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The Vanishing To-Do List™
Many people take great pride in having become expert list makers. Previously plagued by forgotten appointments, missed deadlines and an embarrassing lack of follow-up, many of us started making lists as we took comfort in the knowledge that everything we needed to do was on some list somewhere.
An ongoing challenge with lists is that many people keep multiple lists in numerous places. Some people I know spend a significant amount of time just consolidating their lists. Another challenge comes from keeping track of all those multi-colored post-it notes that often take valuable seconds or minutes to locate when we need them. Finally, what about those pesky notifications on Microsoft Outlook reminding us that some deadline is approaching, or that some call needs to be made or that some project is overdue?
Where does this madness end? For me, it ended with The Vanishing To-Do List™. This productivity-boosting tool works exactly as it sounds. I continue to utilize a single to-do list, and all of the items on that list systematically disappear by the end of each day. Here's how it works:
Each day, I use my to-do list (I actually use the Tasks function on my BlackBerry) to accumulate the commitments I make (e.g., send an article to a client, develop a proposal for a leadership development workshop, place a follow-up call, order a book from Amazon.com, etc.). I can be in a meeting, on the phone or even hard at work at my desk when I think of something I want to do (but not now). When this occurs, I simply add the item to my list.
I have only one list, and all items, even more personal-related tasks and reminders (call Mom, buy a new tie, pick up a new hand tool), are placed into this single repository of follow-up activities. The beauty and logic of a single list, other than the efficiency of having everything in one place, is the ease of mind that comes from knowing that all of the important things I want to remember to do are always accessible in this one place.
All I have to do is open the Tasks list on my hand-held device (which is automatically synched with my desktop computer version of Microsoft Outlook), and all of my to-do's are clearly visible. If a hard-copy day-planner works better for you, you still can have a single list you can turn to at any time and know that all of your to-do activities will be accessible there.
Now, here is where the vanishing part comes in. Before I retire each night, I make sure that nothing
remains on my to-do list. The goal is to start fresh each day with a blank list. This is how I do it. I start at the top of my list and make a simple decision regarding the action(s) required to complete that first task. If I can do it quickly, usually in two minutes or less, I complete the task right then and there. So, for example, if one of the items on my list is to send an article or book reference to a client, I open up my email and send the requested information right then and there. This takes less than two minutes to do and after I have sent this information to my client, I return to my task list where I joyfully put a checkmark
next to that first task. It is done, and it comes off the list.
Then, I go on to the very next item on my list. This next item is actually better handled by my assistant. So, I simply send a quick email, or handwrite a short note, asking my assistant to set up that meeting, or order that book, or do whatever is more efficiently and effectively handled by someone else. After delegating this second item on my list, I place a checkmark next to that item. Two down, nine to go. The next item (prepare a proposal for a prospective client) cannot be completed in less than two minutes, and is not an activity I can delegate to someone else. So, before I can place a checkmark next to this item, I need to actually schedule
time on my calendar (for sometime in the future) where I have dedicated time to complete this task.
Now this is critical! I never leave the item on my to-do list just because I do not have the time to complete it right then and there. Instead, I determine what needs to be done to complete the task and I "calendarize" the item so I have dedicated (planned) the time (tomorrow, the next day, next week, etc.) to complete this task before it is due. The reason this is so critical is that I am reserving time in the future to complete an important task that otherwise would just remain on my to-do list and simply get moved from one day to the next.
It is too easy to keep avoiding the bigger tasks on our list if we don't take the time each day to commit to spending the necessary time to complete them in the future. For example, if we know we need a total of two days to prepare a presentation, and we keep putting this task off (and keep it on our list without ever doing anything about it), it is likely that we will get closer and closer to the date of the presentation and still not be ready. We will have used the open spaces on our calendar to say yes to other less important activities, and then be rushed at the end to put together a presentation that really deserved the two days we knew up front we needed to
allocate.
So, let's back up. Today is the day we added this item (prepare a presentation) to our to-do list. Rather than concluding that this can wait until next week, we determine that we need a total of two days to prepare. So, we schedule two hours on our calendar for later this week to outline our presentation. We schedule another half-day for sometime the following week to do some necessary research for our talk and to begin organizing our thoughts. Finally, we schedule the remaining time needed on our calendar, before the date of the actual presentation, for editing, practicing and production of materials. We then place
our checkmark next to this item on our to-do list because we now have this task covered. We have carved up this important task into its logical components and can rest assured that we have allotted time on our calendar in the future to get it done.
The Vanishing To-Do List™ allows us to confidently process all items on our to-do list on a daily basis. In the process, we successfully convert our to-do list into a temporary accumulator of important commitments and tasks, and then watch it vanish at the end of each day as we either implement or schedule the follow-up actions necessary to fulfill each task on our to-do list. I challenge you to try this technique for the next two weeks and to let me know how it works for you.
Email me at dchinsky@theleadershipfit.com and share your successes and challenges in managing your to-do list.
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