1. Do you have any tasks that are not captured in Swift To-Do List?
2. Do you have to remember any time-sensitive information that you’ve not captured in Swift To-Do List (or other appropriate tool)?
3. Do you have to remember any work-related information that you’ve not captured in Swift To-Do List (or other appropriate tool)?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, I have both bad and good news for you. The bad news is that you are not getting maximum benefits out of Swift To-Do List. The good news is that in just 10 minutes or so, you can feel happier and more efficient.

The #1 cause of work-related stress and worry is the necessity to remember information that is not written down. This starts an endless spiral of worrying and questioning yourself: “Am I forgetting about something important?”

You probably already understand this problem. And I salute you for obtaining Swift To-Do List. However, if you really want to feel relaxed and reclaim all your mental resources wasted on worrying, you need to do the following.

You need to write all tasks, all time-sensitive, and all important work-related information into Swift To-Do List. Not just tasks – but anything you would have to remember otherwise.

Note: If you have a lot of reference material, you might already have some other system than Swift To-Do List for managing it – and that’s completely fine. Just make sure that your mind is not part of that system!

Since version 8, Swift To-Do List allows you to manage not just to-do lists, but also “Lists” in general. You can use them, along with Memos, to capture non-task information.

So, what are you juggling in your mind? Write it into Swift To-Do List, right now. You will be glad you did – and feel the difference with an immediate sigh of relief.

If you would like to learn more about why it is important to capture information into Swift To-Do List, and how to do it best, take a look at my new Swift Mind Freedom e-book.

Related Posts:

• Swift Mind Freedom released!
• Centralize Your Lists with Swift To-Do List
• Getting Things Done (GTD) Tutorial: Commitment Management
• 3 easy techniques to instantly stop procrastinating
• How to keep your to-do list useful, short and motivating
• “Why should I care about being organized?”

30-second check: Do you get the maximum from Swift To-Do List? is a post from: Swift To-Do List Blog

So… do you ever wonder why you can’t get anything done?

Well, Julie Morgenstern, the #1 USA professional organizer, explains what new research revealed:

According to a study published by Cubesmart Inc., we experience on average, one interruption every 8 minutes or approximately 6-7 per hour.

That equals about 50-60 interruptions in an 8 hour day.

Most interruptions take approximately 5-15 minutes. If you receive 50 interruptions daily and each takes 10 minutes, that totals 500 minutes, which is 8 hours per day.

Ouch! No wonder you feel the need to work 12 hours per day… 8 handling interruptions, and 4 getting your work done after hours.

Sobering, isn’t it? Or, consider this study:

“In a recent study, a group of Microsoft workers took, on average, 15 minutes to return to serious mental tasks, like writing reports or computer code, after responding to incoming e-mail or instant messages. They strayed off to reply to other messages or browse news, sports or entertainment Web sites.”

The bottom line is this -

DISTRACTION equals DESTRUCTION …of productivity and your future career and success in life.

Interruptions and distractions are the #1 reason why we can’t get anything done in the office.

Yes, you can use all sorts of fancy productivity techniques, but as long as people and things keep distracting and interrupting you, you won’t accomplish anything. It will be impossible.

You are either distraction-driven, or productive. Your mind is either scattered all over the place, or focused.

It’s your career and future at stake here. It’s a very serious problem – and most people don’t have a clue about it.

Fortunately, here are 5 action steps you can do right now to turn things around -

You absolutely need to get rid of as many interruptions and distractions as possible, immediately. And this is what you need to do -

1. Disable all popups and notifications – on your computer, phone, tablet. Everywhere. Be brutal.
2. Start explaining to your co-workers that when they need something, they should email you. Be polite but firm and persistent. Also tell them that calling you or walking to your desk should be used only in important urgent matters.
3. Check your email only twice a day. Keep your email closed the rest of the day. This is key.
4. Keep your phone on vibrate if possible. And remember: You don’t have to pick up the phone just because it rings.
5. Don’t “train” others to expect your response immediately in trivial matters. If it takes you 24+ hours to reply to an email, they will learn to obtain the information themselves instead of contacting you all the time, sometimes unnecessarily.

Once you do these 5 things, you will make it possible for yourself to actually get something done!

Then, the next step is to schedule some un-interrupted blocks of time without distractions. Once you do that, you will be more productive than ever – and start going home sooner.

The perfect workflow

Your workday can look like this:

1. Look at your to-do list to see what’s next
2. Do it
3. Mark it as complete in your to-do list
4. Go to 1 and repeat

If your current workflow doesn’t look anything like that, well, blame the distractions and interruptions.

PS: Psssst. Let me tell you a secret — ready? — YOU are the one who is allowing the distractions and interruptions into your life. You are responsible. I suggest you take control of your work environment and life back into your hands – today.

