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How Do You Keep Track of Your To-Do List?

Posted by: Julie Morgenstern on July 10

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I spent a couple of days last week onsite at a client’s headquarters, seeing individual managers for back-to-back, one-on-one time management sessions. Highly accomplished global executives, almost every one of them struggled with finding a good and reliable system for keeping track of everything they needed to do. Meetings were easy: kept on their calendar and managed by their assistants. But the calls, writing projects, meeting preparation, reading, research, and long-term initiatives were far more elusive.

Scattering your tasks and reminders between a variety of post-it’s, notepads, multiple planners and calendars, and your email box is a recipe for time management trouble. Hours are wasted transferring information, second guessing what to do next, and worrying about what might be forgotten.

Having a single, reliable to-do system puts you in command of your days by providing a complete picture of everything you need to do. Prioritization is easier when you have full context. And you are more confident staying focused on the moment, when everything is present and accounted for.

Your to-do list becomes an extension of yourself, so you have to pick the right one for you. What have you chosen for yourself? Do you like paper or electronic? Do you keep a master to-do list, integrate your calls and actions into your daily plans? Do you keep your own to-do list, or get help from your assistant?

Haven’t found the right system yet? Decide whether paper or electronic system is the best fit for you by answering the following questions.

PAPER:

_____ Your thinking flows easiest when writing things down, pen to paper.

_____ Physically writing things out helps you remember them better.

_____ You tend to remember where on a page you wrote something. (“The phone number is green ink in the upper right-hand corner of the page.”)

DIGITAL:

_____ Your thinking flows easily typing directly into a keyboard or through a stylus.

_____ You have a good memory for dates, numbers, and chronology.

______ You have constant and easy access to your computer list for regular reference and updating.

Reader Comments

Jackie

June 1, 2009 02:30 PM

I use a digital/paper combination.

I use Outlook tasks for my master task list. It is so easy to transfer incoming emails from my clients to my tasks folder, this makes the most sense.

I use a paper list to keep track of the 10 tasks I must complete today.

Virtual Internet Marketing and Administrative Services for Mortgage Professionals
http://www.MortgageVirtualAssistant.com

Galen

August 12, 2008 11:02 PM

Is there a legal or policy issue to be dealt with if personal and business items are kept in the same planner or PDA? Some businesses, governments, etc. could theoretically claim that they own the business information and wish to keep the planner or PDA if you separate from employment. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Joyce Maroney

July 31, 2008 04:57 PM

I learned long ago that if I don't have a system for tracking my commitments, they don't get done. I use a combination of paper and electronic. I am a prodigious notetaker, and don't attend meetings without my notebook. Said notebook has the 2-page per day Franklin Planner pages as well as additional paper for note taking. All the notes taken each day are either filed chronologically in the Franklin Planner or in manilla folders for ongoing projects. I can then cross reference my calendar to find the notes later.

On the electronic front, I keep all meetings (including personal), to do's and contacts in Outlook. I always have the BlackBerry with me, synced to Outlook. I assign tasks to my subordinates via Outlook, so that I have a running list that will prompt me to follow up with them to track progress.

My assistant has access to my electronic world so that she can do anything I need her to on my behalf.

People who see my automated to do lists comment that it seems daunting to keep it up. For me, it's very liberating to know that I don't have to rely on memory to keep me on track.

Joyce Maroney
www.workforceinstitute.org

Terri Carey

July 15, 2008 02:12 PM

I use my email as my master to do list – organizing them by client – noting the most urgent and even sending reminders to myself this way. It’s handy to keep it all in one place! You are right that we all need to find what works for us. Of course the more you delegate – the shorter your list!

Terri Carey
Virtual Assistant for Coaches
TLCServicesOnline.com

Regina

July 10, 2008 12:00 PM

Over the past 10+ years I have tried different types of planners. I started with a little monthly calendar, and graduated to a professional paper planner. When PDA's were introduced, I tried that, but always kept the paper planner too. I found the PDA was not my thing, and realized I was a "paper person". I put everything, business and personal, in one place, so I only have one place to look. Works beautifully for me.

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About

Julie Morgenstern, Linda Stone, and David Allen Productivity guru Julie Morgenstern teaches us how to get organized, save time, and reclaim our sanity. Linda Stone, a former Apple and Microsoft executive and frequent speaker and consultant, helps us learn to manage our attention. And David Allen, the widely followed author of the popular book Getting Things Done, helps us accomplish things more efficiently.

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