September 1, 2018

How I stopped letting my to-do list run my life

Since the time I could hold a pencil and scribble I liked making lists. This is also probably why I also have an unhealthy obsession with clipboards. Nothing gives me a greater jolt of pleasure than holding a clipboard and scratching something off a list. I just love to mark an accomplishment, no matter how small. It is my way of knowing that I’ve done something of value with my time and energy. I like being deliberate when it comes to how I spend my time. Lists have always helped me ensure that I did just that, until my life got complicated.

In 2015, I was on the brink of a productivity meltdown. I had just been promoted and my project workload doubled. It was so hard for me to keep track of the things I needed to get done for work, not to mention the many obligations I had outside of work. My to-do list just kept getting longer and longer, and I could never get ahead.

I was never sure if I had captured all the tasks on my written lists. I was at a major loss too if I left my list somewhere. Even if I had all my lists, I had trouble seeing priorities across projects, so sometimes I would work on something all day, only to realize at the last minute that I had forgotten to do something due the next morning. Needless to say, I felt VERY unproductive and found myself dropping the ball more often than I would have liked. Most nights I went to bed trying to remember if I needed to add anything to my list and then I would pray that I hadn’t missed something important. The perfect recipe for a sleepless night.

My life felt like a mess. I needed a better way. Thankfully my prayers were answered when my husband introduced me to Asana. I had been lamenting to him for weeks about my challenges with managing my projects and to-do lists at work. Lucky for me, Chris is really good at staying abreast of the latest business and technology trends, so as soon as he ran across Asana, he sent me a link and a note.

“Hey babe, I think this may help you with managing your projects. Check it out.”

Asana is an online project management and work tracking tool designed for teams. When I logged in for the first time, however, I saw it as the ULTIMATE to-do list system. It took me about two years, but I finally crafted a system of to-do list management that keeps me in balance with my professional and personal life. Although, you don’t have to use Asana, I found it to be the best and easiest tool to use. The two critical changes that Asana helped me make was

Making my to-do list available anytime, anywhere
Planning my to-do list tasks by DO date rather than Due date

Putting this Strategy into Practice

I have five tips for using Asana or a digital to-do list to manage your tasks and sleep better at night.

Group your tasks into categories or projects.
Grouping your tasks into projects or categories, helps you do a brain dump of all the to-do’s you had in your head. When you are creating or adding to your to-do list the category or project name will help jog your memory.
Add tasks as soon as you get them.
My memory is unreliable. That is why as soon as I am asked or I realize I have a to-do I create task in Asana. I have the Asana app installed on all of my mobile devices and since it is a web application, I can access it from any computer as well. Basically, I don’t have any excuse to let a to-do slip off my radar.
Start and End your day with to-do list review.
As part of my morning routine I do a brain dump. I try to think of all the tasks I need to add to my to-do list for each project or category. Then I determine what tasks I will DO that day and at what time. Throughout the day I refer back to the list to check off tasks, to see what I need to do next or to add new tasks. The great thing about Asana is there is an app for it too. This helps me add tasks on the go when I think of them.
Set a DO date not a DUE date for each task. This is the secret to my success. Instead of a tracking tasks by DUE date, I assign the date that I will DO them. If there is a DUE date that I need to keep track of, I create a separate MILESTONE task or I include the DUE date in the heading or description of the task.
Set a DO time for each task based on your optimal time to complete.
Asana allows you to set a date and time for tasks. At the beginning of each day, I assign a time to each task I plan to do that day. I assign the time based on when I have time and the energy to actually DO the task. I usually assign the time in priority order so that i get the most important or challenging thing done first thing in the morning when I have fresh clear head.
Strike While the Iron is Hot!
I have a 5 minute rule which I learned from my boss. It is not for food, but for tasks. If someone asks me to do something that will take less than 5 minutes, then I do it right away. Instead of spending 1-2 minutes adding it to my task list, I just get the task done. The 5 minute rule helps me get more done and it helps me keep my to-do list manageable.
Get a handle on emails request.
Creating tasks from emails was a game changer for me. I often joke that I don’t like email because it creates a way for people, other than your boss, to assign you work. I tried using flags in Gmail and Outlook to keep track of tasks embedded in email. I would try to go through the flagged emails at the end of the day, but I often found that I didn’t have enough time to get thorough all of them. The tasks in my email just grew and grew. Finally, I decided to just create a tasks as soon as I read the email. Asana makes this really easy with the Gmail plug-in and with “add tasks by email” function.