You can start by removing the “email drug” needle from your arm, disabling all notifications, and training your co-workers to stop interrupting you all the time.

Related Posts:

• 30-second check: Do you get the maximum from Swift To-Do List?
• Start your workday the right way
• How to murder your productivity
• 5 Counter-Intuitive Productivity Tips
• Outsmarting Yourself for Success
• Be Successful First Thing in the Morning

New research explains why you can’t get anything done is a post from: Swift To-Do List Blog

How do you start your workday?

And if you start workday with a routine, is it an optimal routine?

In one of my previous posts, Be Successful First Thing in the Morning, I emphasized the importance of starting your day the right way. Over time, it makes an enormous difference.

Perhaps you already have your “ritual” to start your workday – for example, you might start your workday by brewing coffee and checking and answering your email. But have you ever considered other (and possibly better) ways of starting your workday?

It might seem that checking your email first thing in the morning makes a lot of sense, as it helps you stay up to date. Unfortunately, it comes with a very high price: It throws you into a reactive state. Even if you’ve already planned what to do after you are done with the email, it will will open dozens of “drawers” in your mind – and it will become much harder to focus on your planned task at hand.

Focusing on a single task at a time is the best way to get anything done. However, focusing on a single task can be a great challenge in today’s information-overloaded environment.

For this reason, I recommend starting your workday by working on your most important task first – after you start your computer, check your Swift To-Do List to see what’s the next most important task for you to do right now, and immediately take action. Don’t do anything else until you make a progress on that task – don’t check any news or social sites, don’t check your email, don’t chat with your co-workers.

Even if you work on this chosen task for just 15 minutes, it will make a huge difference in your overall productivity and ability to focus. After you make a progress on the task, feel free to check your email – now it won’t affect you as much, as it will be easy for you to get back to your started task after you are done with the email.

Plus, you will feel really good about yourself. Right from the start of your workday, you will feel productive. And that can carry you quite far.

I’ve used this approach myself to write the Swift Mind Freedom e-book. Every morning, before doing anything else, I’ve been writing the book for 45 or 60 minutes. It worked great. However, whenever I didn’t start the day by writing, I usually didn’t get to it at all. Remember: Opening email can be dangerous :-)

Related Posts:

• 30-second check: Do you get the maximum from Swift To-Do List?
• New research explains why you can’t get anything done
• Be Successful First Thing in the Morning
• 3 easy techniques to instantly stop procrastinating
• So, do you want to build 100 tiny houses, or 1 skyscraper?
• Always get stuff out of your head

Start your workday the right way is a post from: Swift To-Do List Blog

About Bill: Bill Polm was a career probation officer in Southern California, near Disneyland. Throughout his career he wrote and painted watercolors to keep his creativity alive. He now lives in Oregon, USA, where he finds lots of lovely scenes for painting, and he is working on a novel. He is a grandfather of 6, and thanks God for all of them and good health at 70!

A while back it has been now, I read a post by Jiri on how to format Swift To-Do List to work with Michael Linenberger’s clever strategy for getting control of my workday. Simply put, with Lieneberger’s system (somewhat like David Allen’s Getting Things Done), you list to-dos under 3 categories: (1) Critical Now, for things that must be done today, (2) Opportunity Now, for things that can wait a bit but that I want to get done eventually for sure, and (3) Over the Horizon, also for things I want to do but I’m putting off for longer than those in the Opportunity Now category.

These 3 categories are really priorities. Daily, I do the Critical Now tasks first, then read over my Opportunity Now tasks, if and when there’s time, to decide if and which to tackle.

These lists don’t have to be rigid. They can be flexible, but for me to get the most and the most important tasks done on a continuing basis, it works best for me to do the tasks pretty-much in their prioritized order. I added one priority, since I do a lot of reading in the evening and a few tasks to remember: “Evening”. Here is a screen shot of my Manage Priorities window:

The bottom “Priority” is really only a list of my ongoing projects.

Also, I find it helpful to take frequent small breaks, especially if the tasks involve a lot of sitting and reading or writing and computer tasks.

Now if I want to arrange the tasks within a category, most often I use numbers at the head of the Task Name, like “1 Work on novel planning” then “2 Read a fiction writing tech book,” and so on. At any point, when doing this, I can click on “Task Name” at the top of a category to sort these tasks handily. So if I start with my number 1 in the Critical Now priority-category, I am assured i’m working on the most important task for that day. Notice the numbers heading the first three tasks in the screen shot below…

Since I usually have a lot of projects in the works at any given time, I like the “Reminder” function to remind me that I need to schedule and work on a particular task. I like to work on most my current projects some each day. So Swift To-Do List helps me keep that organized so I know what I’m doing and what I need to do next.

