One of the main challenges in being productive is getting all of your tasks organized. Especially in today’s fast-paced information age, task organization is a big deal. Inability to stay on top of your to-do list often cause overwhelm and frustration.
We all know how to write a task that we have to do. The challenge comes when you start to have too many. How do you manage it all? Where do you begin? Which do you start with today? What’s the best place to keep track of it all? In addition to the tips I'm going to provide below, be sure to setup your custom home office to ensure your files and office items are organized, keeping your desk clutter-free.
3 Places to Store Home Office To-Do Lists
Many of us try different ways to record our tasks such as using our phones, paper, booklet, sticky notes, etc. However, what tends to happen is that the separate pieces of paper and locations grow to a point where they are no longer manageable.
The solution is to choose only a few locations to store your tasks and assign 1 location for each category of tasks.
- Daily To-Do List- You can use a small memo booklet to keep ONLY the task you plan on completing for the day. If you’re not a memo person, use a reminder app on your phone. Use whichever that provide the least amount of resistance.
- Calendar- This can be in a calendar booklet or in your electronic device. Whichever it is, choose only ONE that provide the least resistance. It’s beneficial to see all of your deadlines or events that have a date associated to them at a glance. For nonessential items, you ‘could’ use a reminder app (adds a notification to your to-do list), but it’s recommended to keep it all in one calendar to keep it simple.
- Cumulative Action List- This is where you record all of your important items that NEEDS to be done. It could be listed in another small booklet or in a phone app. This list can be long. If it gets too long, then you may need to separate some items into “projects”, which we’ll discuss in the next section.
The idea to make this come full circle is to go over these 3 lists every morning and adding to the daily to-do list. If there are items that didn’t get finished from the day before, it gets pushed over to the current day. This method is one that will evolve as you get more comfortable and build a trust in it to deem it reliable.
Create Actionable Tasks
To expand on Task Organization, the other often overlooked item that renders the to-do list useless is writing down tasks that take too long to check off. What do I mean? Tasks that have multiple subtasks - what productivity veterans call “Projects”. A sure sign that your task is too big to stand on its own is knowing if the task will take longer than a day. If it does, then you need to create smaller subtasks.
Another way to know if an item in your to-do list is useful is to ask yourself, “what are the steps involved to get this item checked off?” If you can’t answer that quickly without much thought, then you need to split that item into several smaller tasks. This way, you can track where you are in the project and you don’t get overwhelmed by keeping it all in your head, trying to remember everything.
If you have multiple 'Projects' that will take more than a day to complete or that have many subtasks, then you may want to separate that particular project into another location. To avoid overwhelm of all your task lists and project lists, go over them daily and see which ‘actionable tasks” you can add to your daily to-do list.
In Summary
The key is to stay on top of your lists on a daily basis and establish the habit. Set a time to brainstorm, choose where to store your lists, and then get them ready to use. For starters, exclude all non-important items until after you’ve mastered your to-do list. In the beginning, it’s not worth overwhelming yourself with a super large list. Keep it simple for now, and expand later.
Now that you’ve just gotten the most simple productive method of finally conquering your to-do list, learn how to further simplify your life through the Tao of Organization in your home! You’ll learn how to organize all areas of your home, including your kitchen, home office, closet, and bathroom. Download the guide below.