Road trips, vacations, and even sleepovers are lots of fun to go on, but to make the most out of your trip you have to pack the right items. Sometimes, packing can be a bore or confusing, if you have no idea what to bring. The best way to organize your thoughts and remove the drama from packing is to make yourself a packing list. Follow the easy steps in this guide to make a packing list and be one step closer to your trip!

1. Make sure it's clear where you are going, how long you will be gone, what the weather will be like, and how you are getting there. If you don't know some one or more of these things, you may want to put this off for later.
2. Get a piece of paper and a pen or pull up a blank document on your computer. It is best to write on a blank document, because you can easily add/edit things, but with pen and paper you can organize it easily. Write "Packing List" neatly on the front of it. If it is for your whole family, you may want to divide the page in equal sections for each family member.
3. Decide if you want to use bullets or create a list for each item (Clothing List, Bathroom List, Entertainment List, etc). If you are making lists, label the top of where each list will be.
4. Start with clothing. If you are going to be gone for 1-7 nights, you may want to consider bringing 1 shirt, 1 pair of pants, 1 pair of underwear, 1 pair of socks, 1 pair of pajamas, and for women, 1 bra, for each night you are staying. If you are washing clothes, you can pack less. If your trip is longer, consider packing 1 outfit and 1 pair of pajamas for every 3-4 days, assuming you will be washing clothing. Remember bathing suits, cover ups, extra pairs of shoes, scarves, coats, gloves, and other items to keep you comfortable.
5. Move on to Bathroom Items. If you are going to spend 1-7 nights somewhere, bring your own shampoo and body wash, unless it's only one night (sleepover), then consider skipping a shower. Remember to bring toilet paper if you are spending over a week somewhere. For every 2 days you will be gone, bring one roll of toilet paper, just in case where you are staying doesn't supply it. Don't forget razors, deodorant, hairbrushes, toothbrush, hair straightener/curling iron, and for women, tampons/pads.
6. Now, start writing down Entertainment items. Books, magazines, MP3's, phones, and CD's all qualify as entertainment. For a quick 1 night stay, you might only want to bring a magazine instead of two or three books, because you won't get around to reading them overnight. Remember, if where you are staying doesn't have a DVD player, don't take DVD's!
7. You also need to remember Sleeping items. Pillows, blankets, and sleeping bags all should be put down. If you are spending 1-7 nights somewhere, don't plan on washing your sheets. Take what you need for your bed (if it is on a bed or on the floor) and maybe an extra sheet, just in case. If you are spending a long time somewhere, take two sets of sheets and rotate them every other week.
8. Next, start writing down Cleaning items. You'll need something to wash your clothes with for long stays. Check with where you are staying to see if they have cleaners, and if so, what kinds.
9. Now, write down financial/identification items. For most people, this should be your wallet or purse and a passport, if your leaving the country. If you are just spending the night, you may want to take no money because you probably will not have to buy anything.
10. Start writing down medications and other items for your health. If you have any pills you have to take, right these down. Make sure to take bandages, vitamins, and pain relievers wherever you go, unless its just a sleepover. Remember things like First-Aid kits, motion sickness remedies, and sleep medications.
11. Now you can write down some 'gadgets' you need to take. MP3 and Cell Phone can go here or in the entertainment section. Remember a cell phone charger, camera, alarm clock (if you need to wake up at a certain time), laptop, and walkies-talkies if you need these items.
12. If you are camping or spending time outdoors like on the beach or in swimming pools, add an Outdoor items section. Sunscreen is a must for almost anywhere you go. Tents, sleeping bags, flotation items, beach towels, buckets, shovels, and things of such are good for spending time at the beach or camping. Remember insect repellant and flashlights for camping.
13. This last section is only needed if you are traveling with the family or with young children. Wipes, diapers, baby powder, 'sippy cups', and strollers are good for young kids.
14. Add any other items you need for your trip, like pens and pencils, notebooks, GPS (for traveling), or rags.
15. Go back and double check your list. Did you remember everything or did you put on some extra items? Cross off and add on what you really need. Remember that if you are traveling far, you can buy some things when you get to your location.
16. Have fun on your trip!