Also, I use the “Recurrence” function to have my tasks repeat. This is particularly helpful to me since I have a lot of ongoing tasks that repeat a lot. And, for example, within the Opportunity Now category, I usually use the “Recur after task is completed.” This creates another of the same task for me, for the next day, once I put a checkmark in the little square box at the left of the task, marking it done.

But I also use the Reminder function to pop-up reminders on particularly important tasks within the Critical Now category. My day is usually filled with a number of different things I want to get done, so it’s easy to forget something. The Reminder function prevents my forgetting–unless I choose to!

I set a reminder in this window, chosen from within the Edit Task option:

I can choose any time to the minute, any date.

Then the reminder pops up on my monitor screen (assuming I have Swift To-Do List running in the background and click on its button in the tray when it flashes. As long as I have my speakers on, it get a pleasant little “doorbell” ring to alert me).

At this point I can click the little down arrow at the right of “Snooze (3 hours) at the bottom, and get this…

There’s something really nice about a “Snooze” button for an occasional procrastination!

I’ve started, recently, using the for lists of things and potential projects.

I created a new To-Do List in the Tree called “MEMOS” and then fit each memo under it with a descriptive title, like “Potential Projects” or “Novel Planning Ideas,” etc.

Having these memos at the left in the Tree means I can click and read them quickly when I want to refer to them.

Also, I use the multi-level numbered lists/outlines in notes to expand my ideas in an organized fashion–very handy, and makes a quick scan of any given list quicker.

Summary: Swift To-Do List has a nearly limitless capacity for storing and organizing your to-dos. The Ultimate edition has even more handy features.

If you take the brief time necessary to familiarize yourself with the features, you’ll be able to fit your style of getting things done. I am constantly tweaking my setup a bit here and there. It’s easy, and heck, most of the time it’s fun!

- Bill Polm

Related Posts:

• Swift Mind Freedom released!
• Swift To-Do List Review by Chuck Gallozzi
• Swift To-Do List Review by Darryl Benjamin
• 30-second check: Do you get the maximum from Swift To-Do List?
• Swift To-Do List Review by Elius Levin
• How to murder your productivity

“How I use Swift To-Do List Ultimate” by Bill Polm is a post from: Swift To-Do List Blog

The practices that promote productivity and GTD are somewhat akin to fractals – if you keep looking closer and closer, the same patterns inevitably recur. At a macro level, GTD requires managing your commitments and tasks through organization and clarification. And at a micro level, GTD requires managing the actions, or steps, each task requires.

Horizontal task management is the macro level. Vertical management is the micro level.

Managing actions helps to further the process of converting the overwhelming mass of your commitments into a coherent, organized and, most importantly, workable set of steps you need to take. Managing actions gives you a clear plan of attack, a manageable group of goals and an improved perspective. And, because breaking things down as far as possible helps make things easier, we’re going to divide your actions into two categories: horizontal and vertical.

Horizontal Action Management

Horizontal action management may sound like a complicated fitness move, but it is simply a means by which you can accomplish actions relating to a number of tasks efficiently. You can think of it as your ‘two birds, one stone’ system, because horizontal action management looks at all of the tasks you have and identifies a common action or actions that moves multiple tasks toward completion.

For example, if your tasks include washing your dog and taking a shower, securing towels is an action that will help you move toward completing each task. Instead of getting one towel when you need it, a horizontal action management system would have you get both towels at once so they are ready when you need them.

If horizontal action management sounds difficult, you can use Swift To-Do List to simplify matters. The program allows you to attach notes and documents to tasks on your list, which is perfectly suited to action management. I like to create bulleted lists of actions for each task in the notes area so I know what steps I need to take to complete a given task. To perform horizontal action management, I look at the bulleted list for each task and identify actions common to multiple tasks. Then, I create a sub-list and enter these actions as my priority/efficiency actions – the steps I can take to make progress on multiple assignments at once.

After a while, you may notice that your horizontal action management tends to reveal preparatory actions, like gathering supplies or research. If the same actions recur in an organized manner, you can use Swift To-Do List 7 to send you reminder e-mails on a consistent basis. Often, the common actions are “first steps” in completing tasks, and by managing them all at once, you can have a head start on future projects.

Vertical Action Management

Vertical action management doesn’t have as much of a “big picture” scope as horizontal task management, but it is still important. Vertical action management is, as Allen puts it, “’project planning’…focusing in on a single endeavor, situation, or person and fleshing out whatever ideas, details, priorities and sequences of events may be required for you to handle it.”

