Time management in simple words. 11 reasons to throw out your to-do lists

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

I don't understand people who continue to use paper planners in the 21st century! It is not comfortable. It's sloppy. It hurts your efficiency. Under the cut - 11 proofs of this.

I don't understand people who continue to use paper planners in the 21st century!

It is not comfortable. It's sloppy. It hurts your efficiency.

Under the cut - 11 proofs of this.

What do electronic organizers offer us that is not in a notebook?

1. Contexts

Contexts are the backbone of the GTD time management system.

What is task context?

Context is a special condition under which an action can be performed.

• You can only feed the cat at home. Because this is your cat. And he is at home.
• You can only “buy milk” at the store. In any. But in the store. Not at the university.
• "To take lectures from Vasya" has two contexts at once. "University" and "Vasya".

For example, this tab contains my household chores:

And here are the office cases:

I also have the contexts “buy”, “car”, “walk”, “everywhere”, “mother” and others.

A task can have one, two or more contexts.

2. Task tree

There are single tasks like "water the flowers". And there are tasks - part of the project. For example, the oil change project:

In this case, it is helpful to see the task tree. This way you don't get lost in to-do lists, but you always understand where you are going.

In an electronic planner, one task can be on many of these tabs. If I click "Complete the task", then it will disappear from everywhere.

3. Reminders

Yes, in a paper diary, you can attach a task to a certain date. But only an electronic planner is able to REMIND you about the coming of the right time. Moreover, in the format in which you wish:

• sound (on a computer and a smartphone at the same time);
• by SMS;
• by email.

4. Mobility

When did electronic planners become really useful?

Only when they learned how to sync things between a computer and a smartphone.

A simple scheme of work appeared immediately:

• Complex projects, tasks with contexts, start date and priority - we schedule on a COMPUTER.
• But we run, drive, complete tasks - on a SMARTPHONE.

Planners now have mobility. Wherever you go, all your tasks and projects, all the information you need is at your fingertips. And available in three clicks.

Can your notebook boast of this?

5. Cyclic tasks

We all have events that repeat themselves from time to time. For example:

• Every fifth day of the month pay for the Internet.
• Receive a money order every first Monday of the month.
• Go to the gym every Tuesday and Thursday.
• Renew hosting every January.

And the simplest is congratulations on your birthday and holidays. Everyone has them for sure!

People with a paper diary manually write these events onto their schedule. Terribly inconvenient!

The electronic planner does it all himself:

As you can see, you can create a repetition of any complexity. It is useful that you can set the number of repetitions, after which the task will disappear. For example, if you have been prescribed 10 shots.

6. Backup

It is easy to set up a backup in the program. Moreover, a copy of your task tree will be stored:

• on disk;
• in the cloud;
• on a smartphone;
• on a PC.

Moreover, copies of all the changes made are available to you!

In other words, you will never lose your tasks.

What will happen to you if you lose your notebook? Will you howl like a wolf at the moon? Do you need it?

7. Teamwork

Almost all planners allow this.

• You assign a task to a subordinate.
• You are given a task.
• You are discussing the problem in a group (Wunderlist).

8. Search by tasks

A serious business man perplexedly rummages in his diary: "Somewhere I wrote … somewhere here it was … for a second …" It's a strange picture.

In an electronic planner, this is excluded: the search is much easier.

9. Attaching links and files

It is so convenient to simply indicate a link or a file in the notes to a task. For example, driving directions.

I can't even imagine how to do it on paper.

In addition, Todoist Scheduler, for example, allows you to record audio notes for a task.

10. Color coding

I know many people use different colors and fonts in their notebooks. I agree, it's convenient.

But why draw something by hand, when all this can be done by scripts:

This is how I colored my tasks. Believe me, there were many more opportunities for coloring.

And all this is done without my participation. I just asked once how they would look like:

• projects;
• folders;
• current tasks;
• inactive tasks;
• important tasks;
• fast tasks.

11. Other

Electronics is getting smarter, new technologies are coming. Unsurprisingly, all of this is reflected in electronic planners. Already available or about to become available:

• use of GPS-reminders (the smartphone reminds you to buy milk when you walk past the store);
• smart voice input and voice task control;
• gamification systems (Todoist, HabitRPG).

Hard?

Oh, come on!

No harder than your microwave!

You just need to sit down and devote one hour of your time. And change your life forever. For the better!

Summary

I understand people who find it difficult to abandon the old proven piece of paper - their paper planner. But does not conservative thinking speak in you? Are you resisting new technologies? Do you shift onto yourself the routine that the automaton should do?

I don't understand people who continue to use paper planners in the 21st century.

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