I think everyone struggles with keeping track of things they need to do, and it's all too easy to get overwhelmed and/or lose track. Lot's of time management books out there that help to a degree, but to possibly over simplify them it comes down to having a system. Today I thought I'd share what I'm using today and how it works for me.
I use Outlook 2007 and it's really the only part of Office 2007 that had a change I appreciated, the Todo Bar. The majority of my conversations and todo items spawn during email, perhaps 20% via calls or meetings.
So, my system:
- If its a meeting or a has a firm delivery date, I add it to my calendar. I want to get who/where/when captured and I include the other attendees on the request. This is mainly because I sync to my Blackberry and having the basics on my phone has saved me more than once.
- Anything I won't do today or tomorrow, or that someone else will do, goes on my todo list. I just type in the name of the task being as verbose as possible and leave it assigned to no category. Get it written down and move on quickly.
- Anything I want to today gets written down on my paper pad (I prefer something about 5x8 spiral bound, but no leather case or anything as it just adds to the bulk I already carry). As I finish things I get to have the minor thrill of crossing something off my list as I go.
- A couple times a week I go through my uncategorized todos and assign them to categories (I have about 8, ones for our businesses, delegated tasks, personal tasks, etc). More than 6-10 just too hard to figure out which category is correct. If I decide I them by a given date I flag that at the same time and don't worry about moving to the calendar.
- Each morning I take a quick look at my todo list and grab out the things I want to do that day, but I don't mark them as done - I'll catch that the next day or two when it really is done - in case I lose the damned paper pad and lose track!
The electronic/paper system works for me, feels like the best of both worlds and good enough. More importantly, simple enough. The only place that requires discipline is checking the list every day to see not only what I need to do for that day, but what I need to have done in advance to be ready (though you could argue I should have better dates for those!).
The key for me is getting it written down somewhere, so I don't have to struggle to keep those things all in my head all the time. Some of the items will get done, some will just sit there as work for a rainy day, some of the items will lose importance due other change and get deleted, and some...well, they just sit there hoping for a rainy month and lots of enthusiasm.
All comes back to patterns. Just like medical interns, the key is to so ingrain the pattern that even tired/stressed you can maintain your routine - it's a safety net that has kept me out of trouble more than once.
