If you are tired of testing task management methods or can’t waste time until you find the one that suits you, this is your place. We have listed four techniques that people like you and me adopted and adapted to organize their tasks. These methods have worked for years. Half suits those who like to plan and the other half suits those who prefer something more spontaneous. Check out how they work and meet a task manager for companies that brings together the best of each one:
For planners
Long, medium and short term on a page
For the fans of the perfect routine, Justin’s method is good. If you want to try, start tonight or tomorrow morning. Get out a sheet of paper and divide it into three sections from top to bottom. In the top section, write down your three big life goals. These aren’t to-dos for today, but as Justin says, they’re your compass. In the middle section, write the top three tasks you need to get done this week. In the bottom section, write down your tasks for today, 10 at most. This done, transfer it to your task manager.
List tasks, successes and the summary of your day
For four years, Neville used this strategy, after planning his day. On the top of a sheet of paper, write the date. Below, split the page into two columns, wherein the right is narrow. That’s where you write down your appointments and events, with a slice for every hour of your day. If you work eight hours, you will need at least eight slices. At the end of each hour, write down something you did. This is your short list of successes. In the main column, on the left side, you list your to-do for today. Then, use another sheet – or the compact mode of your task manager – to keep only the 1st task in focus. Finally, you draw a line in the page footer, because that’s where you will write a summary of your day’s accomplishments, including the negatives. Neville keeps his lists in a folder to check later how productive he was. You can use a task manager that makes a chart of your productivity index with a few clicks.
For spontaneous
Use tags
Paul prefers to get organized as things happen and to better handle his tasks, he seeks to understand the time slice that each one occupies in his day. For this, he uses term tags: 15min, 30min, 1h, 3h and 6h. An example: “It’s 12:30 and I have an important meeting at 13:15. I need 15 minutes to prepare. So, I have 30 minutes to work on any task. I just filter my tagged tasks ’15min’ or ’30min’ and choose.” To facilitate that decision, Paul uses priority tags, such as “now”, “soon” and “someday”, place tags, such as “office” and “home”, and tags with the name of the responsible for the task. He says he adopted this method two years ago and got a zero waste of time, thanks to all that specificity. Using them in a task manager will make your search much easier.
Remind your achievements and goals
Nathaniel is both planner and spontaneous, but he’s in this category because his tip is simple and can be followed by anyone who wants to feel happier and more engaged at work. Every week, write a summary of your achievements and split them into three groups. 1) WOW, for large tasks completed during the week; 2) I AM for next week goals that make you well, such as “meditate”, “finish book x”, “donate blood” or “get vegetarian”; and finally, the group 3) ETC, where you list the major events of your personal and professional life that deserve to be fondly recalled.
For all
Runrun.it
Do you prefer to work with a planning to follow? Or can’t you keep everything under control all the time? In any case, there’s Runrun.it, the task manager adopted by more than 100,000 companies worldwide, which you and your team can start using today. With it, you deal with each client and project, with no e-mails or follow-up meetings. Everyone works with a to-do list ordered by priority, receives demands only from those who can make them, and has all the shared data saved online in the system. Managers track in real time the progress of the projects, when they will be completed and the costs and the time invested. In addition, each employee can check their own productivity index and feel recognized with virtual medals. Click to test Runrun.it for free: http://runrun.it
