30
Chapter 02: sImple task management SIMPLE TASK MANAGEMENT
Task Management is a simple productivity concept but one that is often overlooked. Anyone who has tried to get more organized, or get their priorities or life in order has inevitably used a task list of some sort. This chapter will explain exactly what a task is (and how it differs from say an appointment or a piece of information), how to prioritize, organize and manage your tasks on an ongoing basis. It will also provide some strategies for managing your task list so that it doesn’t grow nonstop and spiral out of control.
We are going to introduce four different methods for managing your task list in this chapter – pen and paper, a text or Microsoft Word document, Things (for Mac) and Remember the Milk (online). All these solutions work, and we’ll outline their pros and cons as we go along.
Note: “Task”, “To-do” and “Action” are used interchangeably.
If you read this and decide that you need a more complex solution, we highly recommend OmniFocus (for Mac and iOS) and our guide, OmniFocus Premium Posts.
31
Chapter 02: sImple task management
WHAT IS A TASK
A task is an actionable item that needs to be done now, or at a later date.
By exclusion, a task is something that you have to do that doesn’t occupy a specific time slot on your schedule (those are appointments).
It is important to not confuse tasks and information. The act of filing
information or organizing a piece of information is a task, but the information itself is not.
For example:
• Dinner with Suzie on Friday – appointment.
• Call restaurant to make dinner reservations for Friday – task.
• Restaurant’s address, phone number and directions – information.
People who are familiar with task lists will recognize the above immediately.
Once upon a time, tasks were single-sentence descriptions in numerical order. Now, they are far more complex – you now have the ability to describe tasks in terms of the projects they belong to as well as the contexts (tools, locations, mindsets) they belong to. While to some it may seem that this extra information attached to each task is unnecessary, in reality it has increased the level of clarity we have over our to-do lists by allowing us to see the relationship between individual actions, and how they all add up to our goals and different parts of our lives.
WHY TASK MANAGEMENT
Task management is important, for the simple reason that success in this world (however you wish to define it) seems to be the result of 1) knowing what you want, and then 2) directing action towards it. Without a clear list of tasks, there can be no directed action.
At the most basic level, tasks allow you to externalize the ideas and thoughts you have floating in your head. We all have thoughts and ideas that in the moment we think are fantastic, and tell ourselves “I’ll remember that later”.
Well, maybe we will or maybe we won’t. Writing them down and turning them into actionable items guarantees that you will.
Having actionable items captured and externalized also allows us to utilize our
32
Chapter 02: sImple task management
organizational skills to decide what is important and what is not. Is watching reruns of Lost more important, or is doing your laundry?
Actively managed task lists also create a certain degree of accountability. It very clearly indicates where we have fallen short in terms of directed action, and is a good (and somewhat pressure-free) wakeup call to get more done.
THE 2-MINUTE RULE
Here’s the 2-minute rule from Getting Things Done®:
“If it takes less than 2 minutes to do it, do it now.”
If you think of something to do and it takes less than 2 minutes to handle, do it now. Don’t put it in your task list. Try to apply this anytime you’re dealing with something to do.
TASK HIERARCHIES
This is the most complex part of this guide. Different people have different ways of dividing up the different parts of their lives, but the one that we have seen fairly often and that works for most people is a division into:
• Health
• Wealth (including career)
• Relationships (friends, family, significant other)
• General Happiness (catchall for everything else)
• Errands (mundane everyday tasks)
It would therefore make sense for our tasks to fall into these categories too. The Errands category is for the everyday mundane that doesn’t belong anywhere else – things like going to the bank, doing the laundry, doing the grocery shopping etc.
Now for some people this is too structured. In which case we would recommend:
Projects: personal projects you have that you want to complete, like redecorating the living room, cleaning out the garage, or finishing a certain book.
• Events: planning a dinner party, outlining a vacation, organizing a family trip out of town.
• Errands: same as the “Errands” list above.
33
Chapter 02: sImple task management
• Things For Later: ideas that you want to revisit one day, just not at the moment.
PEN AND PAPER TASK MANAGEMENT
Pen and paper is the simplest form of task management, and the one that most people use (to varying degrees). The biggest problem with pen and paper is actually that most people start to develop a great task management system, then they stop using it or maintaining it due to the busyness of their lives.
The benefits of paper are many. It is very simple – you don’t need any complicated or expensive equipment or apps, and it’s something you could easily teach to your mom/dad/family or any non-technically-inclined friends.
That’s not to say there aren’t downsides compared to other task management systems – the biggest probably being that you have to copy tasks over to the next day every single day to maintain a functioning system. For this reason, while you can work with pen and paper, we highly recommend a digital system (outlined later in this chapter).
With that out of the way, here’s what you’ll need:
• Paper. Preferably in the form of a notebook (We recommend US Letter or A4/A5 size).
• Post-it notes.
• At least 2 different colored pens – one for writing, one for highlighting.
