There is one workday process that professionals STILL use today to try to manage their workload, but it’s archaic and outdated. It’s also inefficient, ineffective and highly unproductive. And because this is true, this process will ALWAYS put professionals into S-L-O-W motion when they MOST want to make progress.
What’s the process?
Writing to-do lists on paper.
This process SEEMS like the right thing to do, because it’s SO familiar. It’s common and pervasive, but professionals just don’t realize how inefficient and ineffective this practice is, and how much time is wasted in the process that could be saved.
Not only this, but using paper for managing—or trying to manage—to-dos is risky, because that to-do list is not going to be all-inclusive of what you’re responsible for. It CAN’T be. It’s PAPER. And paper is a TOOL, not a SYSTEM.
Did you know that tasks come from MORE than ten different sources in your workday? You probably do know this, but never thought about the implications and how best to keep up with all of those sources.
Think for a minute about your calendar. Imagine trying to figure out where to go for meetings, calls, events, lunches, and conferences by checking a dozen different sources or using a dozen different calendars. It just doesn’t work.
And yet(!) professionals are trying to keep track of tasks and figure out what to do next by reviewing all the sources of tasks repeatedly, such as email, voicemail, texts, meeting notes, social media, the papers and files on the desk, paper-to-do lists and more. It just doesn’t work.
What you and many other professionals may not realize is that it’s actually IMPOSSIBLE to efficiently and effectively plan, prioritize and accomplish those tasks while trying to manage them ONLY from their sources, without missing losing or forgetting something—or a LOT of things. When professionals try to manage tasks ONLY from their sources, it means they’re constantly reviewing those sources, trying to remember the important tasks, comparing them and deciding what to do next after completing a previous task.
If you’re doing this too, you’re probably looking at what is on your desk that was left there as reminders of things to do. You’re looking at email again and again to see what’s been flagged. You’re checking post-it notes and messages to see what phone calls came in that need to be returned. And if you have one or more to-do lists on paper you’re reviewing those tasks and comparing them to all of your other tasks—if you can REMEMBER them—from all the other sources.
It’s a recipe for inefficiency, and makes it VERY easy for tasks to slip through the cracks.
It’s also a HUGE waste of time and energy.
However, while there’s nothing we can do about the many sources of tasks in your workday—which will always number more than 10—you CAN do something about HOW they are managed.
If you want to get 100% clarity of what you’re responsible for and you want to THOROUGHLY plan and prioritize those tasks, and have 100% certainty that you’re making smart decisions about how you’re spending your time, get away from paper for managing tasks.
The paper to-do list isn’t going to work and it hasn’t worked for a VERY long time.
A paper to-do List will NEVER fill the gap where a task management system should be.
What’s missing from the workday is a simple system and an east process for planning, prioritizing and accomplishing tasks.
You can MASSIVELY increase your levels of efficiency, effectiveness and productivity—and save LOTS of time and energy—by consolidating tasks into ONE centralized, digital task list.
In addition, you also need a simple, continuous process that DOESN’T require you to do repeated reviews, re-reading, re-gouping or rewriting of to-do lists.
When all tasks are in one centralized system, you can plan and prioritize them easily, consistently and accurately. You’ll get a VERY high-level of clarity and control. It’s much easier to see what you should plan to accomplish today versus on other days.
This is like having all of your appointments on ONE calendar, where you can see how many appointments you have planned for today and for future days.
Throughout each day, new tasks can quickly be added as they appear, so you’re AWARE of them, even if you cannot accomplish them right now. You can compare new tasks to existing tasks and make smart decisions about what takes priority. You can delete tasks when there are no further action steps to take. And you can easily re-prioritize tasks as your day changes and priorities shift—and they always do.
This is the only way to manage ALL tasks efficiently, effectively and productively. It’s much easier, more efficient and time-saving to look in ONE digital location that has the capacity to hold all of your tasks, no matter what the source, what the priority level, or when you’ll take action.
A centralized task management approach will give you 100% awareness of what you need to do and when. It’s a strong plan that’s ready for action, but is also flexible so you can turn on a dime without missing, losing or forgetting anything.
Imagine…
- Having ALL of your tasks, and reminders in one system.
- The incredible clarity a centralized plan can give you.
- Saving time that would otherwise be wasted writing and rewriting to-do lists.
- Having a complete bird’s eye view of all of your responsibilities.
- Saving time from short-term planning, long-term planning and re-grouping.
- Gaining more confidence that you’re on top of your priorities.
- Doubling or tripling your efficiency and productivity.
- The major progress you can make on the projects that matter the most to you.
Imagine realizing… your job just got easier.
