Jonah linked with Seena - seated with Candice (1984)

Shortly after getting married we started our "family" of assorted dogs and cats (a little later came the kids). Among our pets were Jonah, a German Shepherd mix, and Seena, a beautiful blue-eyed Siberian Husky. Seena turned out to be a runner. She would slip through when a door or gate was left open and take off. We felt bad leaving her in the back yard when the rest of the family was spending time in the front so Scott came up with a plan. He took a short chain and connected Seen's collar to Jonah's. Now, linked to the dog we could trust, Seena stayed where she belonged.

This week I realized one of my to-dos had slipped through the cracks. I write a monthly column for the Ranchos Independent and I missed my deadline. I had failed to link my to-do to a trusted system.

Without a link to a trusted system, our minds are continually trying to recollect what needs to be done, while constantly adding new things. Sound stressful? Yes, it is! Not only does it stress us, it stresses those affected by what we forget to do.

Fortunately, my editor was patient and accepted my late entry. I made sure to "link it" for future articles, so I wouldn't miss another one! Here are some Timely Tips for linking your to-dos to a trusted system.

TIMELY TIPS - Link your to-dos and get things done!

First containerize your to-dos. If you're very connected to your phone, this might be the best place for your to-do list. Some of the current apps for that include Todoist, Any.do, and Wunderlist. These allow you to create lists, reminders, and sync your list with others.

Evernote and OneNote are two other popular apps that keep to-do lists, and more. If you prefer the paper mode, a spiral notebook with dividers for categories is a good place to store your lists.

Now, link them! Link your to-dos to specific days/times on your calendar just like you would record a dentist appointment. Hopefully your calendar is a trusted system for keeping you on track with where to be and when. By expanding its use to include specific to-dos each day, you can be more productive and keep things from slipping through the cracks.

If you must record dates and to-dos on napkins, backs of envelopes, and scraps of paper, have one place where they gather and transfer them to your trusted system as soon as possible!