Technique 1 : Maintaining Multiple Lists
A Chinese proverb states that the weakest ink is better than the strongest memory. This is certainly true because, unless you write things down, you’re likely to forget many of the great ideas that pop into your head.
Furthermore, attempting to store everything in your head can be very stressful. In fact, we all experience overwhelm that happens when you have a lot of things on your mind. You know you have to do a dozen other things, so your mind is not fully focused on the task at hand.
If you’re feeling that overwhelm, or too many things are slipping through the cracks, then your best bet is to create and maintain multiple lists for the different areas of your life. Below are six steps for getting started with managing your time with lists.
Step 1: Create projects for every area for your life.
Most likely you have projects you need to complete in several different aspects of your life. For instance, you may want to run a marathon, update your financial records, remodel your kitchen and complete the book you always wanted to write. Each of these should be treated as a project, with an individual task list for each project.
You should maintain these project lists in a central location – like a diary or a physical file, or in a software program like Notion or Affine.
Step 2: Break large tasks into bite-sized tasks.
People procrastinate for many reasons. Sometimes it’s caused by laziness, but many times procrastination is a result of not clearly defining a set of steps. This often happens when a project is so bing that you simply don’t know where to start.
To get past this, the best course of action is to jot down every single task that needs to be done for every project.
These individual tasks should be small enough that they can be done in a single sitting so that, when you look at your project list, it’s not overwhelming to think of everything you have to complete.
A performant CEO of a big company, will set goals for each day and then creates a task list based on those goals. The precise focus on that day, and only making goals for the next day after that day is over, gives me an advantage over others, as it gives me flexibility to adjust around unforeseen obstacles and opportunities . This helps me move much faster than others who only look at the ‘big goals’.
The key here is to – create lists based on bigger goals, which helps him focus on the important things.
Step 3: Show only certain tasks.
To combat overwhelm, you can take a project list full of actions and use filters to show only the task you need to complete on a specific day.
For instance, before starting a workday (or even better, the night before), mark a few key tasks that have been marked as high priority. That way, you focus on only the most important items without being distracted and getting overwhelmed by seeing the larger task list.
If you’ve setup your projects list (and associated tasks) in your favourite central place which we discussed earlier, review the tasks you need to complete and add the ones for your next workday to another list. Then close the diary or file, and put it away until you start planning for the next day.
Step 4: Set Specific deadlines.
Deadlines create a sense of urgency. Even if there isn’t an actual deadline for a task, give it a due date so you’ll have a sense of urgency for completing the task.
Step 5: Evaluate your project list.
As entrepreneurs we all have random moments of inspiration. Some of these ideas often turn in to projects. The problem ? When you keep adding projects to your list without closing the previous ones, you’ll end up with a. Long list of things to do.
You’ll also find that some projects keep getting pushed to the bottom of the list. To keep your project list fresh, skim through it on occasion.
When you notice that certain projects have been on the list a very long time, evaluate whether or not you were to keep focusing on them, evaluate whether or not your were to keep focusing on them. Just because you wanted to do something at one time doesn’t mean it’s the best thing, for you to do now. Don’t be afraid to eliminate the ideas that are no longer relevant.
On the other hand, if fear, laziness or insecurity is keeping you from tackling a project, it may be good to move it to the top of your list so you can knock it out sooner rather than later.
Step 6: Create checklists for routine activities.
It may seem silly to create a checklist for tasks you do on a routine basis, but having a checklist forms you to take action, especially if the specific tasks are easy to complete.
Also a checklist keeps you from forgetting to do an important step that may fall through the cracks if you don’t write it down.
For instance, John uses a checklist for his blog posts. Most of the items would be done regardless of whether or not they or on a list, but having a pre-established process makes it easy to remember every mini action. It also gives him a sense of accomplishment to put a checkmark next to another item that has been completed for the day.
Implementation :
We’ve just gone over a six-step process for maintaining multiple lists, but here is a simple plan for building the list-making habit.
Action 1 : Setup a system for your projects. This will be a place to keep track of all of the projects you are working on. You can use a project management system and a task management system. I use notion app for managing every day tasks and also as a journal. There is one more app that i really like which you can checkout in this article – Tools that I use everyday to optimize my productivity (coming soon).
The main thing is to have a place to keep track of all of the projects and tasks you need to complete.
Action 2: Jot down a list of potential projects for different areas of your life. This list should include items from your business and your personal life.
Action 3: Take each of the projects you jotted down in the previous step and break them down in to small, individual tasks. Create checklists for the tasks that you do on a regular basis, and add those to your project management system.
Action 4: At the end of your workday (or first thing in the morning), plan out the most important tasks that need to be completed. Then start the day by focusing on these activities.
