“Work” task list
The main/parent “Work” list is where you put your basic work-related tasks that will typically take longer than 15 minutes to do. In most cases, a task will have multiple steps or “next actions” (sup-tasks) that need to be done. If a task has multiple next actions that need to be done in order to complete it, then you should nest the “next actions” as sub-task under the task.
Work “Quick Next Actions” task list
The work “Quick Next Actions” task list is only for work task (small next actions) that can be done in 15 minutes or less
This list is for those moments when you find yourself with a small block of time to work on something. Like when you have 30 minutes or 15 minutes until your next meeting and you want to quickly do as many tasks as you can while you wait. These little windows of time are also a good opportunity for you to process your inboxes, review your calendar and agendas, review your project and task list system and/or catch up on your social media channels.
Work “Waiting” project and task list
The “Waiting” list is for projects and tasks that have been put on pause because the next action is out of your control and it involves waiting on someone or something else before moving forward. This is where you store all your work related delegated tasks. You can move tasks or projects into the “Waiting” list by dragging and dropping.
Almost every time you delegate something to someone else, you still want to keep track of it and follow up with them at a later time to see how things are going on it, and/or if they got it all done okay. You may want to share this “Waiting” list with your direct team members so everyone on the team can see what’s all in “Waiting”.
It’s important to stay on top of all the things you’re waiting for so things don’t fall through the cracks. During the Weekly Review is the best time to process all your “Waiting” list items and send follow up emails to the people your waiting on. You should also make a folder in your “email” called “@ Waiting” where you save email conversations for things you’re waiting on. This will make it easier for you to send follow up email and pick up on conversations where they left off.
Work “Projects” list
This is where all your work related projects will live your system. A project is essentially a large task with many sub-tasks sometimes nested 3 or 4 levels deep. In a project, your tasks will often contain “next action” sub-tasks that need to be done in order to complete the parent tasks. It’s okay for you to move “next action” tasks of projects out of the project lists and into the another work lists like “Waiting”, “Quick Next Actions” or “Work” if you want to. I do it all the time. I find this a good way to prioritize next actions and get things done. When I’m done with the “next action” task, I’ll move it back under its parent task or project before marketing it completely.
What about big projects?
Big projects that will take two weeks or longer to complete with multiple levels of sub-tasks should be given their very own project list nested as a sub-list under the main “Projects” list. Like shown in this image below. This will make it very convent to share the entire project with other team members.
The Home/Personal Section
You should have a “Home/Personal” section in your system that is only for personal items. The “Home/Personal” section functions just like the “Work” section, the only difference is the “Home/Personal” section is for personal tasks and projects. I’m not going to explain the Home/Personal “Quick Next Actions”, “Waiting” or “Home Projects” lists because they function the same way as the Work “Quick Next Actions”, “Waiting” and “Projects” lists I just went over.
The Someday Maybe Section
The “Someday Maybe” section in your task and project lists system functions like a “Bucket List”. It’s for “Tickers” and things you might want to do someday, but they’re things you haven’t yet made the decision to move forward on.
“Someday Maybe” list
Examples of “Someday Maybe” list items: you might say “I want to go on a cruise someday” or “Someday, I want to learn to play the guitar”. These are things you would add to your someday maybe list. Then, the next time you do a deep Weekly Review, you will briefly see these items in your “Someday Maybe” list and be reminded of the things you someday want to accomplish. You may look at an item in your “Someday Maybe” list and decide that is something you don’t really want to do. When this happens you should delete the item to keep your list current can clean. When you decide to actually start moving forward on an item in your “Someday Maybe” list, then you should move it out of your “Someday Maybe” list and into one of your personal or work project/task lists.
The “Someday Maybe” list is really nice for helping you stay on top of your personal dreams, vision and life goals. It’s okay to mix both work and personal items in your “Someday Maybe” and “Tickler” lists. I actually highly recommend you do mix them to keep things simple and speed up the gathering and Weekly Review processes. You don’t have to process your “Someday Maybe” list every time you do your Weekly Review. I only process my “Someday Maybe” list during my monthly Deep Weekly Review, which I do at the beginning of each month.
“Ticklers” list
So, what is a “Ticklers” list or a “Tickler File”, and why do I have it nested under the “Someday Maybe” list; you might be asking… Ticklers are things you want to have popup in your face and be reminded about on a specific day or time.
A lot of your “Someday Maybe” items should be Tickler items because you might want to be reminded of them on a specific day or time. For example, if you decided that someday you want to go on a cruise vacation but you know you won’t be able to even think about the trip until sometime next year; instead of adding this item to your “Someday Maybe” list, you should create a “Tickler” for it. That way, you won’t be constantly reminded about it every month while doing your Deep Weekly Review, when there’s really nothing you can do about it until next year.
I love using a “Ticklers” list. Tickets to a concert or event is another good example of a tickler item. Maybe you heard about a concert you might want to attend but the show’s still 4 months away and you want to wait and decided a couple weeks before the event. Ticklers are great for things your want to sleep on for a while before making up your mind.
A tickler item is simply a task with a scheduled reminder and/or due date. You should have your “Tickler” reminder notifications set to show up in your email rather than popup as a notification on your screen or mobile phone. Because they might popup on your screen at an inconvenient time when you can’t properly process them. It’s much easier to process your ticklers without letting them fall through the cracks when they show up in your email, but you can have ticklers set to notify you via both email and mobile notifications if you want to.
When a tickler item reminder shows up in your email, you need to process it and decided if you want to move forward on it, or not. If you don’t want to move forward on it at all, then just mark it done or delete it from your list. If you do want to move forward on it, then move it into one of you work or personal project/task lists. If you still want to wait and decide later, then just keep the tickler item in your “Ticklers” list but be sure to change the reminder/due date to the new day or time you want to again be reminded of it.
You hardly ever need to process your ticklers or even look at your “Ticklers” list. Just drop your ticklers in the “Ticklers” list and let them work for you. I only process my Ticklers about 3 or 4 times per year. The reason you would process your “Ticklers” list, is to see if you’ve missed anything or changed your mind about anything. When processing your “Ticklers” list, you should make sure everything has a good reminder/due date and you should update any items with reminders or due dates that have already passed.
He recently released a book I look forward to reading called “Your Digital Life: Everything you need to know to get your life organized and put technology to work for you