Paper vs. Electronic: The Task List Tug-of-War
October 9th, 2011
My last post brought forth a wonderful comment from a reader who stood up for paper to-do lists and while I’m a firm believer in electronic task lists, I know there are many professionals who still use, love and rely on paper.
It’s no surprise to me that many people don’t actually get why an electronic task list is such a big deal. For me, task management – and the electronic task list I promote in Microsoft Outlook® – is the heartbeat of my system – Taskology™ – The Science of Getting Things Done. It’s my passion… and I’m passionate about productivity.
For you, I’m sure you’re thinking a list on paper is the same as one that’s typed up, right? Not the one I teach…
And because only my clients see exactly how I teach task management in Outlook using Taskology™ everyone else is in the dark. So let me shed a little light on this so it’s not such a mystery.
First, I have to mention that *I* don’t even like the default screens in Outlook, even though it’s my software of choice. What I *do* like is that I have the flexibility to move things around and that’s exactly what I do. Things come out and better features go in – without complicating it of course. What I teach is simple, logical and easy to use. It’s just not exactly what you see when you click on your Outlook Task list for the first time.
Second, I have to mention that I don’t teach project management. I teach task management. And while most systems, like Outlook, are set up to do both “project” and “task” management, I only teach task management because it’s driven by next action steps. Getting projects done are all part of Taskology™, of course, but we manage it from determining the first or next action step, while keeping final deadlines in mind.
And third, in Taskology™, tasks go on a Task list, not a calendar. A calendar is for scheduled commitments: meetings, appointments, calls, vacations – any personal or business commitment that’s scheduled. This can also include an appointment with yourself, too, if you plan to spend an hour working on something special. Otherwise, tasks go on a Task list.
Here’s my list of the 5 BEST reasons (out of many more, I can assure you) to use an electronic task list over paper. Even if you haven’t seen exactly how I teach what I teach, these alone are enough to make you drop paper like a hot potato and run.
1. You’ll only have one tool to manage for task management.
Paper lists don’t automatically mean you’re using just one tool to manage tasks. This is one of the things that can cause a lot of chaos and confusion. People often use way more than just one paper list including post-it notes, big pads, medium pads, little pads, legal pads, decorative pads, scraps of paper, spiral notebooks, the papers and files on your desk, your memory, your calendar and more. And just last week my client and I had a good laugh over the two lists of notes and reminders we found on her desk – one on a paper towel and the other on a napkin!
That’s a lot of places to look when looking for to-dos and believe me, I’ve seen my clients use all of these at the same time. Again, this is what can causes a lot of chaos and confusion. And my question to you would be, “How can you prioritize all of that?” You can’t really… but we’ll come back to prioritizing in a minute.
Using an electronic Task list will simplify your day and your task management because there’s only one place to look for everything you need to do, have to do, want to do and dream of doing. There will be no lost to-dos, reminders or deadlines because your list (when properly built and used) will be complete, accurate and up-to-the minute.
2. You’ll never have to write or re-write a to-do list on paper ever again.
Most professionals who use paper lists write one every day, every couple of days or several times a day. That’s wasted time right there. Not only that, but when things get crossed out, it can get messy and confusing. I’ve known many clients who’ve missed critical tasks because they were lost on a pad where the to-dos above and below it were crossed out, and with all the scratching out with pens and highlighters, what was between the lines got missed.
Using an electronic task list, you’re either checking tasks off or deleting them entirely, leaving your remaining list easy to see, easy to read, and easy to use.
3. You’ll always have a complete list.
Lists on paper are never complete. I’ve never seen anyone put everything all on one piece of paper or one list. So when you use a paper list, you’ll never have a total picture of everything you need to do because people don’t generally build them that way. And I’m not recommending that you do. It would be a nightmare.
Paper lists are typically going to be missing tasks like phone calls, e-mails actions, and the papers and files you use as reminders that are sitting on your desk. It could also be missing what you’ve written in your meeting notes, what’s in your memory or what’s already on other pads around your desk.
When this happens, you can easily miss a task, deadline or opportunity because it’s not all right in front of you, already planned and prioritized for today or future days.
Using an electronic Task list in the way I teach it in Taskology™ you build the list completely and entirely so you have a “Mission Control” of sorts where you have all the facts, all the tasks and all the power to choose what to do first, second and third. Plus, you get a really good sense of whether or not you’ve bitten off too much to chew! When it’s all in one place, you can really get a good view of everything so you can decide what to do and what not to do – or what to take off your plate.
4. You’ll have complete list of what you want to do and when.
A to-do list written on a paper typically has only the “what” – it’s what you’re going to do, what you plan to do or what you need to do. I’ve never seen anyone add an action date for every to-do listed on paper unless it’s in a planner and in that case, it’s already listed on the date you plan to take action.
