Let me ask you a simple question. What system do you use to keep track of all your tasks? Do you use only one system? Do you have several systems for example for personal tasks versus business tasks or for urgent tasks versus long term tasks?
Over the last 15 years, I have asked this question to many people. And I have heard so many answers, so many ways to manage tasks. One of the most common answer is the to-do list either paper or electronic. People love their ‘to-do list.
Now I don’t have any issue with to-do list. You can’t keep everything in your brain. So great to have list, just make sure it is an horizontal list and not a vertical one.
What do I mean by this?
Most people have a long vertical to do list. Having an horizontal list simply means allocating each task to the right day. Imagine your calendar as an horizontal list with Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and so on. For tasks which are time-consuming, the horizontal list is your calendar. They need to be locked in your calendar at a specific day and a specific time.
All the quick tasks do not need to schedule in your calendar. But you need to have a system which will also allocate them to the right day. I personally use Outlook Task for all my quick tasks because I can allocate a really quick task to a specific day. It doesn’t really matter which tool you use. Just use a tool which will enable you to allocate tasks to specific days.
This is this week Work Smarter: Live Better tip. I hope it will be useful for you. Challenging your task management system is one of the first thing we do when we work with a team. If this is of interest, and you feel you and your team could benefit, just drop me a quick email and we can organize a chat.
Have a lovely day.
A bientôt,
Cyril
