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you’re the captain of your ship. I’ll provide the map and make actionable recommendations. You plot the course.
productivity app developer iDoneThis.
The main purpose of your to-do list is to help you organize your tasks and projects, and highlight the important stuff. It allows you to get everything out of your head, where things are likely to fall through the cracks. By writing them down, you’ll collect them in one place and gain a bird’s-eye view of your biggest priorities.
A to-do list without deadlines is a wish list.
Deadlines are the enemy of procrastination. They motivate us to take action and finish tasks. They also help us to gauge the effectiveness of our time management efforts.
“Paradox of Choice.” The more options we have, the less capable we are to decide between them and the more anxiety we experience as a result.
we’re more inclined to choose activities that offer immediate gratification over those that are arguably better for us, but require more effort.
We’re inclined to choose the easy path.
“decision avoidance.” Confronted with too many options, you avoid picking from among them because doing so requires too much mental effort.
Building a website involves several steps,
You would need to reserve a domain name, find a web host, create a hosting account, point your nameservers to the host’s servers, install Wordpress, install a theme, install Wordpress plugins, and much more.
a narrowly-defined task implies clear starting and ending points.
and it’s easy to know whether that objective has been met.
specificity encourages action and makes it easy to know when the item has been completed.
Our goals spur us to take action. We’re less inclined to procrastinate when we’re able to predict the positive result of completing a specific task.
you must attach a specific goal to each task on your to-do list. Know the reason each item needs to be completed. If you neglect this step, you’ll be less motivated to get the item done.
your emotions can hamper your productivity,
funk
your to-do list is there to help you organize tasks according to their importance and priority, and identify where to best spend your limited time.
not only get more things done, but we get more of the right things done.
a second crucial feature: starting dates.
#3 - The To-Do List Twosome: Master Task List + Daily Task List
involves keeping two distinct lists: your master list and your daily list.
#4 - The "3+2" Strategy
three big tasks and two small tasks. Each day, you select the five items you’ll work on.
one of the main strengths of the “3+2” strategy. It limits the number of tasks on your daily to-do list. There are five. No more. No less.
#5 - The 1-3-5 Rule
one big task, three medium-sized tasks, and five small tasks to complete during the day.
#6 - The Project-Based System
One of the drawbacks to a project-based system is that it offers very little structure with regard to how you spend your day. Rather than working from a single to-do list that has been created to maximize your productivity, you pick and choose tasks from multiple lists.
#7 - The 3-MIT Approach
MIT is an acronym. It stands for “most important task.”
#8 - The Kanban Method
The Kanban method involves writing down each new task on a Post-It note, one task per note, and sticking it in the “To Do” column. There it remains until you’re ready to address it. When you start working on a task, you move its associated Post-It note to the “Doing” column. When you’ve completed the task, you move its Post-It note to the “Done” column.
you can use different colored Post-It notes to represent varying levels of priority. For example, use red for high-priority items, yellow for medium-priority items, and blue for low-priority items.
to use the Kanban method online.
use apps like Trello, KanbanFlow, LeanKit, and Kanbanote.
#9 - The Matrix System
Stephen Covey,
“Eisenhower Box.”
A matrix is made up of four quadrants titled as follows: Important - Urgent Important - Not Urgent Not Important - Urgent Not Important - Not Urgent Tasks are assigned to the quadrants according to their respective priorities. Those placed in the first quadrant should be addressed immediately. Those in the second quadrant are less dire, but should be scheduled to ensure they’re addressed at some point in the near future. Tasks in the third quadrant can be delegated to others while tasks in the fourth quadrant can be abandoned.
the matrix may grow to the point that it presents too many options. That is, you may find a large number of tasks in Quadrant II, and have difficulty choosing which ones to work on given your limited availability.
David Allen’s Getting Things Done is one of the most celebrated task management systems in use today.
You have a lot of stuff swimming around in your head. Most of it remains uncategorized in terms of context, priority, and intended outcomes.
GTD seeks to get this stuff out of your head and onto a list. It makes each item actionable, thereby closing the open loops.
This strategy offers several important features. First, it forces you to add context to each task. This is inherent in the process of “dumping” everything onto a master list and then moving tasks to other, more refined lists.
GTD advises performing a weekly review. This review is not an afterthought. Allen refers to it as one of the keys to being successful using GTD.
it’s easy to get overwhelmed while using GTD. This system is effective for getting stuff out of your head and onto paper (or into an online note-taking app). But not everything in your head deserves a place on your to-do lists.
As time passes, however, you may become disenchanted with GTD. It’s a common experience. The system’s rigorous focus on “next actions” detracts from project-level focus. You begin to feel like a short-order cook, pumping out “next actions” without stopping to consider the bigger picture.
Step 1: Isolate Current Tasks From Future Tasks
