How do you organize and streamline your tasks?

To-do lists are always a favorite, but also utilizing calendar management is a key skill most often overlook. We block time in our calendars for meetings, luncheons, trainings and so forth. Why wouldn’t we do that with time-sensitive tasks or better task load management? Did we all not have “blocks” for subject periods in school, too? Utilizing digital platforms you already use on a day-to-day basis eliminates the need for shuffling papers, and potentially losing them! Nurture your color key guide, and be strict with YOUR structure in your calendar. Others will follow when you lead by this example of utilizing task and calendar management simultaneously. They are hand in hand in all jobs!

Once I’ve made my list, I consider each element in one of three ways: is it essential; is it something I should do; or, is it something I would like to do? Prioritization helps you to realign your actions, so they are consistent with your beliefs.

I also love calendars, project and task management platforms. One of the ways I get my most important tasks done is to write the ten most urgent tasks down. I then time block to ensure I give myself time to complete them.

I love a good tool & even more a good system. I use a task management tool & cross reference my calendar daily to ensure my tasks are aligned with meetings, deadlines, mom life etc. Its an invaluable part of my life & keeps the trains running. Good systems produce consistent concise & clear outcomes.

Many people know this from Steven Covey's Seven Principles of Highly Effective People. Identifying and prioritizing the important and not urgent will set you apart from others.

My wife introduced me to Microsoft Lists find this to be a great tool for keeping my activities organized. It sure beats the old days of using a spreadsheet or a to-do list. I also use it to help my son keep track of his schoolwork and to stay on task. If you haven't looked at Lists yet you should take a look.

Time blocking is an effective way for the way my brain thinks. It’s to focus on one thing for 1 hour. Then put that away and work on the next thing. If it’s not on my calendar it isn’t real :)

I agree. Break down large tasks by deadlines and priorities. You must try to translate as much clarity as possible, to your tasks if you have multiple reporting lines. That way you can benchmark your progress against your deliverables.

I find the Pomodoro Technique very useful to get going on a particular task, which I keep postponing. Although not a sophisticated and new technique, it helps me to reduce overwhelm and procrastination by cutting out other distractions and multitasking for the 10-15 minutes' duration of the pomodoro. By focusing one pomodoro at a time, I achieve more, gain time, energy and inspiration. It creates momentum as I am encouraged to dedicate a series of 15 minutes sessions to complete that particular task, which otherwise would not have got done. Although you can get an App, I find it easier to use a kitchen timer to set slightly shorter or longer times.

Invite yourself to be in a flow state by finding the ideal space between complexity and boredom. Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi's book is the bible on this.

When I was initially exposed to SMART - it was taught as Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-orientated. A few years later I came across an article that explained what SMART really stood for: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, RELEVANT, Time-orientated. The difference is was the R. To test if an item is relevant you ask the question "what happens if XYZ is not done?" If the answer is not much it is not a key goal and should be dropped as a key goal (it may be still need to be done as BAU). This coupled with a saying that "smart" people set their own SMART goals was phenomenal game changer for me.

This can be effective for tasks you are resisting but if you want to get into deep work, I recommend a 90-minute block instead, respecting ultradian rhythms.

I often tell my clients to work their PEC's: Plan Execute Calibrate We often rush to the next task without capitalizing on what we have learned from the last one.