If you’re using paper, you probably just write things down as they come out of your head. Doing the almighty “brain drain” is great, but you’re not actually planning when to take action. (Again, you can do this in a planner, but if you don’t get to it, you have to re-write it.)
Anyway, a lot of times, a list on paper straight out of your head is going to be a list for today or this week, but not much farther out. And if there are any big deadlines you have to meet, you may be capturing those, but they’re “due” dates. The list I teach is driven by “do” dates.
5. You’ll have a list you can easily prioritize and reprioritize all day, every day.
As I mentioned earlier, it’s extremely difficult, if not downright impossible, to prioritize all of your tasks using a paper list. This makes it hard to stay on top of your priorities as your day changes, especially when emergencies and issues come up.
When you use an electronic task list, your target dates for action are your first level of priority. I also teach an additional level of priority when I teach Taskology™, but for now let’s just focus on the action date.
Your day will never be static and therefore your task list will never be static. Your Task list has to be flexible and easy to use so it can quickly change it with your ever-changing day. Outlook and Taskology™ allow you to do that very easily because when your day changes, it only takes a second to change the target date of action for a task if you want to move it forward. You don’t lose tasks, forget tasks or risk missing anything later.
Using an electronic task management approach allows you to keep a list of everything, one that’s accurate and up-to-date all the time, when built and used as directed – like a productivity prescription. And the ability to keep track of all of your tasks and quickly reprioritize are big benefits for today’s fast-paced business day.
Hi Leslie,
I like your reasoning! But I’m not convinced to drop my paper list yet. I’ve never missed an important deadline with my system. I change my to-do list, which is written in a planner, as necessary throughout the day. I write in start dates and follow-up dates as well as due dates in my planner so that nothing catches me by surprise.
I don’t have a problem deciding what to do first, second, or third everyday. If something comes up that requires me to ditch all or part of my planned activities for the day, I write the postponed activities down for a subsequent day.
”
I keep everything in two places – my “brain dump book and my planner. Both are on my desk, within reach of each other. I don’t use post-its, napkins (lol!), etc. to remind me of tasks, and I am certainly no longer foolish enough to rely on my memory!
While I understand your point of view that writing / rewriting a list is wasted time, I personally get much more out of writing in terms of embracing / concretizing what I need to do than when I type it. In that sense, I consider it time well spent.
I guess I’m still “old school,” but the old school works for me. And I’m a believer in the old adage “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”
Out of curiosity, how much time does it take to enter and edit information in your system as compared to writing the same information on paper? Have you ever done such a comparison?
All my best,
Monique
While I’m a firm user of electronic task lists myself, I also think people should use whatever gets the job done. For some people, the sensory feel of carrying a day planner and using pen and paper make a task feel more “real,” and thus they remember their task list better than one online, which feels less important.
Use whatever tool that helps you get stuff done!
Hi Monique,
Thanks for your comments! I love that you love what you’re doing to stay on track and on top of your priorities.
Electronic task lists are not for everyone. However, just last night when I was speaking to a group in Silver Spring, a fan of electronic task lists was explaining to the group that you don’t know there’s a better way until you do. We likened it to what happened when Steve Jobs created technology we didn’t even know we wanted. And while an electronic task list is not new, the way I teach it is unique and when my clients learn the methodology, they are relieved to let go of their paper and take control of their work. They didn’t know they could do the things I show them how to do. But it’s true, it will only work if you WANT it to – “you gotta wanna” – so an electronic task list is clearly not for you!
To answer your other question, the initial build of the Task list in Outlook is where the most time will be invested. After that its a little time each day to add to it, change it or delete from it. It takes only seconds to reprioritize when your days changes.
And no, I’ve not made a study of the amount of time people spend writing lists, nor have a seen any stats out there about it. But really, that’s not the trade off. The real trade off is capturing the opportunities, sales and follow-ups that people miss or forget about. It’s about meeting deadlines that previously have been missed. It’s about delegating more because people didn’t know what they had on their plate – everything they said “yes” to. It’s very fuzzy for some people what they’re forgetting and missing. And maybe that’s not the case with you, which is great!
Thanks again for your comments!
Leslie
Amen, Deborah!
Sadly, it’s when the job’s NOT getting done and many professionals don’t question how they’re managing their day *right now.* And as I said in a previous comment, you don’t know there’s a better way… until you do.
If someone is not ready to take a good, close look at their daily productivity, ready to see where they could improve and then take a leap to try something that works better, then they’ll keep doing what they’re doing and get the same results.
But if a person is as successful as ever and nothing is getting missed, then by all means, do what works!
