Discover how to use a recurring to-do list with Things 3 to stay organized, capture ideas instantly, and grow your small business without dropping the ball.
Running a small business often feels like juggling flaming torches while riding a unicycle. Leads, bills, client work, social media, team management - it never ends. And if you’re not careful, things start slipping through the cracks.
That’s exactly why I built a system that changed everything for me: the recurring to-do list.
This is the single most impactful productivity principle I’ve used to build my business and keep my life organized. Let’s break it down.
Our brains are great at generating ideas but terrible at storing them. That’s why people like Tiago Forte talk about “building a second brain.” My version is simpler: a recurring to-do list.
It gives you peace of mind because everything you need to do is written down. No more sticky notes. No more “what did I forget today?” panic.
The first part of the system is having a place where every idea goes the moment it hits you. I call this the Inbox.
Whether I’m on a run, in the car, or working out, if an idea pops up, I capture it immediately. The key is zero friction. Write it down and get back to what you were doing.
The second part is building recurring reminders for the things you need to do on repeat. For me, this looks like:
Instead of trying to remember, I create the task once, set a cadence, and let the system remind me.
To manage this, I use an app called Things 3. This article is not sponsored - they don't even know I exist. I’ve just been using the app for over five years and it’s been the most impactful tool in my business.
Why Things 3?
It’s basically my second brain.
Here’s where it gets powerful for business owners. One of my daily recurring tasks is called Revenue Generating Activities.
Inside this, I have subtasks like:
These daily activities keep our pipeline full and prevent the feast-or-famine cycle that kills small businesses.
Motivation comes and goes. Discipline, backed by systems, is what creates consistent results. A recurring to-do list pre-commits you to the things you know you need to do, even when you don’t feel like it.
As I like to say, “We don’t rise to our greatest motivations, we fall to the level of our systems.”
I even use it for grocery lists and travel packing lists. Simple, but powerful.
The recurring to-do list system lets me live in the moment while staying accountable to the tasks that grow my business. It keeps me calm, organized, and consistent.
If you’re tired of letting things slip through the cracks in your business, this system will change your life.
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