A look at a modern task management workflow

Why todo lists don’t work

They just require too much time to manage.   Tasks are always flowing in, and you don’t want to have to stop to do task management for 30 minutes.  When a task is done, you don’t want to also have to notify your todo list software.

It’s similar to calorie counting – you can do it for 1 week, maybe 2, max, but eventually, you get tired of pointlessly logging everything you do after you do it.

Here’s some of my thoughts on task management systems in general and how I use them.

1. Task management systems always conflict strongly with email systems.  Office workers get most often get tasks via email from their boss and related stakeholders.   I get all sorts of emails from friends, families, and different services I use like banks that I have to do something about.   In my experience, my todo list is always a day or two behind my email.
2. Tasks that don’t come in through email often are often time-sensitive – like a text from your wife to pick up the milk.   Or a reminder to yourself to get your suit dry cleaned.   Most todo lists don’t do a good job handling more time sensitive tasks.
3. Email is a great way to handle tasks that are not  as time sensitive.   I email myself stuff I have to do or look into all the time.  Eventually, if I don’t get back to it, I archive the email.
4. I’m constantly pruning my inbox.  Everyone who is serious about getting stuff done should do this.  There should be an action item related to every email that’s still in your inbox.   If there isn’t, just archive it.
5. Priority inbox by gmail is really great for handling email task management.   Important stuff goes into priority inbox.  More optional stuff goes into your regular inbox.  I usually have around 5-10 items in my work priority inbox – and this usually maps pretty well to the stuff I have going on at work right now.   If there isn’t an email relating to something I have to do, I usually just email myself a description of the task as a reminder.   On my personal gmail, there is usually about 2 or 3 emails in my priority inbox.  Keyboard shortcuts are an important tool for quickly processing a large inbox.

7. Part of the reason for my lack of deliverables for in my personal priority inbox is that I use due.app for the iPhone for most miscellaneous personal tasks.   It’s a very great compliment to email in that it provides persistent, easily snoozable, optionally repeating reminders.     Due is not a todo list – every item has a date and time associated with it, and when that time comes, by default, Due starts hitting your iPhone with push notifications reminding you to take action on this item – by default every one minute.    As a result, you are forced to either do the thing, or make an explicit decision to put it off til later.