Much easier, and just as effective.) Trick #3: Separate Gmail from the browser. (I used to maintain a personal fork of Simplify that would hide even more of the interface - such as the giant”plus” in the bottom right of the screen - but then I realised I could just use my ad-blocker to block those specific components. Most of the interface elements are useless anyway, because I use the keyboard to navigate (more on that later). Simplify is an awesome Chrome extension that simplifies the Gmail interface to the bare minimum. To help me focus on the most important tasks, I try to hide everything else. The less there is to see on the screen, the less I will be distracted. Realisation #2: Time management is attention management. Everyone I know already has an account and knows how to use this open platform. Inbox-as-to-do-list supports rich notes and collaborative tasks out of the box. Sometimes I carbon copy people who depend on the completion of the task, letting them know that I have documented this task and will get back to them later. Sometimes I reply to myself and post updates to keep track of my progress. Sometimes I write whole paragraphs of text in the body to remind myself of the details of the task. The great thing about this approach is that it is extremely flexible. Trick #1: I email tasks to myself.Įmailing myself about the odd task that does not already involve an email in my inbox feels like less work than moving everything else back and forth between two lists. The solution to that problem is rather straightforward. So, since I have decided to use my inbox as my to-do-list, I need to ensure that somehow all my tasks arrive as emails there, even those tasks that were not sent to me by other people. However, effective to-do-list management becomes a lot easier when all tasks are collected in one place (as opposed to being distributed across notebooks, sticky notes on my desk, apps on my phone, and my email). Obviously, not all tasks start with an email. Using my inbox as my to-do-list saves me a lot of work simply moving tasks back and forth. Moving all of those emails to a separate to-do-list is a chore moving them back to an email doubly so. When I try to keep a to-do-list separate from my inbox, most of the tasks that end up on that to-do-list started life as an email, or will at least result in an email eventually. Most of the things I need to get done next will also get done through email. Most of the things I get “done” get done through email. Emails inevitably form a large part of that communication. My job revolves around communicating with people. Realisation #1: Most of my tasks are emails already. I learnt to stop worrying and made the inbox-as-to-do-list approach work for me. Yet the honest truth is that all of these attempts didn’t work nearly as well for me as my current Gmail setup. Based on this advice, I have tried different tools and techniques to create a to-do-list separate from my inbox. Several well known time management books explicitly advise against this approach. I know! Using my inbox as my to-do-list is considered bad practice, and I should feel bad for even trying. How I learnt to stop worrying and made the inbox-as-to-do-list approach work for me.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |