To create a reliable and effective Task Management System, it’s crucial to focus on strong concepts and strategies right from the start.
In this article, I’ll share three of the best approaches I’ve discovered over many years of assisting busy professionals in developing their end-to-end productivity systems from scratch.
These strategies have become the cornerstones of my own Task Management System, and I’m confident they’ll be just as beneficial for you.
So, without further ado, let’s dive in!
Routines
One concept at the very heart of building a robust Task Management System is “Routines”.
Routines are the main components that ensure the effective development of a productivity system.
As Aristotle stated,“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
If you don’t have routines, it’s impossible to refer to your “productivity system” as a genuine “system”.
This is a common situation we observe among the busy professionals who approach the Paperless Movement®.
They don’t have a productivity system in place because they don’t know what a system is.
You just need to understand this: systems are the processes that lead to achieve your goals, the results you want to accomplish, the outcomes you want to deliver.
Once a system is implemented, you can be 100% confident that your goals will be met.
It simply starts with the initiation and then allowing the system to operate on its own.
Balance
Maintaining balance in life is essential.
It places you at the right spot where your state of mind allows you to operate at peak performance without experiencing anxiety, stress, or burnout.
That’s why it’s crucial to foster balance in your weekly routines and every individual day, at all times.
Your Task Management System should serve as your main tool for this purpose.
Each day, ask yourself how you see the real story of that day, truly unfolded. Be honest. Don’t lie to yourself.
In real life, you won’t be able to tackle more than 7-10 tasks each day, which includes both tasks and speedies (tasks you can execute and complete in less than 15 minutes).
This is because, additionally, unexpected things will emerge: urgent tasks, annoying calls, unplanned meetings, unforeseen events, and other challenges and situations that you, as a busy professional, are all too familiar with.
To ensure you successfully meet your weekly goals, I strongly advise setting aside 4-6 hours for planned work, leaving 2-4 hours as “buffer time.”
This buffer is not just for coping with unexpected situations but also to accommodate for any underestimations in task execution time, something you’re likely to experience, especially when you’re new to this way of work.
Remember, we humans often overestimate what we can achieve in a day or week, yet underestimate what can be accomplished in a month, quarter, or year.
That’s why we, at the Paperless Movement®, are firm believers in long-term planning.
We’re 100% aware of what we can accomplish over larger periods if we consistently meet our short-term goals each day and week.
Eventually, your efforts will compound, leading to amazing results.
So, going back to our initial point, when you limit your planned daily work time to just 4-6 hours, you’ll soon realize you can’t juggle everything.
This is when you’ll need to make sacrifices, though they’re not truly sacrifices, but rather, a reflection of reality.
Once you’ve adjusted your plans from dream to reality, ensure everything is balanced within your week.
Then, each day, repeat the same process:
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Evaluate if your day aligns with your goals.
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If your morning and afternoon are balanced with an appropriate number of tasks.
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If the type of tasks suit your energy level and circumstances.
In conclusion, always bear in mind what author and motivational speaker Jana Kingsford said about balance:
“Balance is not something you find, it’s something you create.” — Jana Kingsford
Batching
Batching is a concept that many people talk about and mention, yet few of them actually explain how to effectively implement it.
Batching involves grouping similar tasks based on two main aspects:
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The type of task.
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The energy level required to complete it.
For instance, you might create a batch for all your tiny administrative tasks, yes, those that drive you crazy, another one for speedies, and another one for managing your emails.
Batching introduces order, logic, and common sense to your task planning and execution processes.
You won’t feel overwhelmed by speedies, for example, because you simply capture them, store them in the appropriate batch, and free up your mind.
This process puts the speedy out of your immediate mental space and under control.
You can be confident that it will get done when the time comes.
Analyze all your tasks. Look for patterns among them and try to create batches that can be easily scheduled.
Feel how your planning and schedule starts to make sense.
Last Thoughts
Reflecting on the strategies discussed in this article, the key takeaways for crafting a reliable and effective Task Management System are straightforward yet profound.
First, embedding routines into your daily life is essential; they are the foundation upon which a productive system is built.
Second, balance is not just a goal but a necessity, ensuring you can perform at your best without succumbing to burnout.
Finally, the technique of batching tasks according to their nature and required energy levels is a game-changer, streamlining your workflow and reducing overwhelm.
These principles have been cornerstones of my own productivity system, and I’m confident in their ability to transform yours too. Check out our “Task Management like a Pro!” course to go even deeper and design the Task Management System of your dreams.
Embrace these strategies and move towards a more organized, balanced, and productive way of managing your tasks.
