To do
dailyhabitai.com/tools/to-do-list/
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To-do list: free online to-do list and printable template
A free to-do list you type into and tick off, saved on your device. Try the 1-3-5 or eat the frog layout, then print it or save it for your phone.
Tip: drag to reorder, or focus it and use the arrow keys. Backspace on an empty task deletes it.
The short answer
A to-do list works best when it is short, specific and made for one day or one week. Write each task as a concrete next action, put the one that matters most on top, keep the rest to what fits your time and tick tasks off. Move what is left to tomorrow instead of carrying a growing list.
How to make a to-do list that works: 6 steps
Most lists fail for the same reasons: they are too long, the tasks are vague and nothing says what comes first. These six steps take about five minutes, the evening before or first thing in the morning.
- Empty your head. Write down everything on your mind, on a scrap list or a second list such as This week. Getting it out of your head is the point: in experiments, making a concrete plan for unfinished tasks stopped them from intruding on other work.
- Pick today's tasks. Move only what could realistically happen today onto the Today list. Leave the rest where it is.
- Write each task as a next action. "Email Sam the draft" beats "Project". A task you can start without thinking is a task you actually start.
- Mark the one that matters most. Put it at the top, or use the 1-3-5 or eat the frog layout to give it its own slot. Urgent-looking small jobs tend to win if you do not decide this first.
- Cut the list to what fits. People reliably underestimate how long their own tasks take, so plan for less than you think. Three to nine tasks is a realistic day for most people.
- Tick, then reset. Tick tasks as you finish them. At the end of the day, clear what is done, move what is left to tomorrow or drop it, and write tomorrow's list while you still remember.
Choosing when and where you will do a task is one of the best-supported planning habits: in a meta-analysis of 94 tests, people who made specific if-then plans followed through more often than people who only set a goal. For bigger tasks, add the time next to the task ("9:00 draft the update") or block it in the daily routine planner.
To-do list layouts compared
The tool has four layouts. Each list keeps its own layout, and switching never loses how you arranged tasks in another one.
| Layout | How it works | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple | One list in the order you choose | Errands, shopping, quick days | Grows long; nothing says what matters most |
| 1-3-5 | 1 big, 3 medium and 5 small tasks; extras go to Not today | Workdays with a mix of big and small jobs | Nine tasks can still be too many on a day full of meetings |
| Eat the frog | One hardest important task on top, the rest below | Procrastinating on one big thing | Needs a clear first hour; hard to do on reactive days |
| By day | Monday to Sunday plus Any day | Spreading a week of chores, calls and errands | Better with fewer items per day than you want |
Read the full method guides: eat the frog and the 1-3-5 rule and the Ivy Lee method. If your list is a pile of urgent requests, sort it first with the Eisenhower matrix, and see how to prioritize when everything is urgent.
To-do list examples
The same six tasks from the example list look different in each layout:
- Simple: Draft the project update, Reply to Sam, Pay the electric bill, Book the dentist, Buy milk and eggs, Walk for 20 minutes.
- 1-3-5: big: Draft the project update. Medium: Reply to Sam, Pay the bill, Book the dentist. Small: milk and eggs, a 20-minute walk, plus three open slots for what comes up.
- Eat the frog: frog: Draft the project update, done before email. Then the other five in any order.
- By day: the This week example spreads one task per day, from planning the week on Monday to meal prep on Sunday, with Renew passport under Any day.
For work
Make the big task or the frog a piece of real work, not "catch up on email". Write tomorrow's list before you log off so the morning starts with a decision already made. The Pomodoro timer helps you start on the frog in 25-minute blocks.
For school
Split assignments into steps you can finish in one sitting ("outline the essay", "read pages 40 to 60") and spread them over the week with By day. For exams, the study schedule maker does the splitting for you.
For home
Keep a This week list for chores and errands and a short Today list on the fridge. Group errands by place. Tasks that come back every week belong in the weekly planner or a routine, not on a new list each time.
How to print a to-do list template
Pick a layout and a design, then press Print. The list prints on one Letter or A4 page with blank lines left for new tasks, and everything else on this page is hidden. In the print dialog keep the scale at 100% or Default and turn off headers and footers. Print blank template gives an empty sheet in the same layout, and Save as image makes a PNG in paper shape or sized for a phone lock screen.
Frequently asked questions
How do I make a to-do list online?
Type a task in the box at the top of the list and press Enter. Tick the box when it is done, tap a task to edit it, and drag the handle or use the arrow keys on it to change the order. Everything saves in this browser as you type, with no sign-up.
Can I print a to-do list template?
Yes. Press Print to get your list on one clean Letter or A4 page, with blank lines left for new tasks. Print blank template gives the same layout and design with nothing filled in, to write on by hand.
What is the 1-3-5 to-do list?
A daily list with nine slots: one big task, three medium tasks and five small ones. It forces you to decide what fits in a day. Choose the 1-3-5 layout above and the slots fill from the top; anything extra goes to Not today.
What does eat the frog mean?
It means doing your hardest important task first, before email and small jobs. The Eat the frog layout gives that one task its own slot at the top of the list, with everything else under it.
Can I keep more than one list?
Yes. The example opens with Today and This week, and New list adds more, up to eight. Each list keeps its own layout, so you can use 1-3-5 for today and By day for the week.
I deleted a task by mistake. Can I get it back?
Yes. Press Undo in the message that appears after deleting, clearing done tasks or deleting a list, or press Ctrl+Z (Cmd+Z on a Mac) when you are not typing in a task.
Is my to-do list private?
Your lists are stored only in this browser on this device. Nothing you type is sent to our server. Clearing your browser data removes them, so print or save an image of anything you need to keep.
How many tasks should be on a daily to-do list?
Fewer than you think. People tend to underestimate how long tasks take, so a list of about three to nine tasks, with one clear priority, is more realistic than twenty. Put the rest on a separate list for later in the week.
Sources and evidence
- Masicampo and Baumeister (2011): Consider it done! Plan making can eliminate the cognitive effects of unfulfilled goals — In five studies, unfinished goals caused intrusive thoughts and hurt performance on other tasks; making a specific plan for them removed these effects.
- Gollwitzer and Sheeran (2006): Implementation intentions and goal achievement — In a meta-analysis of 94 tests, deciding when and where you will act (if-then plans) linked to better goal follow-through than a goal alone.
- Buehler, Griffin and Ross (1994): Exploring the planning fallacy — People tend to underestimate how long their own tasks will take; in one study, students expected to finish their thesis in about 34 days on average and took about 56.
- Zhu, Yang and Hsee (2018): The mere urgency effect — In five experiments, people chose urgent-looking tasks with lower payoffs over more important tasks, a reason to mark the important task before the day fills up.
- KC, Staats, Kouchaki and Gino (2020): Task selection and workload: a focus on completing easy tasks hurts performance — In two years of emergency department records, physicians under high workload picked easier cases, which raised short-term throughput but lowered complexity-adjusted productivity.