Take a More Realistic Approach to Your To-Do List with the 3 + 2 Rule There are SO many grammar and spelling problems in this article, I found it VERY difficult to follow what the author was trying to say. Normally I can look the other way, but when the grammar is so bad it interferes with the message, it needs to be fixed. "Why bother why you will be working the whole day anyway?" * should be: Why bother when you will be working the whole day anyway? "Or sometimes I haven't been switching for a longer time and then I completely loose track about the project and it took me hours to get on the track again." * s/b: Or sometimes I go a long time without switching and then I completely lose track of the project and it takes me hours to get on track again. "Context switching is ridiculously easy because this way you don't switch just very few times per day!" * s/b: Context switching is ridiculously easy because this way you only switch a few times per day! "…considering how easy is to switch between (small number of) projects, just do switch!" #corrections
The To-Do List: You're Doing It Wrong. Here are 5 Alternatives. Editor’s Note: Make sure you don’t miss on this insightful and useful article. I cannot tell you how many times I have scuttled a to-do list in a failed attempt to get more done. The to-do list seems like such a necessary element of an efficient work day. Nearly everyone I know keeps a list of some sort, and those who don’t wish they did because it’s so hard to remember all that needs to be done. My heart’s in the right place, but still I constantly fail at maintaining a standard to-do list. Am I doing something wrong? It seems that to-do lists make sense in theory, but the actual application of to-do lists often leads to big breakdowns. Sometimes it feels like the list controls you, you don’t control the list. That being said, there are some unique alternatives to the classic to-do list. Here are five off-the-radar ways to put a different type of to-do into working awesome. Take Charge With a 1-3-5 List Your standard to-do list is a running tab of what needs to get done. Try a 1-3-5 list.
My Screenshot To-Do System « Best To-Do List When we are making up our own, often hacked together, to-do systems, one of the problems can be: how do we get certain parts of our workflow to “speak” to each other? For instance, how to we get important Gmails onto our to-do list on our phones? More often than not we have three (or four) systems: a basic email prioritizing system, a smartphone To-Do app, an almost subconscious way of organizing things on our computers, and perhaps even pen and paper, while we work. One great solution is to utilize a tool that we all have wherever we are working – and we all use – the simple screenshot. A screenshot works when we are on our email. This guide will show you how to set up a to-do system that automatically collates all your To Dos into one list, where it can be prioritized, viewed across devices, and can link out to almost any sort of media. This system uses Email Capture One of the biggest frustrations with email is the inability to arrange important items into a custom, prioritized order.
Why You Never Finish Your To-Do Lists at Work (And How to Change That) from Forbes Limit your meetings. Before scheduling a meeting, think about if this could be resolved with an email or phone call first, or by popping into someone’s office for a few minutes. LinkedIn released a survey last year revealing that our professional to-do lists are in dire need of a makeover. So if you’re sick of tackling the same stale to-dos every day, it’s time to change that. 1. Let’s be honest: If you wanted to get a complete view of everything you had to do for work right now, chances are you can’t find it all on a single list. And while it’s generally good practice to separate work and play, having a single place for your work-related tasks is a must. Make sure, however, that you can add to your list from anywhere—which means that if you use a desktop app, you’ll want to set up a system to capture to-dos incurred away from your computer, such as assignments you get while in a meeting. 2. 3. I’ll admit that this one is tough for me, but it works. 4. 5.
The To D'oh! List: Limiting and Learning from Your Mistakes I agree, this seems like a great idea and I'm already thinking of ways to implement this for myself, using your system as a base. The subject of mistakes has also always been interesting to me, particularly for that fear we all have "as if recognizing them was an acknowledgement of fundamental, irreversible flaws." It took me a while to learn that making a mistake was not the reflection of a flaw in my character as a person, but rather just proof that I'm HUMAN and like all others I make MISTAKES. Once I made the distinction that failure or mistakes were just learning opportunities, my view of life shifted like this: If I try something and succeed, it means whatever I'm doing is correct, I should just keep doing what I'm doing, and enjoy the natural benefits of success (praise from others for a good job, feeling accomplished and confident, etc.) This shifted my outlook immensely.