Some weeks ago, at the beginning of a work meeting, I suggested using my list of open projects so we wouldn’t forget anything. Immediately, a workmate stared at me and asked, Don’t you keep a list to help you remember all your lists?
So, apparently, my workmates are so used to seeing me putting items on lists that they have concluded that I use a lot of them. Actually, I don’t normally use more than two lists:
This is a document hosted on Google Drive. It’s pretty simple: just a table with three columns:
| # | Project | Comments |
| Sequential number | Name of the project | State of the project |
I update the relevant cells as the projects evolve. I don’t do it on a daily basis but approximately every 7-10 days. When there is a new project, I add a new row at the end of the table; when a project is finished, I leave it there for some time and finally delete it.
I use Todoist for this. I write down all the tasks that need to be done and categorize them under the open projects I’ve got at any given moment. As I also use Todoist for personal purposes, it’s running all the time on my laptop or smartphone.
Do you work with lists? If so, how do you do it? I think my system works because it’s simple and allows me to see the big picture (the open projects list) and the details (the to-do list) at the same time. What do you think about it?
Picture: To Do List (Beth Snow)
