Bonjour. This is Cyril from Work Smarter: Live Better. In this video, I want to talk about a very simple suggestion to avoid the “ Arghhhh” moments.
When I train leaders and their teams, one of the topics that we cover is task management. This is part of the second habit of the journey called ‘Declutter Your Mind.’ We are all bombarded with To Dos, and most of us have tried many different task management tools: from writing lists on papers, post it notes, notebooks, OneNote, productivity apps, Excel spreadsheet, Word documents, email folders, Trello and so on.
Are they using the right tools? That’s another topic on its own. But in short, a tool is only a tool. What is important is how you use it. But that’s not my point for today. The frustration comes when you suddenly remember something you need to do, and you don’t have your tool handy.
And you forget.
My suggestion: have a capture on the fly tool always with you.
It doesn’t have to be your productivity tool. However, it has to be a mobile tool that is always with you. As soon as you have an idea worth capturing, or you think about something you need to do, write it down straight away in your capture on the fly tool.
What tool?
It can be a mini note pad and pen you always carry in your pocket. Alternatively you use an app in your phone like Notes , Onenote or Wunderlist. Or you can email yourself straight away. It doesn’t matter. Whatever works for you. Just capture it straight away.
I use Siri. If I think of something I need to do, I will do this:
Cyril: Hey Siri, email myself.
Siri: What’s the subject of the email?
Cyril: email John
Siri: What would you like your email to say?
Cyril: To meet him when I’m in Melbourne next week
Siri: Okay. Here’s your email message to Cyril Peupion.
Do you want to send it?
Cyril: Yes.
Siri: Okay. I’ll send it.
Now in the ‘Declutter Your Mind’ session we discussed how to manage all your To Do lists including your inbox. But the first step is to capture on the fly, and to always have your capture on the fly tool with you.
This is this week’s Work Smarter: Live Better tip. Hope you enjoy it.
If you find this tip useful, don’t hesitate to forward this email to someone who could benefit from it.
Have a wonderful day
Cyril
