Are you a "Paper Person?" Consider an Electronic To Do List

Focus Newsletter, March 2008

I had a new client tell me recently that she felt she should write a task list every day, but that she doesn't. Knowing that I am about to assist her in this area was something that comforted me greatly and while she doesn't know exactly what's coming, she's very much looking forward to getting a new task management system in place electronically in Outlook. I'm looking forward to it too.

I cannot imagine living without my task list in Outlook. I put everything in there and I never lose track of what I intend to do at any moment in time, for business or for personal tasks. If I ever stopped using it, then I couldn't trust it anymore. I keep using it so that I can keep relying on it. I've taken the time to plan what should be done and when.

Since there are only so many hours in a day, I have prioritized all of my tasks and have made choices about what should be accomplished in the time I have. I decide the best use of my time and then I know I'm not wasting any of it. This is not to say that things don't change daily, or even hourly, because they do, but this list enables me to stay flexible and responsive. Things shift all the time, but nothing gets missed or forgotten.

For those of you who still use paper for a to do list, like pads of paper, a planner, post-it notes, or maybe you use your memory entirely, consider making a change to an electronic to do list. It doesn't have to be in Outlook. It can be in Palm or Entourage or Lotus Notes. Outlook, in my opinion, happens to be the best and most powerful, but a good task management system is workable in other software systems too.

Here are the 3 best reasons to start using an electronic to do list:

1.  You'll never have to write or re-write your to do list again AND you'll never have to consolidate multiple to do lists ever again. How refreshing! It's electronic, so it's easy to read and easy to change. Just make adjustments to task descriptions or dates and your list is as accurate and up-to-date as ever.

2.  You'll never have to wonder what you're missing on any to do list if you have more than one source for to dos. For instance if you're using pads of paper, a planner, your memory, post it notes, or using the papers, files and emails themselves as the reminders to do things, then you'll never have to scan your desk or your email for what to do next. It all gets incorporated into a single, cohesive system where you can effectively compare and contrast all you need to do, have to do, want to do and dream of doing? all in one trusted system.

3.  You'll have a list in order by the date you plan to do things so it's easy to prioritize. Not only that, but you'll be able to quickly reprioritize at any given moment of the day. It takes only seconds to reprioritize or delete or add a task and you'll never have to wonder where a particular reminder is in your office ever again. You'll only have ONE place to look for all tasks and then you can make decisions quickly and easily about the best use of your time and what priority to pursue next.

So consider letting go of paper for managing a to do list. As well, stop trying to keep it all in your head! If you want to make sure that the right things get done at the right time, then start using an electronic to do list, get everything on it that you need to do and get on the road to peak productivity!