How do you keep track of your tasks?
There are many different ways to remember all the items you need to do, whether it be in an electronic format, paper-based, or a hybrid of both. According to John Forrister, associate of David Allen, there is one method that is the worst way of all – your mind! As he wrote in a recent blog post called The Second-Worst Task List App:
If there is a second-worst task list app, there must be a first-worst, right? Yes — it’s your mind. It’s really good at many things, but managing your task list is not one of them. You know that already. You wouldn’t be reading this without already having a calendar and some version of a task list.
John then postulates on what would be the second worst way to keep track of your tasks. With this question he not referencing a specific app or piece of software. Instead, he is looking at the systematic process that many people use accidentally.
For several reasons, my nomination for the second-worst task list app is an inbox with stuff that’s been there more than 48 hours. I use the email inbox as an example here, but you can probably apply this reasoning to other places where your inputs show up and need to be clarified.
He then proceeds to list reasons why an email inbox is unproductive as a task reminder. Two reasons include:
1. You need to keep rereading at least the subject lines of the first screen of emails, which uses your valuable time inefficiently. If there’s more than one screen, you are likely scrolling into the past fairly often, to scan those older emails.
2. You may be opening, rereading, then closing the emails to remind yourself what they’re about.
How do we keep our inbox from becoming a default bad task manager? Read the rest of the blog post to find out!