• Write down every single idea you have. No idea is too small, and no idea is too big.
• Always carry a notebook. You need somewhere to write your ideas down, and while using a folder on your phone is better than nothing, a piece of paper is far more memorable.
• Find a list method that works for you. Doodles, bullet-points, charts--what suits you best? I find a combination of short phrases and scribbled pictures works best for me.
• Make a list of small, manageable tasks to complete every day. Cut your day up into chunks, and you'll get lots more done.
• Mark off every completed task. There are few more satisfying things than ticking off a job well done.
• Make your goals measurable so you know if your plans are working. There's no point setting targets if you don't know whether you are hitting them.
• Set far off, outlandish goals. Resolutions shouldn't have just short-term endpoints. What do you want to have achieved in five years? How about in 50 years?
• Include personal goals in your lists, not just business goals. There's no real separation between work and life--it's all just living. The same goes for lists.
• Share your goals with others. You can help motivate one another and hold each other to account. But remember that, in the end, you are doing this for yourself.
• Celebrate your successes, and then make new lists of new goals. The cycle should continue as you make more and more progress. I have boxes and boxes of old notes, filled with old lists, and I'm busy making more.

If you're a regular reader of productivity advice, nothing on this list will come as too much of a shock to you. Lots of experts suggest you break your time into chunks, for instance, while several prominent VCs and founders swear by keeping a "done list" rather than a to-do list. What makes Branson's advice special is not only that he pulls these good ideas together into one step-by-step plan, but also that he personally endorses it.

If someone as incredibly successful as Branson claims the system work, then it's at least worth a little consideration, right? 

 

• Write down every single idea you have. No idea is too small, and no idea is too big.
• Always carry a notebook. You need somewhere to write your ideas down, and while using a folder on your phone is better than nothing, a piece of paper is far more memorable.
• Find a list method that works for you. Doodles, bullet-points, charts--what suits you best? I find a combination of short phrases and scribbled pictures works best for me.
• Make a list of small, manageable tasks to complete every day. Cut your day up into chunks, and you'll get lots more done.
• Mark off every completed task. There are few more satisfying things than ticking off a job well done.
• Make your goals measurable so you know if your plans are working. There's no point setting targets if you don't know whether you are hitting them.
• Set far off, outlandish goals. Resolutions shouldn't have just short-term endpoints. What do you want to have achieved in five years? How about in 50 years?
• Include personal goals in your lists, not just business goals. There's no real separation between work and life--it's all just living. The same goes for lists.
• Share your goals with others. You can help motivate one another and hold each other to account. But remember that, in the end, you are doing this for yourself.
• Celebrate your successes, and then make new lists of new goals. The cycle should continue as you make more and more progress. I have boxes and boxes of old notes, filled with old lists, and I'm busy making more.

If you're a regular reader of productivity advice, nothing on this list will come as too much of a shock to you. Lots of experts suggest you break your time into chunks, for instance, while several prominent VCs and founders swear by keeping a "done list" rather than a to-do list. What makes Branson's advice special is not only that he pulls these good ideas together into one step-by-step plan, but also that he personally endorses it.

If someone as incredibly successful as Branson claims the system work, then it's at least worth a little consideration, right?