Getting this system started is straightforward. Sit down, and take the time to write down everything on your mind. Write down all the things you have to do, all the random thoughts you have – everything. Grocery shopping for this week? Write it down. Doctor’s appointment in 2 weeks? Write it down. Call Jean back about dinner next week? Write it down.
You should end up with a large list of unorganized thoughts and actions the first time you do this.
Now you need to sort. In general, there will be three types of items you have listed: tasks, appointments and information.
You want to separate these out. Appointments will go in your schedule or calendar (see the chapter on Calendar and To-do List). Information should
34
Chapter 02: sImple task management
technically go into a personal wiki or database (covered in the chapter on Going Paperless), but if we’re being simple here, just transfer it to another notebook for the time being. Tasks are what you want to focus on for now.
Taking this list of tasks, start ordering them – start at 1, and go through to x, where x is the number of items on your list.
There’s no real need for categories with a paper system, it just tends to complicate things. You may find that certain tasks group together around events or projects, and if they do you can list them that way.
Now that you have your initial list of tasks, it’s time to learn how to use the system effectively. You’ll have two lists: an “immediate action” list, and an
“everything else” list.
At the start of every day, pick a new page in your workbook, put down
today’s date, and list down all the “immediate action” items on your task list.
These are tasks that are due today, or overdue, or will be completed in the next couple of days. Usually about 5 items is right for most people. All the other tasks, should sit in a separate notebook or in a page at the back of your notebook – we’ll come back to this second list later.
Now as you start your day, look at task number one, and start doing it until it’s done. Then onto task number two, and three and so on…
As you complete each task, tick it off or cross it out using a different colored pen. You can also reorganize the order of tasks on-the-fly if necessary (just cross out the numbers and write beside them).
At the end of every day, transfer everything left over to the next day. Now is also the time to take a look at that second “everything else” list, and see what needs to brought into your “immediate action” list for the next day.
If you have random thoughts or ideas during the day, grab a post-it and write it down. At the end of the day, the content of these post-its should either go into your “immediate action” list or “everything else” list – the post-its themselves should go in the bin.
As an example, here’s a sample list of tasks on pen and paper.
35
Chapter 02: sImple task management
Day 01
Day 02
36
Chapter 02: sImple task management
Day 03
37
Chapter 02: sImple task management
Here’s the “everything else” list where tasks are crossed off and added on a daily basis. You may want to start a new
one of these every week.
Now we’re going to take this sample list of tasks, and show you how to set it up in Microsoft Word or more fully-featured task management applications.
38
Chapter 02: sImple task management
NOTEPAD, TEXTEDIT AND MICROSOFT WORD TASK MANAGEMENT
Digital text or what we like to call “Microsoft Word Task Management” is the next logical step towards more easily automating and managing your task list.It is essentially the same as pen and paper task management, except
everything is stored as files on your computer rather than in a notebook. This system is best used in an office environment, and where you don’t have the ability to mix your business and personal tasks together into one list.
Starting to use the system is the same as with pen and paper – begin by typing out everything you have on your mind. Sort out the appointments and information, and then organize the remaining tasks into a hierarchical order.
You will likely want to use the task hierarchy we mentioned earlier here, especially in a workplace where things are completed based on projects.
Using the system is a little different.
You will have one new document per each day. The filename should be something like tasklist-yyyymmdd.docx, i.e., tasklist-20130201.docx. This document will have both your task list (at the top), and at the bottom, it should have your “everything else” list – your items for later action.
At the beginning of each day, sort your tasks into relevant order (under
projects or subsections if necessary) and begin working through them. At the end of each day, use the “save as” function to create a file with the next day’s date. As with pen and paper, move items into or out of the “everything else”
section as necessary. Any random notes and ideas you accumulate throughout the day should go at the bottom in the “everything else” section.
While this system works best in the workplace, you can also adopt it for personal use at home. Simply replace your work projects with a list of your personal projects, events and errands.
Here are some example documents showing the progression of tasks over a few days, and how the system is used to manage them.
39
Chapter 02: sImple task management
Text Task List Day 01
40
Chapter 02: sImple task management
Text Task List Day 02
41
Chapter 02: sImple task management
Text Task List Day 03
42
Chapter 02: sImple task management
THINGS (FOR MAC) TASK MANAGEMENT
Of the systems that have been outlined here, Things (for Mac only – if you are on Windows, see the next section), is the most complex yet the most elegant.
It’s also our recommended choice for learning how to use tasks to boost your personal productivity.
Things has a distinct hierarchy built into the software. There are:
• Tasks.
• Projects.
• Areas of Responsibility.
These are equivalent to:
• Tasks: individual actions.
• Projects: sets of tasks that have a finite limit. i.e., after a certain number of tasks, the project can be considered complete.
• Areas of Responsibility: an ongoing list of activities that is never complete.
If we look back at our task hierarchy, we see that Areas of Responsibility match up well to the general areas of Health, Wealth, Relationship and
Happiness. They also serve well as a “Things for Later” list and an “Everyday”
list.
