Matthew Cornell has a great little PDF out called Where the !@#% did my day go? He has offered to let me give a copy away here on Productivity501. See below for information about the contest.
“Where the !@#% did my day go?” is designed to help you adopt a daily planning routine. It assumes that you have some type of task management and calendar system in place, already. From that standpoint, it kind of picks up where other system leaves off–once you’ve captured what needs done, how do you execute? Here are some of the things I found interesting:
- Task selection – Matthew has some really good points about how to select tasks so that you feel good about what you’ve accomplished for the day. Just getting work done isn’t enough–you need to feel good about your day when you head home.
- Task order – There is a nice discussion on the benefits of different ordering strategies.
- Interruptions – There are some great suggestions for dealing with interruptions and how to integrate potential interruptions into your planning process.
- Estimation – It is hard to plan if you don’t know how long things will take. Matthew suggests that you estimate and then measure how long a task will take. That way, you keep getting better at estimating over time and your accuracy will increase.
- Worksheets – The PDF includes several worksheets to help with the planning and measurement process. I particularly liked the idea of the “interruption worksheet” to keep track of what is interfering with your planned execution.
- Examples – There are several examples of actual worksheets and plans. It is surprisingly interesting to see how someone else has planned their day.
- Measurements – The process tries to encourage a lot of different types of quantifiable measurements from tracking interruptions to giving you a way to check if you are on or off task every 15 minutes.
I really liked this quote encouraging people to try to create a work plan for the day and follow it:
It’s as if a very smart person who is intimately familiar with your work has figured out the best use of your time for the day, then written it out in plain language. You don’t have to think about what to do next. You simply work each task in order, relishing the feeling of flow and accomplishment.
I enjoyed reading the PDF. It isn’t particularly long, so it doesn’t take a huge time investment to read and I can’t imagine anyone who won’t get something out of it that they can apply immediately to help make them more productive.
Contest
To enter the contest you have to leave a comment. Give us an example of how you successfully do your daily planning or how you don’t plan or a story about your boss who doesn’t plan, but needs to, etc. (If you draw a complete blank, you can just say “enter me into the contest”.)
We will pick a winner in a week or so and send them a shiny new copy of the PDF!
enter me into the contest
got a moleskin and i make myself write down 2 things i NEED to do the next day. I only put down two things. No more, no less. I do that so that wheni get these things done, it’ll motivate me to get more things done as well.
Thanks for this post. I’ve been struggling with implementing some sort of routine and this sounds like an interesting starting point.
I use an index card. I put two or three general things on the card in the morning or the night before. I’ll try to limit some tasks to a time limit if they are too vague. If I put too many tasks on the card I usually cannot get them all done in one day. As the day progresses, I may add to the card to capture something that needs to get done, but the first priority are the the tasks that started the card. That evening I will go back over the card and then create a new card for the next day. Some tasks may get pushed to another day that week, they go on that days card.
This system is not very robust, but it is simple and I seem to fall back on it when other systems get too complicated or don’t seem to fit the problem at hand.
With that, please enter me in the contest.
Thanks!
enter me in contest
What a perfect name! I’m always wondering where my !@#%ing day has gone. I try to start time management routines but quickly run out of steam. I need help!
Before I leave for the day, I always try to write down the 1-3 things I need to get done the next day, and then I try to work on one of them first thing the next morning. It helps keep me from losing focus and spinning my wheels going from one workday to the next.
Please enter me into the contest. Thanks!
Google Calendar and Remember the Milk keep me between the ditches each day, and most of my weeks have a rhythm that helps shape and shift my focus. All that said, there’s plenty of simplification that could help me out!
The biggest thing for me as a solo entrepreneur is that I wear so many hats I am never at a loss for what to do, but picking the next task is a job in an of itself because what do you prioritize first? Please enter me into the contest.
Ideally the night before I define 6 tasks that I’m going to complete the next day. Then I’ll check my calendar and identify blocks of time where I can work uninterrupted on each of those 6 items. This helps keep me focused through the day, and if I’m careful about making the 6 items ‘doable’ I get to tick off completed tasks as I go through the day.
In practice though I too often back into the day, sometimes work off my action list, and end up wondering where the #@!*$ my day went :) So thanks for the contest!
Outlook runs my time and task management. I plot out everything that needs to get done at the beginning of the week and adjust as I go. Please enter me in the contest.
Mosty I use an index card or post-it note and write down three or four tasks to do each day. I can’t handle more than that. I have three Big Task Categories that at the end of the day, if I have done one thing in each category I am at peace: Mom (visit her in the nursing home), Writing (I am a freelance writer) and Me (something that makes me glad).
Lucy
Enter me in the contest!
