To-do Lists Don't Work! (alone)

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I used to think to-do lists were key. Now, I understand the real power of managing my priorities — and it's changed everything. It's much more than that. Understand the WHY of your goals. (Read on)

1. Just wanted something simple, and easy. That weaves into my workday, as is it already. Yet I am prone to complicate things and fiddle with tools instead of doing the actual work. I needed something #minimalistic, invisible, that won't introduce friction to my #productivity.

2. It was also critical that whatever I use will bring realism into my planning of the day. Over-planning anyone? Getting too much on your plate? I needed something that takes into account the time already lost for productivity bc of meetings. And also allow visual estimating.

3. Next, I needed something that always sits in front of my eyes, no matter what I'm doing. So I always know what I'm supposed to do now and next. Better if it nags me to get back on task should I happen to wander or get distracted.

4. So, as my company was already using Microsoft Ecosystem, I went with Outlook Calendar + ToDo + Dashoard. Want to know how I set them up to get them working flawlessly? Read on ...

5. All the things I need to get done are organised in Projects as lists in ToDo. That can be a dump of lots of stuff. They get priority set (or not) as a first pass. Tangentially, there is no task w/o a purpose clearly stated; like: Respond to boss email, so that you get paid.

6. Each morning I plan my day with #coffee. Going through my projects and select the most important/urgent tasks. These are going into 'My Day' list. I prefer using the 1-3-5 #system, but realistically no more than 3 tasks should be planned. This is the second level of prio.

7. So it's 7 - the magic number. Magic happens here. When opening 'Board' view in Calendar online, I can see the schedule for today and 'My Day' list side by side. Now I can use time-blocking by dragging the tasks from 'My Day' to the calendar into free timeslots.

8. And visually estimate the time needed by just dragging with the mouse, like for any meeting. The #magic happens here; now I can see how much I can really get done in the time available.

9. With many meeting or complex tasks, my agenda fills in fast and I'm forced to only add what's most important. This is the third level of prioritisation!

10. Now, when I start my workday: -I know exactly what I do and when my calendar is blocked, so I only get calls or last-minute meetings when really important -I get regular reminders of what I'm supposed to be doing should I wander off.

11. Moreover, I mentioned it's offering a #system to nag me into keeping on task. Two things: I set my browser to open my DashBoard on opening a new tab,

12. Next, Calendar will pop up notifications of your events. After starting working on something I keep snoozing the notification rather than dismissing it before I finish.

If you'd rather read this as a big post, find it here app.quuu.co/c/7w1