Thanks for your comment, Deborah!
I’d like to share my experience regarding paper vs electronic. I have tried for 3+ years to go the electronic route. I’ve even had people work with me on this who are big believers in getting rid of paper. It just wasn’t working for me-resulted in lots of frustration, missed appts, incomplete tasks, etc. Two important things about me: I’m an artist and therefore very visual, and I have Adult ADD. I need something I can touch, manipulate, erase and revise. An ADD resource recommended The Planner Pad. It was designed for people like me. http://www.plannerpads.com
Finally, I am having success with task management.
I understand the rationale for electronic task management, but this might not be the right thing for everyone’s brain chemistry and how they make sense of their lives.
Hi Janet,
I enjoyed reading your comment. Thank you for sharing your experience! I commend you for trying something new and finding something that works for you.
I understand that the right brain/left brain thinkers are different and while I don’t work with many folks who consider themselves “creatives” nor do I work with many who are ADD/ADHD (either self-diagnosed or formally diagnosed) I know that the challenges to task management are similar. I’ve read several books from experts who are specifically trying to help creative thinkers and those with ADD in their task management habits and I was actually surprised that the advice was very similar to what I teach.
Anyway, something else I wanted to mention… 70% of the population is visual, so that doesn’t really stand out as a reason not to go electronic for me. Most of us are primarily visual and then secondarily we are either auditory or kinesthetic. You actually sound very kinesthetic, which means you prefer learning and doing in a tactile sense – you need to touch it. That might even be MORE important to you than anything.
In any case, I agree with you that there are different thinkers out there with different requirements, different challenges and different preferences. Good for you for finding something that works so well for you!
What a wonderful thread! I particularly appreciate the comment by Janet regarding ADD – I have had two encounters with professionals with ADD through my time management / getting over overwhelm training and coaching activities and am learning more about helping people deal with this. Thanks for the tip about Planner Pads, Janet!
Leslie — Is your Taskology(TM) program set up so you can print out a day’s worth or half-day’s or hour’s worth of tasks to take with you while you’re out and about? I’m assuming YES, since it’s based on Outlook? This would be a must, since I’m lost unless I have specifics of what I’m up to in front of me, and I don’t (yet) have a super-phone-portable-brain to which I can download a computerized list. THANKS!
Hi Linda,
Yes, you can print the Outlook task with certain details or if you have LOTS of details for a particular task, you can print just that one and see everything. But I would recommend a SmartPhone – or as you say a “super-phone-portable-brain” (love that!) – that syncs with Outlook so you can easily refer to it throughout the day.
Thanks for your question!
Nice comments by all the participants in this thread and special kudos to Leslie for responding in a timely manner to the questions or comments posted. Not many bloggers do this “task” (pun was intended), so thank you for your insight. Also wanted to say thanks for the Gravatar link. I’ll have to check this out sometime when I have the time. Keep up the good work that you are doing Leslie because when you do GOOD WORK you get more WORK!
Thank you, Mark! I love my “work” and love helping others with productivity. When I meet with people in person, there’s no guessing about my level of enthusiasm for what I love to do.
And I try to be timely with replies and comments here on my blog. It’s fun to talk with others and hear their points of view about what I write and about what impacts their work day productivity. Thanks for reading and I look forward to seeing you here again soon.
I appreciate this thread and all the comments and opinions! My main issue (which applies here and also to the challenge of “e-hoarding” in email) is that my practiced way of being is “out of sight, out of mind.” I know I can change that with practice, however, I think it’s been a big barrier for me in using an online task list (I also haven’t gone to a Smart Phone yet) and keeping my Inbox clear. Do you have any particular comments about that, Leslie?
Andrea,
Thanks for your question. One thing that keeps professionals from adopting an electronic Task list (or any new system) is having one foot in and one foot out of the new system or routine. If a person hasn’t completely and totally built it with everything, including to-dos on paper, the ones from phone calls, next steps from meetings and to-dos in e-mail (just to name a couple), it’s hard to make a total transformation. Not only that, but without initial or ongoing training, it can be a challenge for some to know what’s possible, how to start and how to successfully make a total transition from one routine to another. And since e-mail is where many (or most) to-dos are hidden for people, it’s hard to consult a Task list, because there could be more to-dos sitting in the Inbox than on the list. That’s where the Taskology System works well because you can empty your Inbox and keep it empty or low all the time, knowing that all the related tasks are safely prioritized on the Task list. When you build the list completely, keep it up to date and put everything on there that you want to do, you’re more drawn to it and it will support you effectively. The better it supports you, the more you’re going to want to keep it up to date and accurate and it becomes a positive cycle. And at that point, when all your tasks are on one Task list, there’s really no where else to look.