Todoist has saved my sanity.
I’m completely serious about that, so let me say it again.
Todoist has saved my sanity!
Let’s face it, as we get older our memories just aren’t what they used to me. Or at least mine isn’t (you can keep living in that fantasy!)
Those Pesky Cracks
There is nothing worse for me than someone calling or coming up to me and saying something to the effect of “Hey, were you able to get such and such done?” or “Did you ever find out about something or other?” Followed by that moment, that split-second in my head where I think “You never said anything about…. oh crap!”
Been there? I have. And I feel completely awful because I remember when we talked about it, or when the person asked me to do something and I never wrote it down, so it… *gulp*… fell through the cracks.
Isn’t that such a nice way of saying that we just plain forgot about something? It bounced around on the deck boards of our minds, rolled ever so slowly to the edge, and PLOP, fell right through the crack.
Never Again
I hate that feeling so much that I decided to fix the “cracks” caused by my memory lapses. (AND I forgave myself for forgetting, because face it, we just have too much going on to store it all in our noggins).
My first step was to write everything down on paper, creating an ongoing to-do list. I love being able to cross things off the list, watch it shrink throughout the day. But what if I didn’t have that notepad with me? I found myself with a variety of sticky notes, loose sheets of paper, etc. that constantly had to be consolidated into one central list. This method still had room for things to fall through the cracks.
My solution was to go digital.
It made sense, really. I always have my cell phone with me, or I have access to a computer. So the challenge was to find something that worked across all of my available platforms, synchronized without me having to do anything special, and was available even if I didn’t have an internet connection.
Truth be told, I tried out several different options, some of which I’ll discuss in future blog posts. Finally I settled on Todoist. I shouldn’t say settled, because I like it so much I paid for the premium version. No freebies here!
Why Todoist Is Amazing for Me
To do list and other organizational tools online are kind of like Baskin Robbins… there’s a reason they have 31 flavors. Different people have different needs and work different ways. So while Todoist is perfect for me, you might prefer something else. However, Todoist is SO versatile, I think it is the perfect tool for most people, they just haven’t learned how to make it fit their style yet.
Here’s how I make it work.
If It’s an Action, It’s in Todoist
I know that in order for me to be a rockstar at my job, I have to capture EVERYTHING! I use Evernote for content (we’ll discuss it in a later post), and anything that requires action goes into Todoist.
- If I’m sitting in a meeting and get assigned an action item… BOOM… Todoist.
- If I get an email that has a request in it… BOOM… Todoist.
- If my husband sends a text asking me to pick up milk on the way home from work… you got it… BOOM… Todoist.
At the moment I know I need to DO something, it goes in Todoist. Even if I’m standing in front of someone having a conversation, I have no shame in saying, “Excuse me for just one second, I want to make sure I get that on my to do list so I don’t forget.” I’ve never had someone get upset at that, because ultimately it means they’ll receive what they are asking for. Setting expectations is never a bad thing.
Projects = Big Buckets
I have a few projects set up in Todoist. I think of them as great big, very general buckets. They are pretty simple… one for each of the divisions I work with at my 9-5, personal, routines (for recurring items), and parking lot.
It’s pretty simple, so it should be pretty clear what goes in each bucket. Parking lot is where my someday/maybe stuff goes. These are things that don’t need to be in front of me on a daily basis, but that I can visit on a regular basis and move up the priority list.
People Level Tags
Tags can be used however you want to use them. Get as broad or as granular as you want. Add one tag or one hundred tags to your items. Ok maybe not one hundred, but you get my point.
Every item on my list MUST have a tag. I set up a filter to show me any tagless items so I can add a tag. Filters are easy to create and can be customized to specific things you want to see based on how you work.
I use tags for people – my boss, coworkers, executive team.
For example, when I see our Chief Science Officer in the hallway (which is where the most beneficial conversations seem to take place) I can pull out my phone, tap on his tag and see everything on my to do list which involves him. No more standing there scratching my head saying “I know there was something else I wanted to ask you.” Bonus – I look like a rockstar because I’m prepared and organized, something management types really appreciate!
Batching With Tags
I use tags for projects – website redesign, testimonials, campaigns. These tags give me context to help me be more productive.
Here’s how it works. I like to schedule chunks of time on my calendar to work on specific projects. So when my calendar says “Social Media,” I click on the social media tag in Todoist and there is my to-do list to work on for that hour.
Also, I know that I do my best writing in the afternoon. That is when I can really get into my groove and crank out the content. (It also happens to be when my colleagues across the pond are gone for the day. But I digress!) So I have a tag for @writing. Anything that involves writing, such as press releases, blog posts, articles, etc, gets tagged with @writing.
How Todoist Makes Me a Rock Star
Here’s where it all comes together. I need to write a press release about some new research results we are publishing. I’ve added the item to Todoist and it looks something like this:
Press Release – New research @writing @CSO @campaignname
- When I see Chief Science Officer in the hallway I can ask a few questions about the research which gives me a quote for the press release. (A quick summary gets added to the comments immediately after the conversation so I can remember those key points later when I’m writing.)
- When my calendar pops up a reminder that it’s time to write, this item is at the top of my list.
- When my boss asks for an update on the campaign, I can give him a status on the press release and all of the other campaign activities.
Guess who is now looking like a rock star? Thank you Todoist!