy for yourself

-> Related post: You Need 8 Types of Self-Care To FInally Feel Relaxed and Happy

Routines and Habits lists to make

1. Morning routine ideas to try
2. Season-dependent routine ideas
3. Evening routine ideas to try
4. Lists of current routines you have
5. List of current habits you have

Daily lists to make

1. Urgent tasks
2. Priorities list
3. Things I did well today
4. Daily gratitude list
5. One-line-a-day list
6. Good memory I want to keep from today
7. Daily affirmation list
8. Win of the day list
9. 2-minute daily tasks list
10. Daily rating list (rate your day like it was an Amazon purchase, with stars!)

-> You might like reading this: How to Organize Your Life In One Notebook Only

Spirituality list ideas

1. Positive health-related affirmations
2. Mindfulness exercises
3. Daily affirmations
4. Dream log
5. Praying for… list
6. Favorite faith-based accounts, podcasts, books
7. Scriptures to live by
8. List of decisions you took based on your intuition only
9. List of favorite meditations
10. Daily tarot card message

-> You might like reading this: 100 Things That Make You Happy: a List

Personal development lists

1. Personal strengths and skills
2. Books read this year
3. Movies and series to watch
4. Learning and development goals – for personal and professional growth
5. Skills to learn
6. Creative writing ideas
7. Evening planning checklist
8. Morning routine checklist
9. List of monthly goals
10. Quarterly goals
11. Yearly goals
12. 3-, 5- or 10- years goals
13. List of life goals
14. Someday goals
15. “I’ve been putting off…” list
16. List of struggles you’ve overcome
17. Good habits you are proud of
18. Projects you work on list
19. Projects you’d like to work on list
20. List of lessons you’ve learned

-> You might like reading this: How To Have The Most Relaxed Evening Routine (Checklist Included)

Family and Relationships-related list ideas

1. Birthday list
2. Gift ideas
3. Children’s activity ideas
4. “That cute thing my kid did” list
5. Outdoor date ideas
6. Indoor date ideas
7. Kid-friendly movies to watch
8. Movies to watch with my partner
9. Family games to play next time we’re all together
10. List of friend’s names to keep checking with through the years
11. List of free family activities
12. Relationship bucket list ideas
13. Family bucket list
14. Favorite memories together lists
15. Important dates list

-> You might like reading this: 40 Unusual Hobby Ideas For Bored Adults

Career and Achievements lists

1. Career achievements
2. Password keeper
3. List of business ideas to explore
4. List of courses or classes you want to take
5. List of books you want to read
6. List of places you’d like to apply to work for (if you’re looking for another job)
7. New job ideas (if you crave change)
8. Work skills you’d like to improve
9. List of people who inspire you and whom you see as your mentors
10. List of projects you currently work on

Home management list ideas

1. Home repair and maintenance schedule
2. Weekly chore list
3. Monthly chore list
4. Professional Networking Contacts – people who did work around the house or provided a service you are happy with.
5. Favorite recipes
6. Weekly menu planner
7. Garden planning list
8. Daily cleaning checklist
9. Weekly cleaning checklist
10. Monthly home maintenance list
11. Seasonal cleaning and maintenance list
12. Pantry Inventory
13. Household supplies checklist (regularly used items like toiletries, cleaning supplies, etc.) or even just a list with products to go through when planning your weekly shopping
14. Emergency supplies list
15. Room-by-room decluttering plan
16. Laundry schedule (I watched a TT video of a woman with 5 kids, and each kid has their own day dedicated to laundry so their clothes don’t get mixed up)
17. Bill payment schedule
18. Home warranty and insurance documents
19. “Last time I”… list
20. Vehicle maintenance list

-> You might like reading this: 20 Smart Money Habits That Will Fix Your “Empty Wallet” Situation

Fun lists to make for a happier life

1. List of lists you’ve made
2. Hobbies to try out
3. Places to visit locally
4. Wish list
5. Inspirational quotes collection
6. Home decor ideas (this could be a Pinterest board)
7. DIY Projects list
8. Event planning checklist
9. Craft supplies inventory
10. Local restaurants to try
11. Language learning progression list
12. Bucket list
13. Things to do when I am bored
14. Favorite takeaway places plus their details (address, phone numbers, website address)
15. Foods to try in your lifetime
16. Things to do before you die
17. Places to visit before you die
18. List of dreams you’d like to come true one day
19. List of journals you have or would like to keep
20. List of journal prompts to quickly refer to when having nothing to write about