You can think of vertical action management as a checklist or a to-do list, which makes Swift To-Do List 7 such an effective tool for this technique. For vertical action management, you need to list all of the steps required for completion of a task. It’s important to be as detailed as possible and list even preparatory actions. Breaking down tasks into as many actions as possible is important because it makes them more manageable and allows you to identify common actions in the horizontal action management process.

Discover more about the benefits of “breaking tasks down” in the very popular post called “10 best tricks of fooling myself to work“.

The smaller the actions, the more likely you will be to knock them out during the time you have between meetings, lunch or major task work. If you don’t break down your tasks, they can be overwhelming and you’ll need to set aside large blocks of time to accomplish anything and you’ll miss out on the consolidation of actions offered by horizontal action management. Additionally, having a list of actions enumerated for each task allows you to assess your progress more often.

Putting It All Together

Both horizontal and vertical action management are effective tools, but they are most effective when used together. Typically, beginning with vertical action management can be helpful, because when you finish you’ll be able to see the common actions you need to consolidate in the horizontal action management stage.

While action management is time-consuming initially, it will save you time later and can help keep you focused while working on projects. Breaking tasks into steps will also help you understand what tasks need to be completed and how you should work on them. Finally, action management gives you a better appreciation of the scope of your tasks and how much time will be required for completion. With experience gained while using this approach, both your time estimates and productivity will soar.

Post by Brian J. Willet

Related Posts:

• Getting Things Done (GTD) Tutorial: Commitment Management
• Getting Things Done (GTD) Tutorial: Perspective
• 30-second check: Do you get the maximum from Swift To-Do List?
• Swift Mind Freedom released!
• Getting In The Ready State (To Get Things Done)
• Getting Things Done (GTD) Tutorial: Do I Need to GTD?

Managing Actions Horizontally and Vertically is a post from: Swift To-Do List Blog

Unfortunately, modern life presents with a dizzying array of commitments, both work-related and independent of work. Thus, a major component of GTD stressed by author David Allen is that of commitment management. Commitment management offers a way to clear your mind prior to taking on tasks so that you can focus all of your energy on the task at hand.

The first component: Identifying commitments

The first part of commitment management is essentially a brainstorming session in which you identify all of the commitments you have and put them on paper. These commitments can be new assignments or ongoing projects – “anything you consider unfinished in any way,” says Allen – and can be work for your boss or chores you need to do at home. Because these thoughts are cluttering your mind, merely thinking about them won’t help you focus on anything in particular. Instead, you need to put them into what Allen calls a “collection bucket,” and what we like to call a Swift To-Do List task list.

The key features of a “collection bucket” are that you can easily see all of the individual tasks and that you can revisit them whenever you need to. A Swift To-Do List 7 task list satisfies both of these, as the list is just a mouse click away. Using Swift To-Do List 7 actually improves upon the traditional “bucket” design thanks to the to-do list tree. You can create different lists and sub-lists to keep commitments organized. This is particularly helpful if you have multiple projects going on.

Virtually everyone has multiple projects – at minimum, you have your work and personal life. Both can be divided into additional sub-projects.

Second component: Clarifying commitments

According to Allen, the second part of commitment management is clarifying commitments and actions you need to take to complete them. This allows you to further free your mind and understand the scope of your projects. Swift To-Do List 7 is particularly well-suited to this task, as you can write notes and attach files to each of your tasks. This creates an individual workspace for each of your projects, so you’re not muddling your mind with ideas. And instead of worrying about jotting down new ideas on the nearest napkin, you have a place to keep things organized.

Swift To-Do List 7 allows you to attach not just text but images and files to each task in the notes area; consider using this option to create flow-charts or other visual aids to enhance your understanding of the requirements of each task.

The use of sub-lists can also help you plan ahead – further easing and clearing your mind for work – and assess your progress as you move toward your goals. In fact, being aware of your progress and the next step you need to take for any given task is essential to complete commitment management. If you fail to clarify the actions required, the uncertainty will remain on your mind and compromise your focus.

Third component: Creating organized reminder system

The third component of commitment management – and arguably the most important – is creating an organized reminder system that you can review whenever you need to. While you can rely on your brain for this, Allen notes that your brain’s reminder system is often inefficient and tends to kick in only after you needed to take action. Thankfully, Swift To-Do List 7 is tailored to take on this task as well.

Swift To-Do List 7 allows you to set reminders not just on your desktop but as e-mails as well, so even if you’re away from the office but have your mobile device, you can stay informed. This is particularly useful if you often travel for business or have a mixture of commitments in and out of the office. If you’re a freelancer or self-employed, e-mail reminders are invaluable, as your workplace is often mobile. Relying on an external reminder system can eliminate the distraction of trying to keep track of commitments in your mind.