Tips

• Make sure you have the right size bag for when it comes time to pack.
• When you are packing, if you think of something else to bring, jot it down on the list. You can use this list for future reference. You may want to make a packing list about a week before the trip, double check it once a day, and then when it comes time to pack, only pack those items, nothing else.
• If you have a lot of bathroom items, you may want to put these in a completely separate bag for ease when unpacking.
• Put your list somewhere you will remember it or somewhere the family can see it.
• If you are traveling on the road, a cooler and plastic grocery bags are a must (grocery bags for garbage).
• Ask people you know that have been on trips for advice. They can probably give you hints on what bags to bring, how to pack, what items to remember, and what to leave at home.
• Be reasonable. You aren't going to need a winter coat if you are going to Africa, and you probably won't need your bathing suit in the middle of winter.
• http://www.travelyucatan.com/cancun_packing_list.php, http://upl.codeq.info/, and http://www.independenttraveler.com/packing/ are good websites to help you create a packing list if you are too confused or don't have the time. They are also good to give you ideas if you are confused on what to bring.

From: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Packing-List

As an entrepreneur, how can you be productive and ensure that you are focusing on the right areas? Every entrepreneur is a self-starter; it tends to come with the territory. Being an entrepreneur also means that you don’t necessarily have a daily playbook to follow. Many entrepreneurs are breaking new ground and learning through trial and error. It can be daunting, and even a bit scary, to determine where to focus your energy on any given day. Should you have your team spend the day creating marketing copy for that new product, or reaching out to customers to get feedback on an existing product? It can feel as though there is never enough time to meet all the demands of the business.

One tool many entrepreneurs use to get organized and improve focus is to create a To Do list. This can be a very helpful tool. Unfortunately, in my opinion, about 85% of the population is using the To Do list in a completely ineffective manner. Here’s why: most people are using their To Do list as a measure for self-worth…and this is a huge mistake.

Biggest Mistakes with a To Do List

1. Confusing quality with quantity. Many people incorrectly associate self-worth with checking things off their To Do list. If I am able to complete a lot of things in one day, it must mean I’ve done a good job and, therefore, I’m a good enough person. Right? We all want validation. Here’s the problem with this – it means that you’re likely to waste your time on low impact, easy to complete tasks just to feel good about what you’ve accomplished. How many of you have spent time on something that was easy and quick, but not very strategic? Was this because you were avoiding the harder, more impactful thing? We waste time on menial chores and tasks just to have a sense of accomplishment. Over time, this makes us much less effective at our job. Truly successful people find a way to outsource many of these less strategic tasks
2. Using the To Do list as a form of torture. Do you have a tendency to create a very long To Do list that you can never complete in a single day? Do you then feel bad about never getting to everything on your list? If so, you’re setting yourself up to fail. Many of us do this out of habit, and it’s an important habit to break. Here’s the deal with this subconscious self-flagellation: it wastes a TON of energy. Every time you even THINK about a task on your To Do list that hasn’t been accomplished, it drains your energy. So if you have a list that’s 20 items long, and you spend a few minutes every hour stressing out about how you haven’t tackled item #19, you are using an incredible amount of your energy and mental stamina just keeping track of, and feeling bad about, all the things you haven’t done. This negative thought pattern tends to hold you back and make you much less productive. Plus, it generally feels crappy. So let’s agree to be done with it.

The Secret to a Successful To Do List

Here are some straight forward and easy to follow steps to creating a powerful and productive daily To Do list:

1. Keep it simple. Your To Do list should have NO MORE THAN THREE THINGS on it for a given day. Some of the most highly successful people I know only allow ONE ITEM on their To Do list each day. This is where the rubber meets the road on focus and prioritization. If you could only do one thing today to move your business forward, what would that thing be? Make this the #1 item on your To Do list.
2. Write your To Do list the night before. This helps you start your day with clarity. You know exactly which item you need to complete by 10am the next morning.
3. Tackle the first item on your list first thing in the morning when you are fresh. Now that you’ve effectively prioritized your To Do list, you need to get the biggest, most important task completed before moving on to anything else. It’s important to be proactive rather than reactive. You need to make yourself and your goals a priority. This starts by completing your most high level, strategic action FIRST, before checking your email or responding to phone calls or other requests. People and technology will always be there to distract you. One study found that Fortune 500 CEOs averaged only twenty-eight uninterrupted, productive minutes a day! To be truly successful, you must be able to set boundaries and make your biggest strategic goals your daily priority.
4. If you have a hard time limiting your To Do list to a maximum of three items, or your mind keeps wandering off thinking about all the other things you “need to do,” I recommend doing a mind dump. Take five minutes, no more, and write down every single thing you can think of that you need to do in the next week. This can be personal or professional. Write it all down just to get it out of your head. Then put that list away. This is NOT your To Do list. This is a data dump, a psychic release. Your To Do list is the list of your 1-3 most important items that you created the night prior. Re-focus on this list after doing your mind dump by putting the mind dump list in a drawer and forgetting about it. If you aren’t taking action, worrying is just wasting your energy.
5. Sometimes small is big. Be strategic about your energy. Occasionally, a small and menial task that isn’t highly strategic will start to take up an incredible amount of mind space. Maybe you haven’t put this item on your To Do list because it’s not one of the three most important tasks to move your business forward, but over time, you notice yourself thinking about this one small, annoying thing because it’s really bothering you. Maybe it’s that stain on your carpet at home, cleaning off your desk, doing that ROI analysis, or buying that late wedding present for a friend. Sometimes, a small To Do becomes a huge energy suck because we’ve put it off for so long that it truly bothers us. In this case, it IS one of the three most important things for you to do that day because releasing all the anxiety you have built up will move you forward more than anything else. Ask yourself now – would doing a task you are avoiding take less energy than you are spending on the avoidance? Is there something you’ve been procrastinating that would free up a lot of energy if you just went and did it? If so, put that item on your To Do list for tomorrow. And DO IT. You will discover a new source of energy to apply to the next strategic item on your To Do list.

If you follow these five steps, you will increase your productivity while decreasing your negative mind chatter. It’s a win/win. Try it out for yourself and let me know in the comments section below what you think!

From: http://www.forbes.com/sites/vanessaloder/2014/06/02/five-best-to-do-list-tips/#6a0ff3b51b53

When the global recession raised its ugly head, people responded with a renewed sense of frugality. One of the results of this careful, household spending discipline gave a rebirth to that old staple, the grocery list. And, Internet savvy providers not only noticed the trend but were quick to capitalize it.

In recognition of this trend, many of the world’s largest supermarkets have responded by creating online shopping sites. Depending upon the provider, these sites can do amazing things. On the best of these sites, the consumer can develop a grocery list over a period of days. The list tracks special bargains and offers pertaining to specific goods while attaching the coupons to the shopper’s list.

This truly represents the best of a number of worlds. The consumer is using an organized platform to purchase the correct food while the online platform is identifying coupons and other offers that represent significant savings.

Not all consumers or supermarkets use this service. Many shoppers were brought up shopping with lists and have no intention of changing their method. Yes, it is tough to teach an old dog new tricks.

In its own right, the traditional shopping list provides many benefits. In one sense, the grocery list provides a disciplined approach to the shopping spree.

In these strained financial times, people are paying attention to where their money is spend with great diligence. As more and more women enter the workforce, the need for a shopping list has increased in importance.

There are several reasons why making a grocery list is sensible.

Time Saver – The shopping list presents an organized approach enabling the shopper to get in and get out of the store without wasting time looking for goods you do not need.

Money Saver – If you apply the same discipline to your shopping experience as you do to building the list, you have time to check for coupons and to take advantage of certain special offers, such as 2 for 1 pricing. You must also have enough confidence in the list to know that you do not need anything else. Your shopping list and diligent coupon collecting can reduce you food expense by between 20 and 25 percent. Online shopping lists can save even more.

Health Benefits – A shopping list affords the opportunity to evaluate the type foods and their health ramifications that are consumed in the household. This list is your line of defense against making poor, last-minute food choices.

Make Shopping Fun – With a list, there is no reason to be stressed figuring out what you may or may not have in ample supply at the home. You follow the list and relax, knowing your approach is organized and on the mark.

Inspires Input – Make the list open to suggestions from all parties in the home. Children can add goods they enjoy, which are subject to adult approval.

Reduce Waste – If using an organized list rather than a last-minute, spur-of-the-moment list, chances are good that the foods you purchase will be eaten and very little will be wasted. In a sense, making a good list is like planning family meals for a week.

Share the Burden – Time is a precious commodity. By developing and refining your list, others can actually pick up the goods. In today’s world, some markets are even delivering goods that are ordered by fax, e-mail or phone.

The good news is that 75 percent of shoppers have returned to the timeless practice of a shopping list. Keep your list structured, engage everyone in the house to participate and your food will not be wasted. You will save a great deal of time and a good deal of money by being thorough.

From: http://www.fatwallet.com/blog/why-making-a-list-before-going-shopping-is-important/