-> You might like reading this: 110 Ways To Use Up Your Empty Notebooks

Books-related lists to keep

1. Library books to get
2. Books I own
3. TBR list
4. Books I read on Kindle but want to buy the physical copy too
5. Best books I’ve ever read list
6. Classics I want to read
7. Book challenges I want to try
8. Books I had to DNF (Did Not Finish)
9. List of books on a specific subject you’d like to read
10. List of books from a specific author you like

Travel lists to keep

1. Travel packing checklist
2. List of places you want to visit
3. List of places you want to visit in a specific country or city
4. List of sites to check when searching for your next holiday deal
5. List of activities you’d like to do while traveling

-> You might like reading this: 100 Money Challenges to Try In 2024

Finance and Money Management list ideas

1. Weekly Budget
2. Monthly Budget
3. Saving goals tracker
4. Money challenges to try
5. List of weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly expenses you have
6. Loans and CC I have
7. Subscriptions that I pay monthly
8. Online purchases to save for
9. Things to buy… list
10. List of side hustles you have or would like to have

How To Keep Up With Many Lists At Once (PLUS Infographic)

Okay, I am far from the illusion that maintaining anything more than 2-3 lists at a time is anything short of crazy, so how do you keep up with those?

I will tell you how I keep up with my 30(plus) lists. There is a system, and if you don’t implement a system (yours or mine, you can copy), you will give up on those too soon (and I know you don’t want to).

You can also save the infographic at the end of the post to your Pinterest board, so you keep the system one click away from you.

Categorize your lists

You want to divide your lists into different categories. Here are mine:

• Daily
• Weekly
• Monthly
• Occasional or once-in-a-while lists

Choose your media

Choose your journals or the online tool you would use to make those lists. You can do anything from a simple notebook to an Etsy printable or Notion (or Todoist). I am a paper-lover girl, but you do you.

Let’s say you have chosen to go for journals. You need two of those or split one into two (first half and second half).

• Primary journal: for daily and weekly lists.
• Secondary journal: for monthly and occasional lists.

Keep in mind that when I say “daily” or “monthly,” I mean how often you would visit and write in that list. If you wish to have a “Win of the Day” list that would give you 30/31 wins at the end of the month, that would be a daily list even if the end format would look like “a month of daily wins”. I hope it makes sense.

Alternatively, the weekly chore list is a weekly list you will probably create once and visit every week to see how you keep up with it (tracking is optional).

Layout is everything!

Organize each journal with a layout that matches the outcome you seek. What do I mean? Let’s go ahead with examples.

Example one: If you want to keep the “Win of the Day” list and wish to have a complete list of 30/31 wins at the end of the month, you will want to give it at least two pages of space so you can comfortably write every day.

Example two: The “weekly chores” list can be organized as a list or a tracker where you can tick off all the tasks as you do them or as part of your Sunday planning routine.

Example three: Your “Classics to read” list is something you would visit occasionally only. This list can comfortably sit at the back of a journal or in a second notebook where you can refer to it when needed. It could be just a simple list you make for 10 minutes and use for the entire year ahead.

Indexing and Color-Coding

You need an extra step here, and it could be color-coding, adding tabs to the sections, or simply indexing at the beginning of the journal so you know where each list is located. This would also help you have a very visual list of lists.

The habit of review sessions

This one is on you! Creating a routine (daily, evening, weekly, or monthly) of visiting those journals/apps/notebooks is vital to keeping up with the good work you’ve done so far.

I have a habit tracker, and I’ve added “working on my lists” as a habit to track. This way, I get a daily reminder to keep up with them regardless of whether it’s time for my weekly, monthly, or simple daily review. That habit tracker is on a visible and high-traffic area of my journal, so that’s an extra step to ensure I actually get to it.

Be flexible

If a week from now you feel overwhelmed, just reduce the number of lists. Remember, you don’t “have to” keep lists; you “want to” keep them. You made the choice, and you are allowed to change it. Do whatever feels okay and helps you stay productive; it feels like self-care and is suitable for your lifestyle and goals.

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