Get Everything Done

I’ve been a long time ‘lurker’ on this forum, and have found AF1 to be the best and simplest self-management system I’ve ever used. One list that you can throw anything into, coupled with an easy, systematic, and intuitive routine for either doing or rethinking the items on the list.

Like many, I’ve wavered between using paper lists and electronic systems. My ‘grail’ was an effective way to do AF1 electronically. I believe I’ve found it.

First let me say that I’m not comfortable with the level of complexity some people utilize in their systems. (Multi-page multi-lists with multi-columns, reverse scanning, prioritizing, sub-lists, etc.) I’m not that bright: all I can handle is a notebook, a calendar, and a To Do list or two. The tools I’ve been using in the past few months are commonly available: a notebook, a computer, and a smartphone.

I use a single notebook for everything, whether at my desk or off-site in meetings. I number the pages, and use the first 4 or 5 as an index. I don’t arbitrarily divide the notebook into sections. Meetings, phone calls, thoughts, etc. are kept in chronological order throughout the day, and a quick review helps me keep the index current.

As I take notes, I mark any ‘Tasks’ or ‘Waiting For’ items with an icon in the margin (a circle for To Do, a star for Waiting For). I do not rewrite the items on a separate list in the notebook. I transfer them to an electronic list.

I use Google Tasks and Google Calendar on my desktop computer. Google Calendar allows color-coded categories for ease of use (I use Personal, Other People’s Schedules, and Deadlines.) Google Tasks allows you to create as many different task lists as you want, but I use just two: INBOX and DISMISSED. The advantage of using Google Calendar and Tasks together is that I can assign a due date if necessary to a task and have it show up on the calendar. They can also be accessed from any computer, so they are, in a sense, portable.

At the end of the day (if not more frequently), I go through my notebook and put the Tasks and ‘Waiting For’ items into my Google Tasks INBOX. (‘Waiting For’ items are preceded with an asterisk, which sort of mimics the star I use in the notebook and makes them easier to spot.) After entering the items, I check them off in the notebook as having been transferred. Since I use the notebook so much, it’s easy to see non-transferred items that may slip through the cracks.

To maintain the integrity of the system, I have to have a capture tool with me everywhere. Keeping a notebook handy all the time sounds good in theory, but I won’t walk around all day at work, at home, out with friends, at the gym, etc. with a notebook in hand.

The only thing I can count on having with me all the time is my smartphone. To that end, I use an app called Calengoo. It automatically synchronizes both the Google Task list and the Calendar, and can display them separately or on one screen. Any additions, deletions, or other changes I make on my phone or any computer are automatically synchronized, so the info is always up to date. No matter how I capture, I still maintain just one list.

Here’s how I use AF1 electronically. Every 25-30 items or so in my Google Task INBOX, I enter a task called “BREAK”. Items between the BREAKS are an AF ‘page’. I cycle through these just like a paper AF list, and follow the standard AF rules for dismissal. The difference is that rather than highlight dismissed items, I transfer them to a DISMISSED list. I review these just as I would a paper list with highlighted pages, and may re-enter or delete them as appropriate.

The advantages are that I always have a convenient capture device, the info is always current, saved, and available, and I can follow a tremendously efficient and effective system (AF1). . I haven’t found any downsides yet, but like everyone on this forum, I’m always interested in improving my system. If anyone has suggestions, please post them.

I clear completed tasks from time to time. Since I know that each 'page' originally had 25 items, I can see my progress by how many items are left between each Break. It motivates me pretty well.

My little system has to keep the tasks in order to remain true to AF. I actually prefer Toodledo to Google Tasks, but there's no intergrated android app that effectively allows Toodledo to maintain the order of entry.