As a manager, you and your time are most likely pulled in many different directions. As a result, it’s really easy to lose track of the large list of tasks that must be performed. At a high level, your time probably falls into the following types of categories:

  • Department level planning (e.g. scheduling, budgeting, etc.)
  • Employee related processes (e.g. hiring, performance reviews, etc.)
  • Managing employees (e.g. giving instruction, giving assignments, reviewing work, etc.)
  • Communicating (e g. emails, writing status reports, giving presentations)
  • Going to meetings (e.g. meetings, meetings, and wow, more meetings)
  • Special projects for your boss and others
  • Potentially your own work if you’re in a player/coach type supervisory role
  • Occasional non-work related tasks like calling your kid’s teacher, buying a birthday card for your spouse during your lunch hour, or calling the doctor to schedule an appointment

Because of these different task types it’s extremely important that you have an organized way to know what needs to be done, when it’s due, and when you are going to find time to do it.  Some people can keep all this stuff in their head.  As for me, I’m definitely not one of those people. If I don’t write it down, it’s never going to happen.

If you are like me, the following tips and suggestions may be of value.

  1. Have one To-Do list that includes both work and personal tasks.  You do work at home and occasionally have to do personal things at work. Therefore, it might as well be shown on the same list.
  2. Whether it’s on paper or in your cell phone, keep your To-Do list with you at all times. Your mind is always thinking of things that should be done. If something pops into your head, write it down right away before the thought is lost (and then your report is late)
  3. Look at your To-Do list at least three times a day.
    • Reorder  it (or rewrite it) it each morning to help you plan your day
    • Review it at lunch to see if there is anything you forgot to do
    • Revise it at the end of the day, highlighting things that must be done tomorrow
  4. Make your To-Do list your personal boss.  Namely, if you put it on the list, you have to do it.  I find this helps motivate me to do things I know I should do, but really don’t want to.
  5. Gain a personal sense of accomplishment by crossing out completed tasks. As funny as it sounds, there is a satisfying feeling of accomplishment related to crossing things out when a task has been completed.
  6. If you did something that was not originally on your To-Do list, write it on the list and immediately cross it out.  This may sound like a waste of time, but it helps you to look back at the end of the day to see what you have accomplished. It also gives you a small additional sense of accomplishment by crossing it out. Yes, even if you just wrote it on the list.
  7. If something has been on your To-Do list for weeks and you haven’t done it, either do it or delete it from the list. If you never really planned on doing it, it shouldn’t be on the list.
  8. When you have things that must be done prior to an important day (like buy your spouse a birthday card) putting a reminder in your calendar a day or two before the event to ensure you get it on your To-Do list in time.  For example, if your wife’s birthday is May 11th, put her birthday on your calendar twice, one on the 11th and once on the 9th reminding you to buy a card.

In closing, there are various great processes and methodologies you can use to prioritize the items on your To-Do list. I’ll save that topic for another day.

The primary advice and takeaways are to know that:

  • Your To-Do list can be your friend
  • As a manager, mentally keeping track of important tasks is almost impossible. Write it down.