Organizing Tasks

One of the challenges faced by people when developing a task list is to control the urge to add too many tasks to the list. We are usually over enthusiastic about adding tasks to the task list. On top of this if the task list is not managed and kept up to date it can lead to cluttered and disorganized list with one too many tasks in it. Consequently the task list grows bigger and bigger with so many tasks that they appear insignificant and can get lost in the pile of tasks. The task list becomes a laundry list and it is no secret that a laundry list is a reference to a long, undesirable list. This usually happens when all tasks are grouped in one single list. The cardinal rule of having simple and short task list is then violated.

One way to remedy this situation is to organize tasks into meaningful groups of to do lists that are relevant and make proper sense. By organizing tasks in this manner you are saving yourself from exorbitant amount of time needed to manage and maintain the task list. But you have to be cautious and not repeat the same mistake you did with the tasks i.e., not create too many to do lists. Your to do lists should only be a limited number of them. They should be created in such a way that they are logical group for the tasks that you will put in this to do list.

This is really a subjective process in other words different people will have different tastes and preferences and will invariably choose a different logical group for the same type of tasks. But for the most part the logical groups could be same across the spectrum of to do lists. It is not necessary to have just one level of groups but sometimes it may be beneficial in having nested groups or to do lists. This type of hierarchical to do lists help you keep the list neatly organized. When you divide and organize your tasks in this manner the list becomes easily accessible and navigation friendly because now you know exactly where to look for a task quickly because you know the likely group or category of the task. For instance in my case I grouped my tasks in two do lists at the highest level: Personal and Work. Within each of those groups I created several to do lists that are logical grouping of related tasks. For instance I have a to do list called “Bills” and I put all my tasks related to bills and bill payments in this to do list. I have another to do list called “Phone Calls” and in this to do list I put all tasks where I have to make phone calls to others. I have other to do lists that function in a similar manner.

As you can image, it became very easy for me to work on my to do lists, access the tasks quickly, and I spend more time and effort to complete tasks than on the list itself. This increases your productivity, focus, and gives you peace of mind, trust me. The list now suddenly becomes from a laundry list of tasks to a much more smaller, simple, and realistic to do lists which are much easier to work with than a lengthy list.