Currently I’m using Mark Forster’s Autofocus together with ZenToDone:
ZTD’s habits like capturing, deciding, planning, reviewing, and doing scheduled work (Most Important Tasks), and Autofocus for work at discretionary time, especially routines, tasks and projects that don’t have fixed due dates or deadlines but need to get done anyhow.
I’ve read GTD but found the ‘maintenance costs’ too high. I took some elements from it (the 4 ‘Ds’ is really good), and I’d like to see how this compares.
Thanks a ton for the review, Mark. I’m looking forward to seeing more entries, and finding out who wins!
Thanks everyone for your comments.
John E: I like your idea. In the guide I talk about where tasks should be coming from (and going *to*), why to separate capturing new tasks from your plan, timing/limiting tasks, and the danger of reusing/cascading tasks the next day. Thanks for the comment!
deb: I’m happy you like the name. Now you’ll know (and can control) where your !@#%ing day went ;-)
Corey: Sounds good, and I like doing one first thing; great strategy. In the document I share advanages of planning the night before vs. the day of.
D. Lee Grooms: Good tools; I’m glad they work for you. My approach basically chops down your RTM tasks into something you can get done in the day, then shows you how to finish the list off.
Jeff Miles: I work with solo entrepreneurs, and I totally get it. My guide is aimed exactly at managing those many, many hats so you can feel good about your effort.
I not only would love to win this…I need to win this! My tip is I make sure to have a pen and paper wherever I find I do the most thinking….driving in the car, and getting ready to shower. Thanks for the contest!
enter me into the contest
If I plan at all it is a list on the back of some paper that usually gets lost some where…
lists and post its abound- and I’ve just read Getting Things Done-
so I set up folders and files- but am still struggling with the flow
of item to completed task. Even my lists need lists sometimes.
Please enter me in the contest.
I plan ahead in the early morining when i am going to check the email and read the “blog,stuff, web surging”. Basically I stablish when (in time and in tasks done before) to do some less important things.
I found this a very simple yet powerfull to push me in the right direction during the day ( more carrot than stick anyway).
Great Site BTW.
Cuende.
Matthew Cornell rocks!
Strategies I use include:
1) Morning Pages (if you are not familiar with MP, check out The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron)
2) Determining/focusing on the next action in any project
3) Refusing to get stuck in “attention splatter” by having no more than 3 main priorities (things that must be done) each week
4) Sunday Summits for getting clear/setting intentions for the coming week
Hope this helps!
Best,
Susie
I’ve been running a grand experiment by going without a to-do list this school year.
I used to think that I had to have a strong system for capturing and organizing next actions. But, nope, turns out I’m forgetting to do tasks any more than when I used a system. I can remember the important stuff, use my in-box as a to-do list (horrors!) and the tasks I used to procrastinate on…. I’m still procrastinating on.
I still have the frequent urge to develop a new system. This may be a symptom of procrastination–I’m on guard against the desire to spend time organizing my work *instead* of doing my work.
Yet I’m having a terrible time choosing tasks on the fly. I think it was easier to decide when I had a list of tasks right in front of me. So, perhaps I do need a new system that emphasizes task selection rather than capture.
Full disclosure: I’m from Tungle, but I also use it regularly so I can speak as a user as well :-)
For me, it’s always the “little extras” – namely, administrative tasks – that leave me wondering where my day went. A big one was always scheduling meetings. All those back and forth emails, and having to go between my inbox & my calendar was a huge time suck.
With Tungle, I can propose multiple times in meeting invitations and Tungle handles the rest – double bookings, time zones, sorting replies… even booking it and adding it to my calendar.
We did some research here and found that it takes an average of 7 communications to get one meeting booked. With Tungle, it averages 1.6. An email may only take 3 or 4 minutes to read & reply to, but by then you’re completely distracted from what you were doing before. 7 distractions a day for every meeting you have to book adds up.
With Tungle, it’s set and forget, and back to my to-do list. Definitely a life/day-saver.
My office is busy and I deal with a ton of interruptions a day, plus multi-tasking is a must around here, so I do wonder where my day went many times. I have a day planner, both monthly and daily where I keep track of important tasks. I also use it to journal completed tasks. I also use Outlook as a reminder. Plus I only read and answer emails at set times during the day. If I answered every one when it came in, I would get nothing done!
I made a list of 10 things that I will get done today; big and small. And my bf has agreed to leave me be (or help!) with those 10… after that I have to stop and relax!
“Big Picture” and “Reflection”
In the morning I start my day looking at the “Big Picture”, spending 10-15 minutes determining what are the 1-4 things that must be accomplished today. At the end of the day I take 5-10 to reflect on how well I did. I really like using David Seah’s “Emergent Task Planner” from his “Printable CEO” collection of Task and Project Management Tools. It has been very helpful.
