Print the list. Two versions have been released, one in 2007 and one in 1997. Start with the latest list. Take a quick inventory of the list's titles. Check off every film you have watched in its entirety. You don't need to see these again for now.
Highlight titles that immediately interest you, and watch those first. Or you can simply watch the movies in the order in which they are listed.
Make a commitment to work through the list. You only have so much screen time each day. Don't watch films that aren't listed.
After watching each film, research the movie and find out something about its history. If you watch "Citizen Kane," for instance, you might want to watch the documentary "The Battle Over Citizen Kane" to learn about the controversy connected to the film and its director Orson Welles. DVDs of top-rated films like "The Godfather," "Raging Bull" and "Singing in the Rain" often come with documentaries.
After seeing the Top 10, and getting a sense of the scale of those films, start choosing the rest of the films that you have heard about but haven't seen yet. Find out if they had any cultural impact at the time of their release.
When it comes time to see the unknowns, think of this as a great adventure. You will discover some amazing movies. Focus on the finds, not the disappointments. If you see a film that seems substandard, ask yourself why it may have attracted so enough votes to make the list. Look for it's rewarding points.
Keep at it. Don't waste your television time again on tripe. Once you've completed the 2007 list, go back and watch the ones that were dropped from the 1997 list. AFI also has compiled other lists in categories such as best comedies and best musicals. When you finish the big list, start on those and broaden your cinematic tastes.