Last week we looked at the variety of places and ways we record and manage our ToDo’s. Click here for that blog.
My conclusion was to organize them into one place. I had a bit of downtime this week to put it all together and I’m so pleased with the result that I thought readers might be interested.
The Platform
I decided to make use of Google Keep since I use all the other Google products extensively and of course, it is a free tool. Have a look at the screen share here. You can see that I started with my roles and organized tasks accordingly. This is not the final product, but you get the idea.
Here’s What’s Good
- You can create checklist notes with Headers identifying the Role and overall vision;
- I love the colour coding because I respond to the visual stimulus;
- You can arrange the order of the notes so that the important ones stand out;
- The checklist format allows for checking off and removing items that are completed;
- You can set reminders that land on your Google Calendar and/or give a pop up on your screen while in the Chrome browser;
- You can use labels so that it’s clear what role the tasks belong to and their importance. Example – Business, Personal, Learner, Immediate, This Week, Sometime Maybe;
- A Checklist may be archived and/or retrieved;
- You can save Keep notes to a folder in Google Drive;
- I can manage my lists from the desktop, phone or tablet wherever I am.
The Downside
It took a couple of sessions to get the system set up just right. I needed to experiment a bit to get a format and labelling so that it works for me. For very busy people this can be seen as being negative. For me, the process was an enjoyable exercise in creativity.
Is it Perfect?
Well, I have to say it’s pretty close. One thing I’ve noticed is that the system is not in my face the way the scribbled scrap of paper list was. This means that I must keep it open on the desktop at all times and I must make very good use of the reminders. This will require some attention to changing an old habit. My conclusion? Changing habits keeps us young and moving forward with current trends.
Mindset Monday Challenge
Please share your own experience. Did you find the time to do last week’s exercise? How did it go?