21–30 of 56 posts
For things that have a clear deadline - calendar entries blocking time to go work on whatever it is (i.e. "Research deals for fall vacation").
I've found that writing things into either of those categories clarifies things a bit. Personal tasks end up being in the "I owe" lists, with my own name next to them.
I put it on a calendar app that allows floating tasks that can automatically move/carry over to the next day. Helps when I have to get something done over a week. Currently using pocket informant, I'm sure there's others too.
I let them pile up into a big anxious horror too repulsive to even approach until absolutely necessary, at which point I sloppily and with great frustration do the very least I can to somehow postpone the ever-escalating disaster that will be my personal undoing. You mean you think there's another way?
So I use Trello (most tasks, projects) integrated with Calendar (appointments, due dates) and Google Sheets (all payments, due dates).
For example, I have annually recurring tasks in Todoist to get Father's/Mother's Day gifts two weeks before the actual days and then separate tasks to call my parents on the actual days.
While it has been very effective for me, it might be leading to a Google-like effect [2] where my memory seems to be getting worse because I know I have a crutch.
I am also trying to maintain a daily routine (to make sure I do important things like exercise) and to finish unpleasant tasks in the morning before all the fun stuff.
[2] http://www.yalescientific.org/2013/05/is-google-ruining-your...
I let them pile up into a big anxious horror too repulsive to even approach until absolutely necessary, at which point I sloppily and with great frustration do the very least I can to somehow postpone the ever-escalating disaster that will be my personal undoing. You mean you think there's another way?
oh good, its not just me then...
So the first thing I do is I put reminders where I see them. For instance there's a contract for a telephone provider I need to quit. The box connected to the provider is laying right there next to the computer I'm typing this on. This way it gets into my head and if I don't have higher priority tasks I will think about it regularly, without ever actually pushing myself to it.
Then instead of already resolving the issue (which in itself would cost energy) I procrastinate by planning or doing simple steps toward the goal. In this case it may be checking out on the website of the company how their quitting process works. After that I feel like I achieved something and successfully avoided doing actual work at the same time. That's the best reward for doing part of the job, feeling like you cheated your boss (in this case your inner moral guard).
And when there's really not anything left it most often means that the last step really isn't any effort anymore. So when I have everything prepared I just need to write a short text, and send it to the company, and be done with it. Because everything was planned out and prepped already.
Last but not least, if I really can't convince myself to even do a small step like googling the website of the company, then it probably means I'm too exhausted and instead of doing any serious tasks I really should take a walk and a nap, which I then also have motivation for since it also avoids doing the painful highest prio task.
Yeah, it's a slow process, but it actually hacks your brain into doing real work while it thinks it's procastinating, instead of the other way around.
I let them pile up into a big anxious horror too repulsive to even approach until absolutely necessary, at which point I sloppily and with great frustration do the very least I can to somehow postpone the ever-escalating disaster that will be my personal undoing. You mean you think there's another way?
Truth is, I'm cycling between to-do list productivity tools every few months. OmniFocus could do anything you want, but can get quite complicated too. Things and Todoist are simple and straightforward, but are missing some essential (advanced) things. I can't seem to find the tool with that right sweet spot. I guess I love procrastinating with fiddling for the best tool configuration.
That said, I also often fallback to using pen&paper, and writing in the morning the 5 things that really should be completed today, and that seems to work very well too.