If you use Things, it is highly recommended that you use this particular
hierarchy. If you choose instead to go organize around personal projects and events, that is also possible. You will likely not use Areas of Responsibility in that case, except for your “Things for Later” and “Everyday” lists.
43
Chapter 02: sImple task management
As with the prior two systems, begin by collecting all your thoughts and actionable items in one place. In Things, this is called the Inbox and can be found at the top of the sidebar.
Things Inbox View
44
Chapter 02: sImple task management
The next step is to establish your task hierarchy. You should create an
“Everyday/Errands” Area of Responsibility. The “for later” area found in the prior two systems is replaced in Things by the “Someday” list.
If you choose to use structured categories, set them up too:
If not, then you will create appropriate projects as you sort the tasks now collected in your inbox, which is the next step.
Take each of the tasks in your Inbox, and put them into projects as necessary, and put those projects (or tasks) into the appropriate Areas of Responsibility.
One of the great benefits of a task manager like Things is that you can assign due dates to individual tasks (and projects) in a useable fashion. So, be sure to assign due dates where required, and appropriate notes and tags to each task as necessary.
Using this system is as deceptively simple. Use the different views in Things to see your tasks through different perspectives and filters.
Things Sidebar
45
Chapter 02: sImple task management
The Today view lets you see everything immediately due – similar to the
“immediate actions” lists from the pen and paper and digital text systems.
Things Today View
46
Chapter 02: sImple task management
The Next view lets you see the next available actions across each of your projects.
Things Next View
47
Chapter 02: sImple task management
The Scheduled view lets you see items set to start at a later date.
Things Scheduled View
48
Chapter 02: sImple task management
The Someday view lets you see items that are actionable later.
Things Someday View
We suggest starting with the Today or Next views at the beginning of the day, and switching back and forth as necessary. As you complete a task, simply check it off your list (you can always review what you’ve completed in the Logbook).
At the end of each day, review what you’ve done in the Logbook, then look at the Someday and Inbox views and move items into projects as necessary.
Any thoughts or ideas you collect during the day should go into the Things Inbox, for categorization at the end of each day.
The main benefit of using a dedicated task manager like Things is that there’s
49
Chapter 02: sImple task management
no need to create a new list for each day – the list is always active, and automatically carries onto the next day. The other big benefit is the ability to synchronize with your iPhone and have your task list on-the-go all the time.
50
Chapter 02: sImple task management
REMEMBER THE MILK
Remember The Milk (RTM) is a simple web-based task manager that also has mobile applications across most major platforms. It’s a good alternative for Windows users or people who don’t want to be tied to any one particular operating system.
This is not to say that other web-based applications like Wunderlist can’t be used – almost any task manager will work, it just seems that a lot of productive people who use Windows use Remember The Milk.
The first thing you want to do is sign up – email, Facebook or Google login – any will work.
Remember The Milk signup page
Once you’re signed up, be sure to log in.
51
Chapter 02: sImple task management
Remember the Milk’s hierarchical layout is a little different from the solutions we’ve outlined before. In this case, Remember The Milk uses what are called
“Lists” to equivocate to both Areas of Life and Projects. You can modify these by going to Settings > Lists.
Adding in our areas of life under Lists in Remember The Milk
You’ll notice that for differentiation we’ve prefixed each list with “Area” or
“Project”.
52
Chapter 02: sImple task management
As with all applications and methods that we’ve mentioned before, you want to input your tasks and items into Remember The Milk’s “Inbox” list. From there, you can drag and drop items into the different relevant Lists (Areas and Projects).
Remember The Milk Inbox
53
Chapter 02: sImple task management
Your “someday” items can sit in a separate list called “Someday”.
Someday list view
Using Remember The Milk is a matter of using the correct views.
54
Chapter 02: sImple task management
Here is the Inbox where items are input:
Remember The Milk Inbox
55
Chapter 02: sImple task management
You can of course, navigate to each individual list to see what you need to do, but that is largely inefficient. It is much better to use the Overview view to see what is due today, tomorrow or overdue.
Overview View
56
Chapter 02: sImple task management
The Weekly Planner view is also not bad for forecasting what you have due in the upcoming days.
Weekly Planner View
Remember The Milk also uses a priority system for tasks – you can assign each task priority 1-3, similar to how you assign tasks as “Today” tasks in Things or select tasks for “Immediate Action” in the text-based systems. It can be found under the “More Actions” drop-down menu. We recommend keeping it simple – everything immediately actionable due today gets a Priority of 1, everything else has no priority.
57
Chapter 02: sImple task management
You can use these priorities as a filter in either Overview view (flicking between Today/Tomorrow/Weekly Planner), in each individual list, or in the
“All Tasks” list.
All Tasks View
As you complete tasks, remember to check them off as “Complete”!
As you complete tasks, remember to check them off as “Complete”!