It was one of the longest experiments of my life. The quest to find the right task management system in order to increase my productivity. I would find one and then get quickly bored. It was hard to find one I wanted to stick to. Then, I realized what I was doing wrong.
I was trying to fit into the task management software or app that was the most popular, instead of finding the productivity system that worked for me.
Last year, I finally settled on Todoist and I was extremely pleased. I had finally found a system that filled my to-do list needs.
Here were my requirements:
- It had to be able to sync across all my platforms. I definitely wanted something that could easily sync with my work laptop, IPad, IPhone and personal laptop.
- Easy set up of recurring tasks was a must. This was the drawback of the good old paper and pen system I once used that had me writing down recurring tasks over and over again.
- A system that was able to have shortcuts, format texts and create hyperlinks was a bonus.
- Todoist works as a Google Chrome add on as well as integrate with my Gmail. When I get an email I need to action on, I simply click the TodoIst Icon and it gets added as a Task. Then I simply add the date it needs to be followed up on.
- The ability to use one task management system for work, home and my blog was a must. I didn’t want to log into 3 different accounts. Todoist allows simply task filing with labels.
Then, the simple question I needed answered was, “Does it work for me?”
I started using it in February so it hasn’t been a year yet. At the beginning of the year, I received an email from Todoist with a summary of my task completion productivity.
It was a nice surprise.
It also allowed me to evaluate how I did when it came to my productivity.
According to Todoist:
- I completed 2572 tasks in 2017 (including work and this blog).
- I averaged 7 tasks per day
- 49 tasks per week
- 214 tasks per month
My busiest day was Mondays which is not a surprise as it is my admin day for work. It is where I usually schedule the majority of my tasks.
My busiest month? August. This was no surprise as well since there were major events happening at work.
Reviewing these stats allowed me to reflect on how I did when it came to managing my tasks. This review as well as evaluating the goals and projects I accomplished, helped me determine what I need to put my focus on this year.
According to Todoist, everything that was accomplished when it came to task completion put me amongst the top 3% of all Todoist users in 2017!
While being in the top 3% may seem like success, it doesn’t measure my productivity. The real question I had to ask myself was, “Did all those tasks propel me towards my most important goals”? That is the real measure of my productivity. Not the number of tasks you accomplish but how many of those tasks contribute towards your Most Important Goals.
When it comes to your productivity, are you taking the time that is necessary to evaluate how it is working for you? Schedule some time this week to do an assessment of how your productivity systems are contributing to your goal achievements. What needs to be modified, or eliminated?