How To Simplify Your To-do List.

You can improve your task management by breaking down tasks into groups.

One problem many people face is task overload. When you look at your list of tasks for the day and see forty to eighty tasks, your energy sinks, you wonder how you will get those tasks done and where you should start.

When I work with people with this kind of issue, I notice they have six or seven tasks related to calling people: “Call Jen about the off-site meeting,” “Follow up with Pete,” etc. In my system, I have a single task that says, “ Complete my calls,” and that task links to my calls list in my notes.

Another area where I see this happening is forwarding actionable emails to your task list. This is going to overwhelm even the most organised task manager. Instead of adding actionable emails to your task manager, create a folder in your email app called “Action This Day” and put any actionable email there. Then, have a recurring task in your task manager called “clear Action This Day folder.”

If you’re using Gmail, you can get the folder’s URL link and link the task to the folder. It’s one click, and you’re in your Action This Day folder.

Grouping similar tasks together reduces the number of tasks on your today list and encourages you to batch process your work. You can experiment with the best times to do this work and block time out on your calendar. For instance, I clear my Action This Day folder between 4 pm and 5 pm. I have a block in my calendar called communication time, and in the hour, I deal with all my messages.

Similarly, you could do the same with your daily calls list. Perhaps you can block time before or after lunch to focus on your calls.

This batch processing keeps you focused on your work and reduces the risk of distraction. It also helps you plan the day because you know you will need a certain amount of time for each of these activities, and you can see on your calendar where you will have time to do the tasks.

Long lists of tasks are not the problem. The issue is that when you see a long list, you hesitate. You end up with too much choice, which slows you down. You waste too much time deciding where to start, which causes inefficiency.

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