Tasks, there are lots of them; ones we want to do, ones we do for other people and the ones we feel we should do. I’ve worked on improving my productivity for years and used a variety of systems and tricks to help me complete tasks, but none of them are working. I seem to have completely forgotten how to be productive at home.
I want to spend time doing the things I want to do and that means I need to complete everything else as quickly as possible. My main approach to this has been little and often. I spend a some time on a regular basis working on big tasks, and it usually works great because I actually do the tasks I don’t like such as cleaning and tidying as I only need to do one room and not the whole house. I also started decluttering when we decided to move house because I didn’t want to move unwanted items, and I learnt the fewer things you own the easier it is to keep them tidy.
I’ve come along way over the past ten years, but during the last few weeks it has all unravelled. Maybe it is a consequence of having a cold, the change in routine when my daughter started school or the large number of small tasks has lead to a big backlog; but something has happened and I don’t like it. I’m getting the essentials done so everyone is getting fed and is at the places they need to be with what they need (apart from one piece of paper which I’m sure was not essential); but it has been tiring. I’ve been keeping all the tasks in my head and it is constantly working out what needs to be done today and what can be delayed by a day. There has not been room in my head to think about anything but essentials so I’ve barely thought about fun tasks, plus I have several new piles of paper as I haven’t dealt with them as they came in.
To move forward, I need to get all the tasks out of my head and into a system I trust. Secondly, I need to know which tasks I should be prioritising (I’d thought this would be easier once I had a vision). I’ve tried developing a routine, using daily themes, having one long task list and nothing, they have not even lasted a day. So I’m asking for advice. How do you capture your tasks? How do you get things done? How do you link your tasks to your goals?
P.S. I probably should mention that this is only an issue at home, at work I don’t seem to have a problem. Maybe it is because of the accountability to my managers or having to account for every minute, but neither of those are transferable to home
It’s funny how this happens Kate. The being organised at work in every way but at home it goes a little awry! Always seems there is never enough time in the day especially the case when you have children. Our home is also an office so the two do overlap at times. I’d suggest a smaller task list with urgent and important, you can focus on the others later. A personal planner might be good too, I’ve just been looking at those. It’s a diary but you can get it printed with recurring appointments/to do’s for example. Good luck!
Charly,
Thank you for your comment. I haven’t seen personalised planners with my recurring appointments and tasks in. I use Google Calendar to track my appointments and that works because I can share it with my husband, but I was using a diary earlier in the year to track recurring tasks but I got too much of a back log.
I’m currently trying a new electronic task list programme and I’m very impressed so far.