I have a lot of stuff to do and, probably, so do you. How do you manage it all? Do you manage it all?
Managing my to-do’s is a never-ending optimization effort. In the past couple of years, I’ve used notebooks, post-its, and apps. Tools to capture tasks are abundant, which is fortunate. There are also processes one can leverage to help organize the way those tools are used. Getting Things Done (GTD), Bullet Journaling, and the Passion Planner are among the ones I’ve used in the past and recommend.
Available tools and processes are not the problems when it comes to managing to-do’s. The problem is in finding tools and a process that works well for me. As a result of my un-satisfaction with what’s out there, I’m prototyping a process that caters to my needs. I’m focusing on the process first because the underlying principles that drive the process are more important than the tools with which you engage. Put a different way, I’m defining the blueprints before I decide on the tools.
My prototype takes into account what I’ve learned from the aforementioned systems—GTD, Bullet Journaling, and the Passion Planner.
In this article, I’ll briefly describe those systems then suss out the key principles of each.
Organization Systems
Getting things done
GTD is the most comprehensive of the systems I’ve mentioned—equipped with methods to run through your to-do list, set up your calendar, and plan projects. The problem that I’ve found with it is that getting started is overwhelming. The first step of GTD is to capture all the items in your head either on paper or electronically—from “taking out the trash” to “prepare for a work presentation.” For me, this process is anxiety-provoking. It reminds me of all the things I haven’t done and laying them out all at once makes me feel as though I need to get started right away.
Bullet Journaling
Bullet Journaling is easier to get started than GTD but it still requires some work. You start with any blank notebook and follow a few basic templates to organize your year, month, and day. You can set up your bullet journal in one day and start using it the next. My issue with the Bullet Journal was the upkeep. The process recommends rewriting your to-do’s every day. This became a problem for me every time I had a busy week. I’d have a long list on Monday then, would have to rewrite that list on Tuesday and Wednesday. By the time Thursday came around managing my to-do list became another item I didn’t have time for, which defeats the purpose.
Passion Planner
The Passion Planner is the easiest to get started of the three systems. If you’re unfamiliar with the Passion Planner, it’s a notebook with predefined templates for you to fill in with your goals, to do’s, and calendar events. It’s essentially a goal-oriented daily planner. The issue I have with the Passion Planner is it leaves very little room for customization. If you need more pages than the predefined set pages for the month the system fails.
Key Principles of to-doing
I’m prototyping a system of my own creation that aims to solve the problems of the systems I’ve mentioned. As I am implementing my system I think back to what I like about the systems I’ve used. After a few months of iterating on the prototype four principles have emerged that I feel are important considerations when thinking about organizing your to do’s.
- Reviewing your list(s) should be a quick process. GTD has a great method for reviewing your to-do’s quickly that I consistently follow.
- Your system should account for unplanned items. This is simply a place to track new items that come up throughout the day.
- It should be easy to get started. Extensive setup or gathering comprehensive inventory to get started is a daunting task for those wanting to begin their journey to better organization.
- And lastly, it should have the ability to scale as needed. If you have 2 items or 200 the system should work for you. As you use a system it should grow with the complexities of all your life’s complications.
To be continued
I have yet to describe the details of my prototype and what tools I’m using. In my next article about to-doing I’ll cover those two topics. Until then check out the below links of resources I mentioned in the article.
Links* mentioned in article
*Affiliate links