Prioritizing & Designating Tasks So You Actually Get Stuff Done

So you’ve made a brain dump or a master task list and all of the stuff in your head is now on paper. Good for you! You’ve taken the first step to productivity and #plannergoals! Next, it’s time to designate all those tasks to particular dates (if they’re time sensitive), or to try and schedule them into the upcoming weeks. This is where things sometimes start to spin out of control.

Some people (including myself at times) can be awesome at writing everything down. When it actually comes time to implement said tasks, is where we sometimes struggle. Tasks with a deadline might be easier, because you know they have to be done. But what about the tasks that are just there - they might need to get done eventually or you want to do them sometime. Then life gets busy and you keep transferring them to week to week after week.

There comes a point when you look at certain tasks and you might ask yourself, “is this really that important? I haven't done it yet and it’s been months! Maybe I should just cross it off my list”. This is what it comes down to. You can use the Eisenhower Matrix (read more about it here: https://sandradahl.ca/organization-productivity-1/48rppe9gemsy69he63fzdcjyymxn56), which will help you organize your tasks and determine how important they are. It’s a really good idea to do this with your inbox every now and then.

There are certain ways you can manage “brain dump” tasks. So you’ve got your list of items; that’s the first step. Then you can use the Eisenhower Matrix to determine their timeline and importance. You can either leave it as it is and refer to this list every so often, or you can transfer some of them to scheduled dates, or the current week or month. (i.e. Have a weekly or monthly task list). The same as in learning new information, I believe re-iteration (repeating something over and over again) is a great way of being able to remember something. This is why I write down my “To-Do’s in multiple places - I have my brain dump, my inbox, my monthly master tasks, my weekly master task list, and then some of those tasks get transferred to the week.

Now here’s the kicker: actually doing the tasks. One trick is to not over-schedule yourself. If you are busy 24/7, you are likely exhausted at the end of the day, or overwhelmed or both. No one is going to feel like tackling additional tasks after a long day. (i.e. cleaning the basement). If you have a light schedule with the most important tasks as the main three, you might actually feel like doing something extra from your master task list that week.

It also comes down to motivation and willpower. How bad do you want to do the task? If it’s something you’ve been dreading, but still needs to be done, book a day (early in the morning or as soon as you wake up) and just do it. Don’t think, don’t overthink and don’t talk yourself out of it. Just do it.

So normally you would use the Eisenhower Matrix on tasks right after you’ve brain dumped them, but you can also use this tool at any other point as well. For instance, if you have tasks in your inbox that have been sitting there forever, and they’re still important enough to keep on the list, run it through the Eisenhower Matrix. Discard the ones that fall into the unimportant/non-urgent category and tackle the rest in order of importance. If you keep doing this (say quarterly), you will never have tasks just “sitting” in your inbox anymore - you will have done them!

Thanks for reading this week’s blog. Let me know if you have used any of the tips I’ve mentioned above, or if you have another way you tackle your tasks.

See ya’ll next week!

❤️ SAN