Summary

While identifying absolutely every commitment at once would be ideal, it doesn’t often happen. But don’t be discouraged – remember that commitment management is an on-going process, so you can always add more later. This will ensure your mind is fresh and focused until you’ve checked all of the tasks off of your list.

(…) remember that commitment management is an on-going process, so you can always add more later (…)

Commitment management is a simple yet effective way to take the pressure of juggling all of your assignments off of your brain so you can be totally committed to the task at hand. All it takes is (1) identifying commitments; (2) clarifying completion requirements; and (3) creating an organized reminder system.

Post by Brian J. Willet

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• 30-second check: Do you get the maximum from Swift To-Do List?
• Swift Mind Freedom released!
• Getting Things Done (GTD) Tutorial: Perspective
• Is your to-do list impossible to finish?
• “Why should I care about being organized?”
• Centralize Your Lists with Swift To-Do List

Getting Things Done (GTD) Tutorial: Commitment Management is a post from: Swift To-Do List Blog

Although you may not need to be in the Ready State to do work, it is a definite prerequisite for Getting Things Done. This is because GTD is focused on achieving your ideal level of productivity and efficiency; likewise, the Ready State is an ideal psychological environment. As Allen notes, this state will help you get more done with less effort; the Ready State is “a condition of working, doing and being in which the mind is clear and constructive things are happening.”

Thankfully, the Ready State is achievable for anyone and can be reached more easily than you might expect. To reach this zone, you need to do three things (and Swift To-Do List can certainly help):

• Understand the Task
• Eliminate Distractions
• Embrace the Task

So, let’s look at these in detail:

Understand the Task

The first step to reaching the Ready Zone may seem like the most obvious, but it is also the most frequently overlooked. In order to Get Things Done, you need to know what the things are. However, this step entails more than just reading the subject line of an assigning memo. Rather, you need to engage in PREP:

1. Figure out the Priority
2. Identify Resources that are required
3. Identify End goals
4. Acquire proper Perspective

While the PREP factors are relatively self-explanatory, a brief explanation can help eliminate misunderstandings. Assessing the Priority should be simple, as it’s often explained to you by your supervisor. If it isn’t, ask; you should also ask other authorities for whom you have assignments where the new task falls into place with your existing assignments. Using the Task Type and Priority fields in Swift To-Do List 7 can ensure you don’t mistake the Priority.

Assessing and acquiring the Resources you need can be easy but time-consuming, and it’s important to forget that your best resources can include your coworkers and work you’ve already done. Obviously, there’s no need to redo work you’ve already finished, but even if your task is a completely new one, you may be able to enlist data or techniques from past work into your new assignment.

Your End goals will determine what exactly you do and how you go about doing it; do you have specific budget or time constraints? Or do you simply need to say, reach 10,000 Likes on Facebook by any means necessary? Be sure you know what the End goals are and what time frame you have to reach them.

Lastly, you need to adopt the proper Perspective; we explained the importance and methodology of this step in this post. Briefly explained, the proper Perspective is acquired by understanding where the task at hand falls in your workflow and the overall company objectives; see the task for what it is and don’t be overwhelmed; do only what you need to but never less than that.

Eliminate Distractions

Just as you might expect Understanding the Task to be the easiest step, you probably have an inkling that Eliminating Distractions will be the most difficult. And you’d be absolutely correct. Thankfully, difficult does not mean impossible, and over time you will tackle this task with increasing ease.

Eliminating distractions requires willpower, but it doesn’t require you to make sacrifices; instead, you can make compromises. Using Swift To-Do List 7’s inbuilt timer can help you set productivity goals – you can work on the task at hand for a specific amount of time before you take a break and then time your break to ensure you’re not wasting too much time. By setting out specific blocks of non-productivity, you will be less likely to get off task when it’s time to work.

Additionally, you don’t need to eliminate everything that could qualify as a distraction; listening to music, for example, can provide stimulation while you work on a task and help stave off boredom. It is up to you to assess what is distracting and what is not; common culprits include eating, chatting with coworkers, browsing the internet and multitasking.

See also 10 tips to create more productive environment at your desk.

Embrace the Task

Embracing the Task is what Allen describes as making your “mind like water,” or in simpler terms, going with the flow. This crucial step involves simultaneously letting go of everything else in your mind – work and family commitments, worries and expectations, etc. – and allowing your mind to focus simply on your assignment. Instead of thinking about what else you have to do, start thinking about how anything that does enter your consciousness can help contribute to your task. For example, if a coworker engages you in conversation, ask for feedback on what you’ve done so far. Or, if your computer crashes, let IT staff handle the task and outline strategies on paper.

