I’ve been on a quest for myself to be as efficient as I can at all times of the day. I personally get frustrated when tasks take longer than I’d hope, I hate being late for things and I am forever trying to stay on top of professional and personal tasks, appointments and projects. For those who know me, you know I have a horrible stand alone memory. I am always trying to be better at this.
Daily Planning
For a long time I have tried to be efficient on my daily tasks. Stay on top of what is important and don’t lose site of the goals. What i’ve found is that I am apparently impatient enough to not really live the full GTD lifestyle, and I clearly can’t seem to manage a real task list with great efficiency. What I’d done for a long time (and lost the habit) was to sit and plan every day with key tasks. I later found almost an identical solution done by David Seah called the Emergent Task Planner. This is basically the same thing that I’d do in my Moleskine notebook every morning. I remember things better if I write them down, so each morning I’d get my left hand page of my Moleskine and write out my days calendar, very similar to what you see in the ETP page here… (not mine but a sample I found)
I’ve been on a quest for myself to be as efficient as I can at all times of the day. I personally get frustrated when tasks take longer than I’d hope, I hate being late for things and I am forever trying to stay on top of professional and personal tasks, appointments and projects. For those who know me, you know I have a horrible stand alone memory. I am always trying to be better at this.
Daily Planning
For a long time I have tried to be efficient on my daily tasks. Stay on top of what is important and don’t lose site of the goals. What i’ve found is that I am apparently impatient enough to not really live the full GTD lifestyle, and I clearly can’t seem to manage a real task list with great efficiency. What I’d done for a long time (and lost the habit) was to sit and plan every day with key tasks. I later found almost an identical solution done by David Seah called theEmergent Task Planner. This is basically the same thing that I’d do in my Moleskine notebook every morning. I remember things better if I write them down, so each morning I’d get my left hand page of my Moleskine and write out my days calendar, very similar to what you see in the ETP page here… (not mine but a sample I found)
Note Taking
This is another area that is killing me a little inside. I SOOOOOO want to be fully digital in this space. As of the past 4 months, I’ve been keeping my iPad with me 100% of the time and trying to keep digital notes. Sometimes in Evernote, sometimes in apps like Audiotorium. Neither were working for me.. Also, previously I had tried to keep notes using a LiveScribe pen. Here is what I’ve learned.
First, typing notes in a meeting vs. writing feels awkward to me. I always feel like people don’t think I care enough to listen, so they think I am doing email. That’s not the case, but I feel bad typing. When typing, I’d always lose the easy sketch ability. I sketch diagrams, etc a lot when taking notes. iPad was not helping me there. What did this amount to? With these things as factors, I found myself taking less notes than before. Even though it should have been easier.
As of last week I’ve returned to my trusty Moleskine for notes. Sure, it’s analog.. but I am comfortable with it. If need be, I will take a pic with my phone and email to Evernote. Evernote is a daily tool for me and I couldn’t remember without it.
Summary
What I’ve learned is the following.
- Keep a simple list of projects and goals prioritized and in one easily accessible place
- Review that list daily, make decisions on what stays, moves or goes away
- Write down daily tasks and meetings to help keep them fresh in my mind
- Daily triage outstanding tasks or goals.. don’t let stuff drop
- Take notes in a format that I use vs. can search on later is important. if I am not taking electronic notes, I can’t very well find the data that is not there. Paper is at least getting my attention for notes.
I know each person has their own thoughts, ideas, software, etc.. but I’d love to hear others thoughts in this space. It is an area I am spending less time than I did in the past as I refine my process.. but still have room for improvement.