This Simple System (Written on a Piece of Paper) Helps Me Get Things Done
There’s always more to do than you have time for.
To-do lists can help. But not if you abuse them. You’ve got to exercise wisdom whenever you add items to your list.
This system (written on a piece of paper) helps me get things done.
Resources
Grab a piece of paper and a pen.
Fold the paper in half (top-to-bottom, not side-to-side). Then do it again. Next, fold it in half (side-to-side). Now unfold it.
The creases should have created eight rectangles.
Start with now
Write NOW in the top left rectangle.
Place five bullet points below it. These are for tasks you are committed to completing today. Only add tasks here if you’d stay at work well past your normal departure time to complete them if they weren’t done.
Review these tasks every hour.
Do this next
Write NEXT in the rectangle below NOW.
Use this space to prioritise three tasks you want to accomplish today. Work on them once you’ve completed today’s NOW tasks (or when you have no NOW tasks that day).
Review these tasks every three hours.
Consider these sometime soon
Write SOON in the rectangle below NEXT.
Add up to 17 tasks that are due before the end of the week. Use the whole bottom half of the page. These are tasks you want to consider starting today.
Review these twice a day.
Review these later
Turn the page over and write LATER in the top left rectangle.
This entire page is for jotting down tasks that are due next week or some time after that. They are tasks you are committed to reviewing once a week (every week).
Set a time to do that.
Appointments
Turn the page over.
In the top two right rectangles (opposite NOW and NEXT), jot down your appointments. Start with today. Then, if you have room, add tomorrow and the next day. Don’t worry if you can’t fit it all here.
Simply start a new page tomorrow.
Inspiration
This post was inspired by Michael Linenberger’s One Minute To-Do List and Master Your Now productivity systems.
Michael’s four urgency zones are: Critical Now, Target Now, Opportunity Now, and Over the Horizon. I call these NOW, NEXT, SOON, and LATER.
If you want to go further than pen and paper, Michael offers various books and courses to show you how.
Reflection
This system keeps me sane.
I spent too much time managing lists when I tried David Allen’s Getting Things Done system. Now my urgency zones are small and manageable.
I’ve made two adjustments to Michael’s system:
- I use two pieces of paper: one for my role as a counsellor and another for everything else. This works as a boundary between my work life and personal life.
- Adding my appointments to this same piece of paper helps me see when I can work on tasks and when I’m seeing clients, colleagues, classmates, or friends.
Please tell me if you try this system.