Handling The Workload

How Can I Get A Handle On My Workload?

The Concept of a Digital Toolbox – Part 13

Why am I not seeing the results I thought I would using a todo-list?  

I am great at making lists.  My lists have lists. There’s nothing more exhilarating than creating a project with lists of milestones and tasks.  However, here’s what the specialists don’t tell you. Just because you have a todo-list doesn’t mean you will have results, at least not the results they make you think.  You may just have a list that’s useless because you’re unable to get to anything on the list. For some, the list just keeps getting longer and longer with no end in sight.  So what do you do when this happens. Pray :-).

You need to change your approach to the task-list craze.

The Thought or Concept:
Too much in your task-list manager to handle?

Let’s tackle this one first.  I applaud you if you have a massive todo-list.  You’ve done what very few are able to do, get the tasks out of your head and into a place you can see it, quantify it and manage it.  The bad news is that the list is too large to make a dent in it, so it feels. Now your todo-list has created a problem for you when you thought it would solve the problem you had.  We’ll get to a solution I have to offer in a second, but I need to present the second problem with the todo-list.

The todo-list by itself won’t work.

It feels good to stick those items somewhere and get them out of your head to no longer be a worry in the back of your mind.  The problem is when you do this, it created a form of procrastinating that you didn’t intend on having. There’s a sigh of relief to get these things off your mind and placed somewhere safe that you can get back to at any time.  Anytime becomes someday and you know what someday equals, never.  Now, these outcomes (too much on the list and too little time) begs one to ask, so what do you do now?

The Practice:
The task-list manager must be paired with another tool, my calendar.

A todo-list lets you know what you have in front of you.  When you know what on your plate, you’re in a better position to make plans.   Without your calendar, you are unable to plan your time. So in order to make the best use of the tasks you need to get done, you need to pair it with your calendar and set aside time to do the tasks.  What I’ve found is that if you don’t set priorities (set appointments) to get tasks done on your task-list, then your calendar gets filled with other tasks that were unplanned. Unplanned tasks have a way of finding space on your calendar you never planned for.  You must have a way to get tasks from the task-manager to the calendar. With that said, let’s take a look at a few digital task-managers I’ve used and currently use.

• A task-manager that’s simple with few functions. Priorities App makes creating todo-list simple.  There’s not a whole lot to the program (app).  You don’t need a class to figure it out. Many find this type of task-manager best because it gets out of your way of doing what you need it to do, create and store tasks.
• A task-manager that’s more robust, but not too robust.  Microsoft’s Wunderlist is a clean, yet simple task-manager that’s available on all platforms.  I recommend this one for those who have gotten a little more serious about their todo-lists.  It has a ton of great features that add to the experience of going beyond a novice.

• A task-manager that scales for the todo-list experts.  While anyone can use Todoist, it’s a task-manager on steroids and my pick just because of how I use my task-manager.  Todoist has just about every feature you could possibly dream of when it comes to a task-managers.  I use this digital tool every day of my life, if you don’t believe me, ask my wife. I use it for every possible action item I have.  It allows me to create projects and nested tasks with categories and tags. I could go on and on. I also use it to manage my social media posting schedules.

You see, a todo-list all by itself is simply the start to getting things done.  The next critical step is finding time, scheduling the time, and sitting down to get the task done.  

Today is Friday!

I hope this web-post encourages you in the following ways:

1. If you don’t have a digital task-manager, get one.
2. Once you have one, pair it with your calendar so that you can get the tasks done.

Remember, it’s your life, your business, and the tasks you have stored will get you one step closer to designing and having the life you’ve always wanted.  Until next week, carry these effective takeaways with you and share them with a friend. Thanks for visiting kerryaclark.com.

[su_note note_color="#FFFFFF" text_color="#000000"]The Family Plan Binder is available now!

Our team has worked very hard putting it together. We designed it to help you and your family move the needle forward in making your life your business. Find out more about the Family plan here.[/su_note]