Often, making the act of emptying your mind of internal and external commitments and refilling it with concerns relating to your assignment can help. Do this by typing out your non-assignment related commitments as a new to-do list in Swift To-Do List 7, and then fully concentrate on a separate to-do list for assignment-related needs. This can set your mind at ease and help you truly Embrace the Task at hand.

Another powerful technique is to utilize the task notes in Swift To-Do List to write down all the details related to the task. See more about this in 10 best tricks of fooling myself to work

Post by Brian J. Willet

Related Posts:

• 30-second check: Do you get the maximum from Swift To-Do List?
• Getting Things Done (GTD) Tutorial: Perspective
• Getting Things Done (GTD) Tutorial: Do I Need to GTD?
• Swift Mind Freedom released!
• Getting Things Done (GTD) Tutorial: Basics
• New research explains why you can’t get anything done

Getting In The Ready State (To Get Things Done) is a post from: Swift To-Do List Blog

Getting Things Done is often touted as a revolutionary system, as it provides a significant departure from the productivity practices ingrained in the workplace. Obviously, overthrowing tools and methods that have been established as ‘the norm’ in offices around the country and world can be a hefty task, so it’s best to approach the task in manageable pieces. So where to begin? By changing your perspective.

Embracing the Big Picture

In the traditional work place, tasks are assigned as individual projects, completely out of the context of the larger overall project of which they are components. Assignments such as memos, spreadsheets and press releases are typically presented as existing in a vacuum, just one project afloat in a sea of unrelated work. And while this may seem to make work more manageable – you only have to think about the page in front of you – it’s actually doing you a disservice. One given document is merely an ingredient in the recipe that your company uses to present a finished product, so it should be treated as such.

As GTD author David Allen notes, “focusing on primary outcomes and values is a critical exercise,” but to be successful, you “must incorporate the results of big-picture thinking as well as the smallest of open details.”

In other words, you need to keep the overarching goals of your company (or business) in mind when you perform each task. By considering what place your assignment has in the larger scope of the project, you can refine your task and focus on what you need to do and what will be accomplished by other components of the project performed by your coworkers.

Big-Picture Benefits

This big-picture mindset can also take pressure off of you and open you up to more stress-free productivity. Altering your perspective – from seeing your task as the end-all, be-all to seeing it as a component in the scope of a larger project – can help alleviate anxiety and bring a feeling of teamwork into even your individual projects. The mindset can aid in promoting collaboration, which facilitates improved productivity and enhanced consistency with end products.

Collaboration is a breeze with Swift To-Do List 7, as you can assign tasks to others, email tasks to others, use notes to capture input from others, and utilize attachments to attach files (such as others’ work product) to tasks on your list. Since version 7.32, you can even create tasks from emails. Swift To-Do List 7 will also soon have full-blown online synchronization and collaboration feature (currently in beta).

From Outcomes to Inputs

But changing your perspective from focusing on small tasks in a vacuum to seeing them as part of the big picture can also work in terms of your own personal workflow. To help you make this transition, it may be helpful to adopt the vocabulary Allen uses in his book. The author classifies tasks as ‘inputs,’ which demonstrates the idea that your projects are means to an end, namely the company’s overall output. Your inputs are all interrelated and support overall project goals; this can be visualized easily with Swift To-Do List 7’s to-do list tree.

If that conceptualization doesn’t help, try a favorite of mine – consider your projects as ingredients in the overall recipe of your workflow.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

The big-picture perspective is crucial because it promotes prioritizing in your workflow. For example, if you’re making chocolate chip cookies (trust me here, I have a lot of experience), some ingredients, such as flour and sugar, are more important than others, such as vanilla extract or chocolate chips. Thus, you need to dedicate more resources to the tasks that represent your flour and sugar, because if you concentrate too much on securing chocolate chips, you may not have dough in which to incorporate them.

Perspective-Promoting Tools

By using Swift To-Do List 7’s filtering feature and ability to view all tasks at once, you can more easily assess the big picture for a given span of time; the feature allows you to view tasks due only in certain time ranges. Additionally, you can assign priorities to each task and sort the list by priority, due date, task type or name for proper perspective. You can even sort the list by multiple columns at once (eg. by Priority first, and by Due Date second).

Often, your mindset can determine your overall productivity. And while it can be tempted to imagine every project as a massively important event, you should remember that completion of an input task is merely a primary outcome, a component of the big picture. This realization will help prevent you from doing overlapping work on multiple tasks and increasing your workload inadvertently.

Seeing your tasks in perspective as part of your Swift To-Do List can alleviate the anxiety associated with getting weighed down in the details of individual projects. GTD guru Allen suggests that a combination of a calendar, to-do list and priority coding are more effective in combination than when used individually, as you may still be susceptible to distraction and lack of appropriate focus. Thankfully, Swift To-Do List 7 incorporates these features and more into one convenient, streamlined piece of software.