I’m having one of those days today…I’ve been “working” for several hours with only an empty pot of coffee to show for it.
I start my day in the gym and spend time between sets updating my “Things” database on my iPhone and making sure I’m sync’d up with my calendar for the day.
Adam
PS : please enter me too!
I have modified several systems to get an organizaitonal system to work for me. I use GTD, SmartSheet for overall system planning, daily sheets to document what needs to be done that day, and a moleskine. It still needs to be modified but it works for now.
Please enter me in this giveaway.
Please enter me in the contest. Since my insurance stopped covering my Provigil, I have no idea where my days go. I am so distracted, disorganized, & undisciplined. This sounds like something I could really benefit from.
This year as an experiment I bought an A5 diary with one page for each day (I usually go for the very small ones with one week per day) plus a moleskin. In the moleskin I write down everything that I have to do. Each day I choose 3-4 of the most important and urgent. Then I just do them. I don;t check email for a couple of hours after getting to work (if I do the whole day seems to be wasted). If one of my tasks are big projects, I use switching so that I work on that for 2-3 hours, then switch task to something shorter, then back again – it gives my mind a rest. I try never to work on more than one big project per day.
I usually choose my tasks in the morning – takes about 10 min. I find this works for me because I then have the most enthusiasm for doing them. If I make my list the night before, I sometimes lose interest and momentum by the next morning.
Please enter me too…
I use the ‘most important task list’ – the 3 things I MUST do that day as a priority. They may not be urgent, but they need some ‘movement on’.
Enter me in the competition please!
I use an index card system combined with Zen To Done and 43 Folders. I just started with the system, so I am still experimenting, but so far it is working quite well.
I’m a trial attorney, concentrating in family law and domestic violence. When I leave for court, I never know how long I’ll be gone. It could be 15 minutes, or three hours–it all depends on how busy the courtroom is, whether opposing counsel or my client shows up on time, and if the judge is moving the cases along quickly. Our courthouse has free wi-fi, which helps me work on my Google Calendar, e-mail and Remember the Milk lists, but eventually I have to go back to the office, where there will be a pile of paper needing my attention. I get mail every day, clients drop paperwork off, there are documents from opposing counsel to review and copy, and I never know how much there will be or how long it will take to process. Then there are the phone calls–they never stop, and most of them require immediate responses. I love what I do, but I often get to 5:00 and feel like I haven’t done anything more than rearrange the piles on my desk and put out the most urgent fires. I wish I could block out large chunks of time to process everything, but I never know how much time I’ll have on any given day. I sure could use some help!
Plan? What is plan? Everybody wants a piece of me and they get it one way or another! I make notes on pieces of paper and lose them, I put a reminder on my phone and can’t find it. I am a mess enter me in the contest
I find writing down a list and prioritizing tasks really helps. I feel most productive when I have a deadline to beat.
enter me in the contest
I need to plan better… Enter me into the contest…
I keep a running list that I can prioritize as part of my google calender.
I struggle with too many interesting things, combined with too many mundane but time consuming things. I have an excel spreadsheet to do list, which I use to capture to do’s… but somehow, I never get the prioritization to translate into days that feel satisfying. I’d love to win this!
GTD w/ 4 hour work week. Block out chunks of day for one task and other parts for inbox, email etc. in iCal with alarms Create large list, and project list, try to advance things one stage each day. Need help staying disciplined. Please enter me onto the contest. Thanks!
I usually start out ok but changing priorities through the day throws me off. Once it starts I’m off my plan. Very frustrating
Great comments, everyone; thank you. This is why I wrote it ;-)
kish: Sticking to two “will do” items a day is bold, and I love it. The guide discusses how many to pick, and ways to get *through* them all. System works fine with a Moleskine.
Barrett: Time blocking is a fine idea, something the guide talks about. Using the daily plan as a “focus anchor” is exactly what I describe. Re: keeping them ‘doable’ – also covered. Good ideas!
Kristofer: Weekly planning: nice practice. That’s a future little book :-)
Lucy: Keeping the # of tasks small is important. I describe in the book that this is important to getting a “touchdown” – checking off the entire list. And I really like your “Big Categories” – a nice sanity check. I do the same thing at the “health, finances, Think, Try, Learn, etc.” levels.
Rainer: Thanks for sharing your system. I need to look more at Mark’s and Leo’s work.
rastapete: Re GTD costs, I understand. When consulting with clients I adapt as needed. In particular, a major advantage of the daily planning practice is to manage GTD “action overload”. BTW, I share 5Ds: DELETE, DEPOSIT (file), DELEGATE, DO, DEFER.
Rivka: Capture is crucial to staying on task. I differentiate them in the book a bit.
Maren: Great comment – gave me a chuckle, plus a “Yep.” It’s why I wrote the book. I cover managing the list, including when to toss it.
ck: “Action overload” is one thing that planning helps with. If there’s more holding you b ack, give me a call.
