Getting things done is a topic of many websites out there these days,
and they all say different things. How is a person supposed to get
anything done when there are so many sites to read on how to get things
done?!? I don’t subscribe to any specific guru out there, but here are a
few ways that I have stayed productive for the last several years.
These methods might not be ground breaking, but they work for me, and I
think they will work for you too.
Create Small Lists
I take an 8 1/2×11 sheet of paper and fold it in half three times,
and use one side to make my list. This accomplishes a few things.
First it keeps my list short, which requires me to only put my high
priority items on the list. Second, I can carry it around with me
easily during the day so I can mark things off of the list. This is
very motivating. Finally it saves paper; I just refold it for the next
list! Keeping a small list makes the to-do list less overwhelming and
more manageable.
Put Everything in a Calendar
I put everything in my calendar. The good thing about this is that I
don’t have to remember things, I just check my calendar the night
before (more on this later) and I end up making all my meetings. The
bad thing about this is that if it isn’t in my calendar, it doesn’t get
done. This has taken some training of the people around me as well as
some discipline on my part to keep it up to date. In the beginning
there were a couple missed meetings and phone calls, but the world
didn’t come to an end, and now not many things slip through the cracks.
Whether you keep a calendar in hard copy form or digital form is up to
you. I use Google calendar because I can sync it between all of my
computers and devices so I don’t miss anything. Also, a great tool for
training the people around you is Timebridge. This allows you to
provide a web page to people so they can schedule time with you based on
the availability on your calendar. I use this all the time, and it
prevents a lot of back and forth when scheduling meetings.
Have Everything Accessible
This is very important to me. I try to get everything in digital
form, and put it in a place where I can access it from wherever I am at
the time. There are many tools that make this easy, but the one that I
use is Evernote. This allows you to capture things in many different
ways, and access them from an online website, or sync them between
multiple computers or mobile devices. The other thing I use is an
iPhone. This has become a device I cannot live without. This
particular brand is not required, but some type of smart phone is a
great time saver. You get to carry around your calendar, contacts, and
anything else you can access on the Internet through sites like
Evernote. Additionally, there are thousands of applications out there
to help you do everything. I still write my to-do list on paper though.
Plan the Night Before
Each evening, right before I go to bed, I look at my calendar for the
next day. This allows me to identify any special events that require
something outside the norm, such as an early meeting or a late meeting
that will cause me to miss dinner with my family. This also allows me
to get a good night’s rest because I am not worrying that I am missing
something important for the next day.
There you have it, four simple things that have enabled me to
accomplish an enormous amount of stuff in a single day. They may not be
cutting edge, but they have worked for me for a long time! What are
some ways that you use to deal with the avalanche of things in your
life?
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