Post by Brian J. Willet

Related Posts:

• 30-second check: Do you get the maximum from Swift To-Do List?
• Swift Mind Freedom released!
• Getting Things Done (GTD) Tutorial: Commitment Management
• Getting In The Ready State (To Get Things Done)
• Getting Things Done (GTD) Tutorial: Do I Need to GTD?
• Centralize Your Lists with Swift To-Do List

Getting Things Done (GTD) Tutorial: Perspective is a post from: Swift To-Do List Blog

Acknowledging that you need help can be a difficult thing. But rather than wait for some sort of efficiency intervention, it’s always best to come to the conclusion yourself when it pertains to your productivity. Although the realization that you need to enhance your efficiency and better organize your workflow won’t instantly improve your results, it can act as a definite indication that you need to adopt GTD practices. Taking simple steps within the large realm of GTD practices – such as changing your perspective and taking control — can put you on the path toward increased efficiency and improved work performance. So how do you make this determination? Many telltale signs of the need for GTD exist, but here are a few that stand out in our minds.

Top 5 Reasons You Need to GTD

1. You’re reading this article
2. You’re falling behind
3. You have trouble “getting motivated”
4. You’re not sure if you’re productive
5. You’re overwhelmed by stuff

You’re Reading This Article

Knowledge is power. But power doesn’t equal results, so you’re going to have to move from awareness of the issue – which is commendable, as ignorance is anything but bliss in the workplace – to action on the issue. So if you’re reading an article to help you decide whether GTD is relevant to your interests, great. But that’s not going to make you more productive. In fact, investigating the issue without acting can be what I call a ‘procrastination proxy.’ That is, instead of just being full-out unproductive, you’re putting off tasks that are seemingly beneficial but are still keeping you from the tasks you need to accomplish. Sometimes, your needs have to come before your interests. Reading about GTD may ease your conscience, but it doesn’t address your productivity problems; it’s a proxy for procrastination.

When I work from home, sometimes I feel an incredible urge to clean the kitchen or read up on a topic somewhat related to my work. And while these activities can be described as productive, they don’t help put words on paper, which tends to be my primary goal. When you are seeking out information related to GTD, be sure you’re not just a passive spectator, but are instead consuming the information with the intent to utilize it – be sure your activities are productivity partners, not procrastination proxies.

You’re Falling Behind

No one likes to be behind on work (or play, for that matter), but it’s better to reach the conclusion than to be told about it. If your to-do list grows by the day and tasks keep getting pushed from one day to the next, chances are you’re not keeping up. That’s why Swift To-Do List is so advantageous – it provides a clear, easy-to-understand list of your tasks so you can see individual items that need work and an overall view of the big picture. Swift To-Do List 7 lets you prioritize items and provides customized reminders of your choosing to keep you on task. A personalized, prioritized task list with deadlines makes you accountable and can prevent you from falling behind.

You’re Having Trouble “Getting Motivated”

There are many reasons why you don’t feel motivated to complete work. Stress, lethargy and a lack of interest are possibilities, but a common cause is not knowing where to start. A big part of GTD is gaining perspective; thus, getting your goals and tasks on paper is essential. Visualizing the work you need to complete, in the order you need to complete it, provides a framework for productivity and an impetus to get started because your goals are clear and attainable.

Using Swift To-Do List 7 can get you motivated with on-screen reminders, e-mails, printed task lists and settings for types and priorities of list items. Thus, you won’t just know where to start but you’ll want to start. The ability to attach files and maintain notes on each list item can also help you get over the anxiety of getting to work because you’ll already have some work done to get you off on the right foot.

You’re Not Sure If You’re Productive

At this point, you may be wondering if GTD is really for you. If you’re not consistently behind on tasks or receiving warnings from superiors, you may feel as though you’re productive enough. But could you be more efficient? Honestly, we all could.

One way to tell is to time your tasks. Swift To-Do List provides a timer so you can see how long your work takes you; this allows you to track your performance and see if there is a trend – perhaps you work quicker in the morning or on Tuesdays or after having pancakes for breakfast. Whatever the circumstances, a timer allows you to take notice and take control.

But a less common, though equally advantageous, use of the timer is timing how long you are not on task. Create a task “not working” and time track it every time you surf over to Facebook or start shoe shopping. This will show you just how long you are at work but not working; the results can be astonishing. Tracking this downtime can help you avoid being unproductive in the future by making you cognizant of the time you’re wasting and by making you re-think what you’re about to do; the act of starting and stopping the timer is a reminder that you’re not being as productive as you could be. Save the aimless surfing for your lunch break or you might find yourself permanently on break.