Cuende: Good practice. In the book I talk about when to order and/or prioritize, or not.
Susie: Too kind! After reading your comment I pulled Cameron’s book out for my next read (had it in my anti-library – http://matthewcornell.org/2009/04/on-keeping-umberto-eco-anti-library.html :-) I like the idea of three main priorities per week. Love the creative naming, BTW.
Britt: I love it! We sometimes get caught up in methods and tools that are too complex for our needs. Stepping back like you’ve done is a great idea. In fact, treating productivity as an experiment is EXACTLY what I recommend. In fact, my guide has a number of experiments to try around daily planning – using it as an experiment “platform,” if you will.
(BTW, you can find some tasty productivity experiments on our “Edison” Think, Try, Learn tool. I summarized some of them here: “Stories from Edison: Lucid Dreaming, Dropping Twitter, Sleep, and Personal Medical Experiments” http://matthewcornell.org/2009/10/stories-edison-lucid-dreaming-dropping-twitter-sleep-and-personal-medical-experiments.html )
Erin: Thanks for the Tungle pointer; meeting scheduling is a pain, I agree. I’ll check it out and add to my list of tools. Re: administrative tasks, I cover mixing big and little things, so that both get steadily done.
Patty: I hear our pain. I have a nice section on handling interruptions, which, as you point out, are a major “Where did my day go!” factor.
Laura: A boyfriend who helps get stuff done? A keeper! Re: the # of items, I have a section covering how many is reasonable. Short answer: It varies. Sometimes getting just two done is a good day.
Mike: Excellent practice. Step one of my method is just that – a short review and choice session. I love your “after action” process. In my guide I share some methods for improving estimates so you can get better and selecting, and ultimately get more done. I love David’s work, BTW. He’s reviewing a copy as we speak ;-)
Brittani: “Empty pot of coffee” – yep. Same thing happened to me, in spite of a solid GTD practice. That’s why I wrote the guide.
Adam: Planning out the day is integral to my method. Doing at the gym? Brilliant!
Barbara S: I like your creativity coming up with a hybrid system; a woman after my own heart :-) Thanks for the Smartsheet pointer.
Ed: Re: Provigil (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modafinil), that stinks. I’d definitely recommend a daily planning practice. At the same time, if that does not help, you might need something much different, based on the severity of what your biology is like. Good luck with it.
Amy: Lots of good ideas there – daily planning, time blocking, separate tasks list (crucial), project “bursts,” and batching emails. Re: night before vs morning of, I have a section on that – mostly a personal preference that should be experimented with as you’ve done.
Jez: Three is a good number. For my, sometimes 10 is good, sometimes 1 is good – depends on my day, projects, energy, etc. I cover that in the book.
skywind: Thanks for the peek into your life. Learning about clients’ work and how they manage themselves is always fascinating! In a job as fast-moving and as unpredictable as yours, agility is key, but it sounds like a heck of a challenge. All my readers and clients are ambitious, which is admirable, and at the same time can lead to dissatisfaction due to high expectations – I get it. Check out my guide, and if that’s not enough, please give me a call.
Jo-Ann G: Sounds demanding. Putting a good workflow system in place would be the first step I’d recommend. Set up an inbox, consolidate tasks into a single master list, and work solely from it. Put new stuff (including those many demands) into the inbox on a piece of paper, then process them as a batch once a day, doing them right then if short, or adding them to your master list. Call me if you need more detail.
Nikki W: I hear you. The whole point of my guide is to give you that sense of “Ahh. This was a good workday.”
Thanks all!
well i direct a rehab home and write a list of things to do the next day and i am deperate for organization in my life HELP!!!!!!
I keep a Today List, Later List and Waiting On list. Sometimes I loose sight of the bigger project by just keeping the task lists, so I’ve started a Priority List which helps me remember that bigger picture. My biggest issue is that I do get interrupted throughout the day and can not focus and devote the time needed to work on some of the bigger projects. I would love to have chunks of time to just work on things, but that only seems to happen when I no longer want to work – i.e. weekends and late at night. I’m very interested in any tips to keep focused to get through the little things as well as the big projects and still have a life!
since i dont want to ask myself “Where the @#$% did my lunch go?” after taking far too long to type up my process…. I am just going to say “enter me in the contest” and move on.
:-)
The original FranklinCovey software (v4?) worked for me, but everything since then has been hit or miss. Excel, OneNote, Moleskine, Outlook, Notes, etc…
Please enter me into the contest.
Please enter me in the contest! Planning my day changes whether I’m working at home or in the office, but it’s always a slightly random mix of planning and whatever comes up. I’m investigating the Autofocus system right now but looking at trying other systems too.