With the help of my boyfriend, I came up with this concept to help me focus and be more productive. I had been complaining about how useless making to do lists was for me since I am so visual and spatial, seeing everything I had to do in a list just overwhelmed me. He originally suggested I use a square system and then I added the Bingo aspect to satisfy my competitive nature. I’m sharing the template here for concept usage in case it benefits anyone else. I have been using it for the past two months and it’s made me way more effective in my day to day life in addition to accomplishing all of my creative endeavors, one BINGO at a time. I will also breaking down how I split all of the tasks into different tiers because colors and categories are fun! But obviously, if you like the idea you can change it and use it however I like.
5 X 5 TASK BINGO Template
| Tier 3 | Tier 4 | Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Tier 5 |
| Tier 2 | Tier 1 | Tier 6 | Tier 3 | Tier 7 |
| Tier 6 | Tier 5 | BASICS | Tier 1 | Tier 2 |
| Tier 1 | Tier 3 | Tier 2 | Tier 5 | Tier 4 |
| Tier 5 | Tier 6 | Tier 4 | Tier 7 | Tier 3 |
Middle square
1 square – free space – basics
The middle square I have colored black and even if I get no other squares finished in the Bingo, I should still get these done. But they may still be things I need a simple reminder for. Like brushing my teeth in the morning and at night and taking my vitamins. If you have ADHD like I do, even the smallest thing is difficult to remember.
Tier 1
4 squares – light blue – Easiest tasks – minimal to no motivation neede
Come up with 4 super easy things that you need to do almost everyday. I have check that all bills have been paid, I have list something I am grateful for that day and learn a new English vocabulary word as examples. This can be specific to you but make these things take no longer than three minutes. They provide you with quick dopamine hit and feeling of accomplishment to move on to accomplishing the harder stuff.
Tier 2
4 squares – dark blue – Sort of easy tasks – a little motivation required
Next come up with 4 things that require a little more motivation to accomplish than tier one. On mine, I have reading fiction, reading nonfiction, watching something educational (such as a documentary or masterclass) and doing a diary entry. Tier 2 activities shouldn’t take longer than 20 minutes and I set the bar really low for myself. To check off read fiction, I only have to read one chapter of the book I’m reading right now. Of course I normally get involved in the book and read two or three chapters but somedays I don’t feel like reading so I do the bare minimum and check it off my list. If you set a New Year’s Resolution to read the bible this is a perfect place to put “Read a chapter of Scripture.” The progress may seem small at first but it builds over time.
Tier 3
4 squares – Yellow – cleaning tasks – A little more motivation required
Because of my ADHD, I really struggle to do routine cleaning, I’ll put off wiping down the sink and cleaning my car until they just look atrocious. So in this category put the daily cleaning things that you would like to make more frequent. I have clean kitchen, sweep or vacuum, and clean the bathroom on mine. These are small steps for people who are struggling with basic daily cleaning needs if you’ve already got those down, put more elaborate cleaning things in these squares. The great thing about this Bingo is that it’s putting these things into habit so once you’ve turned something into a habit you can change it.
Tier 4
3 squares – dark grey – harder tasks – more motivation required
These are the final tasks that I sometimes really struggle to motivate myself to accomplish. I want to do them. I know I should do them but since they take longer than 20 minutes and sometimes upwards of hours to accomplish, I just can’t seem to motivate myself to do them all of the time. I have on this list working on my AutoCAD classes, writing more of my novel and working on a drawing. These are my hobbies, whatever hobbies you have that take multiple days of multiple sessions to build and create over time, put them here.
Tier 5
4 squares – Green – physical tasks – more motivation required
To help you complete all of your fitness goals, use four green squares to motivate you physically. I have one for stretching, strength training, yoga and dance drills. These sometimes take a lot of motivation and they sometimes take none but I want them to be frequent so that I can’t easily avoid them.
Tier 6
3 squares – Pink – other repeating tasks
This section is sort of random, I have what goes in this as a separate list as it could be anything from getting an oil change to buying groceries. This category basically includes things that take more motivation but are repeated at odd intervals. It’s easier to turn things that you need to do everyday into a habit like brushing your teeth or cleaning the sink but you cant get your oil changed everyday. You have to get it done when your car needs it according to time passed or mileage. Therefore me it’s almost impossible to do these things in a time frame that is reoccurring when they can vary. These squares are important because they are the hallmark of being a healthy adult and following laws and maintenance requirements so that you stay on top of tasks the adult world needs us to accomplish.
Tier 7
2 squares – Red – non repeating tasks
I loathe these tasks. I have to make a separate list for these as they are always changing but it is the list of things I have put off and desperately need to get done. For example, getting my stuff out of storage or other life problems I avoid. Sometimes these take multiple steps so give yourself credit for each step you complete. These are also unlikely to repeat as soon as you finish them, you wont have to do them again. And if you do, it’s not for the foreseeable future.
I started out with a 5 by 5 task bingo and a lot of the categories have evolved and changed a little the past few months. However you organize yours, it’s important to challenge yourself but also set very low minimums when you are first starting out. At first I struggled to get a BINGO with just the 5 by 5 but then I was able to get almost a blackout easily so I created a more complex 7 by 7 bingo, that I will include below. If both the 5 X 5 Bingo and 7 X 7 Bingo overwhelm you, just start out with a 3 by 3 box of tasks and organize how you would like. Again, I shared this as a concept because it has been helping me a lot and figured that it might help others as well. So just erase the tier levels, put in your own tasks and prepare to be productive! Let me know if you have any questions!
Brittani’s 7 X 7 Task Bingo
| Edit | Non Repeating task | express gratitude | read fiction | brainstorm 3 ideas | clean car | stretching dance drills |
| diary entry | practice hand lettering | creative exercise | exercise meditation | all bills paid | other repeating task | laundry |
| clean kitchen | stretching yoga | other repeating task | rose exercise | Autocad | study spanish | night time exercise |
| traveler’s journal | watch something educational | dance drills exercise | Brush Teeth Am Brush Teeth PM Floss/Mouthwash Vitamins/Birth Control | sweep vacuum take out trash | daily questions | In the Midst of Time |
| meditation stretching | Drawing | read nonfiction | clean litter box | non repeating task | spanish vocab | update exercise diary |
| puzzle | clean bathroom | review goals | Blog | religious studies | stretching exercise | non repeating task |
| Other repeating task | english vocab | wash dishes | update monthly calender | meditation yoga | Creative Exercise | study plot of another story |
Closed System 