You’re Overwhelmed By “Stuff”

In the workplace, “stuff” can loosely be defined as all of the things standing in the way of you and your work. Whether it’s remembering to grab ice cream on the way home from work or filling out an office survey, having a lot of stuff floating around is never beneficial for productivity. GTD can help you cut through the stuff, if you have the right tools. Stuff tends to be most distracting when it’s floating around your head, so putting your stuff on paper to keep track of it can help you move through it. But still, the stuff remains. What is truly useful is a tool like Swift To-Do List 7’s filters – these allow you to choose what stuff you see, based on due dates, status, start date, priority or task type. This makes your stuff more manageable and keeps you from seeing your stuff until it’s absolutely necessary to do so.

Make your stuff work for you – prioritize appropriately by using lists and sublists (the colored icons can serve as great mental reminders) and your stuff won’t seem so imposing any more.

Related Posts:

• Getting Things Done (GTD) Tutorial: Basics
• Getting In The Ready State (To Get Things Done)
• Getting Things Done (GTD) Tutorial: Perspective
• 30-second check: Do you get the maximum from Swift To-Do List?
• Swift Mind Freedom released!
• One Minute To-Do List

Getting Things Done (GTD) Tutorial: Do I Need to GTD? is a post from: Swift To-Do List Blog

The explosion of mainstream technology, in the form of smart phones, net books and tablet computers, has served to provide ample opportunities for employing your own personal GTD methods, but it has also created an atmosphere ripe with distraction and potential for inefficiency. The key is creating a balance by – to borrow terms from Allen’s book – maintaining proper perspective and control of the tools of your trade.

While you may be tempted to cut corners as a means for GTD, that’s not what GTD is at all. Rather than forcing you to accept impaired productivity due to the inefficiencies of your resources and your efforts, GTD allows you to streamline the work process to get everything that you need accomplished finished and polished in the time you have. Instead of cutting corners, adopting GTD practices is a process of rounding off sharp edges so that your tasks fit into the time allotted and in a properly prioritized order. It all comes down to perspective and control.

GTD on a Digital Desktop

Although GTD should be easier in a digital age, it is often more difficult. From the minute you start up your computer, you’re under assault by information – warnings from your anti-virus software, pop-up ads from the internet and perhaps underneath it all, information you actually need. For this reason, it’s important to make your desktop work for you. The best way – in addition to removing unnecessary startup tasks from your computer’s settings – is to employ a desktop GTD client, such as Swift To-Do List 7. Having such a tool essentially gives you a desktop secretary, as this program in particular not only allows the creation of a to-do list, but also offers multiple settings for reminders, the attachment of files and notes to items on your list and the ability to time how long you’re spending on each task. Swift-To-Do List 7 cuts to the heart of GTD, as it puts you in control of your work and gives you a broad perspective on what needs doing, when it needs doing, and how it can be done.

GTD and YOU

The primary benefit of GTD is that it takes stress off of you so that you can focus all of your efforts on the task at hand, one-by-one, until everything is finished. A tenet of GTD is not relying on your memory to put things in proper order and remember when assignments are due. GTD preaches creating external reminders, which is exactly what Swift To-Do List 7 does. You can choose to get desktop and e-mail reminders, and upon each reminder – or any other time you review your tasks – you can also see your personal notes, attached files, images, links and other relevant information associated with the task. And instead of seeing just one task in isolation, you can see all of the items on your to-do list, which gives you ample perspective and opportunity to control your workflow. Swift To-Do List allows you to relieve your brain of its mental notes so that you’re less prone to distraction and a wandering mind.

Timing is Everything

A key component of control and perspective is being aware of timing. You should have a timeline of your tasks and know not just how long you are spending on your tasks, but how long you can afford to spend. Thankfully, Swift To-Do List 7 has a timer integrated with the program, so you can see where you’re putting your temporal resources. And take it from me – having a timer on your screen keeps you on task!

In essence, GTD is what you know you should be doing but just haven’t had time to implement yet. Luckily, as soon as you adopt GTD practices, you’ll enhance your perspective and control and have more time than ever to tackle your tasks.

This tutorial is written by Brian J. Willett.

Related Posts:

• Getting Things Done (GTD) Tutorial: Do I Need to GTD?
• Getting In The Ready State (To Get Things Done)
• Getting Things Done (GTD) Tutorial: Perspective
• 30-second check: Do you get the maximum from Swift To-Do List?
• Swift Mind Freedom released!
• One Minute To-Do List

Getting Things Done (GTD) Tutorial: Basics is a post from: Swift To-Do List Blog