Task Management

Every day you need to do things. The amount of things you need to do will always be greater than you really will be comfortable with, and you certainly won’t get everything done every day. I ask myself regularly whether or not things are even worth doing since I know they’ll take me way longer to do that I think originally. Well, I can’t always answer that question properly (some days I JUST…. DON’T….WANNNNNAAAA) but having a system to properly track the stuff I need to get done really helps make things easier.

Alright. Why Does This Matter?

Since you’ll already be using your brain for important things, having a task management system in place lets you devote more brain power to the work you need instead of on remembering your ever-growing list of items to complete. If you don’t have a task system at all, something will be forgotten, and eventually you will forget something important. If you develop a system that you regularly use, you will reduce your anxiety about what needs to get done, you’ll remember your work better, and can more effectively plan your time and energy use.

Cool. So What do I do?

The best way to work with the endless demands of life is by setting up a task system that you enjoy using. The key is to mess around with a few variations of task management systems to find one that:

  • you like using
  • doesn’t take too much time to set up and actually use on a regular basis
  • actually helps you accomplish your tasks

As a reference, I’ve provided the system I use to track and execute my tasks. It is heavily based off of David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD) system, so full credit is due to his excellent work.

NOTE: You don’t have to be this detailed, you just have to find something that you will keep using!

Collection

  • consider all of your projects, assignments, errands, promises, or ideas you’ve had that you HAVE TO or WANT TO act on and write them down.
  • be thorough and honest with yourself.
  • Write it down and forget about it. You’ll see it again later (when you might actually be able to take care of it)

Organization

  • Start with your errands and put them all on one ‘errands’ list
  • Put tasks in a list labelled with context (eg. “@campus, or @homeoffice) so that you know what to work on when you are in those contextual locations.
  • Every project you have gets its own list. Write tasks necessary to reach each project’s completion, and pull from these project lists as you are planning your day’s work.
  • Any remaining tasks can go in a ‘someday / maybe’ list to collect your desires, bucket list items, crazy ideas, etc. Feel free to add anything to this list at any time

Operation

  • Go through your tasks as necessary. Urgency is the best way to prioritize. That is, whatever is due tomorrow is what you work on first!
  • take tasks from projects and place them into context lists when you are planning your work time. For example, if I have a write chapter 1 of book task in the project list You Wanna do the Stuff Well, and I plan to do that at the home office, I will add write chatper 1 of book to the appropriate list.
  • Cross stuff off when you’re done, and really learn to enjoy that feeling.

To implement this system in an efficient manner, I use Trello, which is an online App that lets me very quickly shuffle my tasks from list to list, so that I’m not re-writing the same task many times.

Perhaps this system is a bit too complex for you. That’s cool. Here’s an easier system you could try:

  1. Write a continuous list of tasks on a piece of paper, in an app, or in a document on your computer. As new tasks come up, just add them to the bottom of this list.
  2. Every time you sit down to do some work, take 3 minutes to decide what tasks you are going to work on.
  3. Write down 3 tasks for that work session to complete, and then get started!

You want something even easier!? How about this:

  1. Find 2 minutes in the morning (every morning that you work on, anyway) and write down 3 things you need to finish.
  2. Do those things.

More, Please!

Here are a few great articles to read, if you’re looking for more advice:

http://www.asianefficiency.com/task-management/simple-task-management/ http://lifehacker.com/how-to-use-trello-to-organize-your-entire-life-1683821040 http://www.businessinsider.com/tim-ferriss-productivity-hack-2014-6

Scott Belskey outlines a great task management system called the Action Method in his book Making Ideas Happen. If you’re not interested in reading his book (I do recommend it), the method is outlined here:

http://99u.com/articles/7201/8-tips-for-diy-task-management-with-the-new-actionmethod

The most important thing to remember is that ANY system is better than NO system. Find a system that you actually want to use and you will have better results than if you use one that doesn’t fit your style.

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