Your Task Management System

There are three reasons we don’t get things done:

• We haven’t identified what “done” means. Getting in the habit of clarifying the outcome of a task or a project is key. That’s why we included that in our vision plans - we want to know what done looks like.
• We don’t know what to do next. Getting clarity on the next physical action you need to take is the master key here. If you have something written down like “mom’s birthday” or “write book”, your brain likely seizes up. You need to ask yourself what the next thing is that you could do to move it forward.
• We haven’t put those next actions into a system that our brain trusts we will review regularly. You probably aren’t thinking about that meeting you have next week with your boss. Because you know you’re going to be reminded about it at the appropriate time - it’s parked in your calendar, and your brain knows you review your calendar regularly. Your brain trusts your calendar as the final word on any time-based commitments you have. You want to have the same trust in the rest of your system.

Your task management system is the solution. It doesn’t have to be complex, and it doesn’t have to be digital. What it does have to be is:

• Comprehensive - it’s not enough to have a subset of your tasks in there. You need to capture all of it. Your brain won’t let go unless it knows it can trust your system.
• Pleasant - you won’t stick with a tool that you don’t enjoy using.

I use Things. But the tool doesn’t matter.

Outcome thinking

You’ve already done a fair amount of outcome thinking as we’ve worked on our visions together. When you created your 1 and 3 year plans, you hopefully defined what “done” meant.

You can do the same in many other areas of your life. And once you get in the habit you create clarity for yourself and the people around you.

Outcome thinking gives clarity and direction.

Think about the next meeting on your calendar. Does that meeting have a clearly defined objective? Odds are it doesn’t. Not really.

Imagine a world where every meeting invite you send includes a purpose for the meeting and desired end state. Imagine if every project that kicked off in your organization had a clearly defined vision of what “done” looked like? Imagine if everyone in your organization did the same thing?

Outcome thinking allows you to dream.

The outcome you visualize determines to a large extent the end state. So it’s the perfect time to not just ask what “done” looks like, but what “amazing” looks like.

I don’t believe you accidentally create amazing products, amazing services, amazing experiences. I believe you design them. And this starts with creating a picture of what amazing means.

As you define the projects in your life and work, take a minute to visualize the outcome. And ask yourself what amazing would look like.

Next Actions

Look at your todo list. There’s a good chance you have something on there like “garage” or “summer vacation.”

A major reason why we feel so much anxiety in our lives is we have a big list of amorphous stuff that we know we’re supposed to be moving on, consciously or subconsciously.

Identifying what “done” means is the first step. Identifying the next physical action is the second.

It doesn’t take long to do this - usually a minute or two of thinking.

Take “mom’s birthday.” My inner dialogue might go something like this:

• Mom’s turning 70. I want her party to be amazing.
• She would probably love to have a bunch of friends there, especially folks she hasn’t seen in a while.
• I bet she’d love letters from people who care about her.
• She loves italian food.

This becomes:

Project: Throw an amazing 70th birthday for mom

• What done looks like: a reservation at Gibson’s Italia for a private room, with 20 of her friends and family there, with a book of letters from people she cares about.
• Next action: call dad and get a list of 20-30 people I can contact about the party.

The System:

Collect

As you’re working or going through your life, stuff comes up that you might need to do something with. That stuff goes in your inbox.

You want as many inboxes as you need, but no more. I have Things which captures most of it. And I have a drawer in my kitchen for paper-based stuff.

Periodically (once a day, every other day, during your weekly review, etc) you process your inbox.

Process

For each item you ask yourself the following questions:

• Is this actionable? If not, you have three options:
  • Delete it
  • Archive it or put it in your knowledge management system
  • Set a reminder for later.
• Does it take less than 2 minutes to do? (If so, just do it)
• Does it need to happen on a specific date (If so, add it to your calendar)
• Does it need to happen by you? (If not, delegate it and add it to a list of waiting fors)
• Does it take more than one step? (If so, it’s a project. Create a new project, take a minute to define your desired end state, and decide on the next action. If not, just define the next action.)
• Does the next action need to happen soon? (If not, you can set a reminder for later)

Organize

So at the end of your processing, you will have the following:

• A list of projects
• A list of next actions (both for projects and single actions)
• Date-specific tasks in your calendar
• A list of things you’re waiting for from other people
• A set of reminders for things you’re doing later or that aren’t actionable yet.

By getting good at collecting all of the open loops in your life, identifying the ideal outcome and next actions, and putting them into a system you trust, you will become considerably more productive and more peaceful. You’ll always know that you’re working on what you want to be working on, and that you’ll review the other stuff at the appropriate time.

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