Our daily work consists of one simple element—tasks.
Tasks show up as simple to-dos we need to complete daily. From “reply to John” to “finalize client’s project by Friday”. No matter what you do, they are always present. They are the building blocks of all work. And if you don’t manage them well, you risk being disorganised for a long time.
To get the most out of your tasks, treat them as tasks and prioritize them.
Here’s how.
1. Break your goals into tasks
I know you’ve heard this a lot. So instead of saying the same lines you’ve heard, I will walk you through exactly how to do it.
First, write down three goals.
Just three goals.
You can write more than three goals. But it’s better to have fewer things to focus on, finish them, and find a new pursuit, than have ten aims you don’t move any closer to.
I’ll use this as an example.
- Goal 1: Read one book outside my usual interests
- Goal 2: Wake up 30 minutes earlier
- Goal 3: Build and improve my sales skills
Note that these goals aren’t specific enough. But we’ll work with them, since that’s how most people write their goals.
Next, attach a timeframe to your goals. Like this:
- Goal 1: Read one book outside my usual interests this month
- Goal 2: Wake up 30 minutes earlier for a week
- Goal 3: Build and improve my sales skills in two months
A time frame allows you see the tasks you need to complete to reach your goal. Why? Any goal is made up of smaller to-dos. Those to-dos become obvious when you attach a time frame to that goal.
To identify the smaller to-dos, ask, “What steps should I take to achieve this?”
For instance:
- Goal 1: Read one book outside my usual interests this month
- Step 1: Select a book to read (ask for recommendations or scout Goodreads)
- Step 2: Read the book for 10 minutes every day.
- Goal 2: Wake up 30 minutes earlier for a week
- Step 1: Go to bed by 9 pm
- Step 2: Set a recurring alarm
- Step 3: Position the alarm far away from the bed.
- Goal 3: Build and improve my sales skills in two months
- Step 1: Perform a skill audit. What is missing? What am I not doing well?
- Step 2: Find resources that bridge the gap
- Step 3: Spend time learning from resources
You now have smaller actions that move you closer to your objectives. These tasks should be actionable items you can do in one sitting. If they are not, break them down until they are simple enough to do at once.
Tasks should be simple items, not mini-goals.
2. Choose where to store tasks
A task management system allows you to store and organize tasks.
And let me say this:
Your head is not a task manager. Nope nope. It can’t function as one. In the famous words of David Allen, “Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them.”
If you organize tasks in your head every time, you will either forget what you should do or feel overwhelmed.
So get a physical place to manage incoming to-dos.
Here are some options:
a) A paper and pen: Simple but efficient. You get rid of screen time and write without distractions.
Pros:
- Handy and easy to carry around.
- Quick to capture tasks. All you need to do is whip out a book, jot down what you need, and track your progress.
- Less hassle. No notifications competing for your attention.
Cons:
- No backups, which means it can be misplaced, and all your data will be gone.
- Hard to scale. Becomes messy when tasks increase or span across multiple projects.
- No automated history or analytics.
b) A digital app: From simple apps like Google Tasks to sophisticated task management systems like Motion, ClickUp, or Asana.
Pros:
- Can be backed up to the cloud, reducing the risk of losing data to almost zero.
- Automation & reminders offer benefits such as recurring tasks, deadlines, and alerts.
- Can handle complex projects and long timelines.
Cons:
- It’s easy to focus on optimizing tasks for aesthetics rather than actually accomplishing them.
- Some apps might be overwhelming, complex, and cause friction.
- Notifications and app-switching can break focus.
I use Todoist to capture tasks and organize my day, and paper and pen to visualize tasks, brainstorm ideas, and break them down.
I’ve tried other options like Notion databases, Tick-tick, and Google tasks. They just don’t do the job. I enjoy structure, but too much makes me feel caged. A paper and pen offers the right amount of flexibility, while Todoist provides structure.
If you need a more comprehensive list of apps to scout, check this one. It includes 20+ productivity apps to try.
