It doesn't matter in what profession or business you are you must be facing a challenge to manage your day-to-day tasks. Take my example at any given point there are at least 10-15 things that I have to do. These tasks could be like paying the bills, filling tax returns, call with clients, meeting with friend, buying new shoes, etc. We have a natural tendency to forget things, which means tasks that we were supposed to do will get delayed further and new tasks will come up and pile on earlier unfinished ones.
When you have large number of unfinished tasks you start getting worried and become stressed. Life is a continuous fight and there will never be relief. People think that by delaying things for future they have made their life easy, but those incomplete tasks will become more difficult when you delay them. So the best way is to organize your day to day tasks in such a way that you can plan their execution along with specific deadlines, believe me by doing this you will feel more confident in whatever you do in life.
Let me show you a simple way to manage your tasks.
1.Notepad: Buy a good small pocket notepad with hard binding, they last long. I suggest you buy Nightingale notepads they are really nice and have nice paper. Don't go for big notepads that you cannot carry around. Always keep it in your pocket.
2. Think: Every morning spend 5 mins and think of the unfinished tasks that you would like to finish that day or in the next couple of days.
3. Put a Date: On top of the page write that day’s date and start writing these tasks.
4. Not more than 10: Don't make a big list. Make a list of not more than 10 tasks daily.
5. Know your order: Prioritize these tasks and also write a deadline by which you want to finish those tasks. After making the list just write the numbers in descending order against each task, like 1, 2, 3, 4...till the last task. Make sure that you first finish tasks with lower numbers. Giving deadlines to tasks is very important, this will give you some visibility about your occupancy for the next couple of days. Suppose someone asks you to meet on weekend in the morning, you can then quickly check your to-do list and check whether you have something planned on that day or not. If you have something already planned then you can ask the other person to reschedule the meeting as per your availability.
6. Mission accomplished: As the day progresses and you finish the tasks strike them off. If for some reason you don't have to do a task that you planned then just put a cross next to it.
7. Start fresh: Everyday make a fresh list, carry forward your tasks from your previous day and give them high priority, because you want them to finish them first before moving on to the new tasks.
Tips
# Never use more than one color while writing. Always use a black or blue pen. Just the best color for writing.
# Don't make different signs on the list. Always devise your signs.
- Put a check mark for completed task or you can strike off the task (it feels good actually :) )
- Put a cross mark for cancelled task
- Put a star for very important critical task
# Leave plenty of space between the tasks. So you have space for these signs.
# Keep it simple. Don't spend too much time just making the list.
# Use a good pen and always use the same pen for writing.
Do not over do this activity and make a huge list. Write down only few doable items each day. Keeping a hand list of task will help you a lot. I know there are many tools and applications to manage your to-do but there is no better way than plain piece of paper. Get organized – Stay Happy :) !