3. Make sure your task management system checks the list
You need a system that lets you quickly store and organize tasks. Bonus points if the choice allows you to:
- Assign tasks to dates.
- Sort tasks according to priority.
- View complete and incomplete tasks.
- See which tasks are assigned to what goals.
Your task manager must check at least two of the four points above. Relying on only one feature can leave you feeling restricted and disrupt your workflow.
4. Attach dates and deadlines
At some point, you need to tackle your tasks, or you’ll end up with a huge list of things that are never done.
So assign dates to your tasks.
A hack is to treat dates as deadlines rather than an end date. When you set end dates, it’s easy to put off a task simply because you’re not in the mood to do it. But deadlines are more urgent. They come with consequences. They are not easily postponed because of a mood change.
To set deadlines for your tasks, ask, “What is at stake here?”What gets affected if this task is not completed by this day?
Let’s go back to our example.
Say you have this task: Select a book to read (ask for recommendations or scout Goodreads)
And you want to assign a date to it, it sounds simple. You can easily assign a random end date and postpone if you’re short on time.
But what’s at stake if you don’t figure out a book to read by next Wednesday?
The stakes could be:
- falling short on your goal of reading a book outside your comfort zone.
- appearing unserious if an accountability partner or mentor is tracking your progress
- missing bonding moments or opportunities to discuss new books with friends.
There’s not much thread to pull there, but you understand the idea.
If a task lacks sufficient stakes, it is not important. Important tasks have stakes, especially when they’re tied to your goals.
Even tasks not directly connected to a major goal can carry consequences.
For example, if you have a task like:
Get back to Victor on Construction planning for Q4.
That could be a stand-alone task (i.e., unrelated to a goal). But it could have stakes too:
- Victor could be your boss. He needs the details of the construction plan to move a project forward.
Stake: your efficiency as an employee.
- Victor could be your friend. He trusts you to give him feedback.
Stake: trust.
- Victor could be your lecturer. You have to turn in the construction planning assignment by Wednesday.
Stake: your grades.
There are stakes attached to different to-dos. Identify them and let them guide the deadlines you set.
5. Organize the day and work on important tasks first
Important tasks have two things in common:
- They have high stakes.
- They have a long-term impact.
The Eisenhower Matrix is useful here.
It divides tasks into four quadrants:
Important, Urgent, Not important, not urgent.
The first quadrant is important and urgent. Urgent tasks are not always important, and important tasks are not always urgent.
For example:
Submit assignment by Friday.
It’s urgent. But you may never need information from that assignment again.
So it’s not important in the long term.
Compare to this:
Research houses in Texas by Friday and send them to the agent.
It’s urgent. Not sending houses you’ve found might delay your house-hunting process, which interferes with your moving plans. It is also important because it ties into your long-term goal to move across the country and find a local community. See?
When starting your workday, prioritize and tackle the tasks that are both urgent and important. Resist the temptation to jump into minor passion projects or side explorations. Focus your energy on what matters most.
Your task management system will come in handy here. If it checks the boxes from earlier, it will show you what is important and urgent, so you’ll start your day knowing exactly what to do.
If you want more precision, organize tasks by their priority.
For example, Todoist uses labels like P1 for the highest priority and P4 for the lowest. Other apps offer similar systems, or you can create your own on paper. This way, when you review your daily list, your important tasks stand out clearly.
Set your feelings aside
The reason most people don’t make progress on major tasks is they work on what they feel like doing instead of what is clearly important. Sometimes they do not know what is important; hence, they go with what feels important.
Other times, they are simply moved by winds of motivation and inspiration.
While motivation is not bad, what needs to be worked on first is not usually what we are most motivated about.
Don’t rely on whims alone. Use the steps above to organize your tasks, so you always know your next priority. This approach clarifies what’s urgent, necessary, and important. That way, at the end of each day, you can be confident you’ve focused on what truly matters.
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Cover by TsimurAsayonak on Unsplash
