My Action Dashboard so Things Get Done!

We all know the feeling of being overwhelmed by the sheer amount of tasks that land on our desks each day. It can be difficult to keep track of what's most important and to stay on top of everything.

That's why I wanted to share with you my experience with Microsoft ToDo.

At first, I was hesitant to use ToDo because of its simplicity. But thanks to its integration with Outlook and its ease of use, it quickly became my go-to tool for planning my day and staying on track.

I struggled with finding a system that would help me prioritize my tasks and keep my work and personal tasks separate, while still having them in a single view. That's when I discovered the MS ToDo integration with Outlook.

With ToDo, I can easily share a list with any user and keep my work and personal tasks separate. Every morning, I review my tasks backlog and choose the most important ones for the day, adding them to 'My Day'. Then, using Outlook's 'Boards' view, I can load my 'My Day' list and see it side by side with my calendar for the day.

This visual aid has been incredibly helpful for me in removing blind spots and avoiding overloading myself. By setting the duration of each task on the timeline, I can see how many things I can realistically accomplish in a day and prioritize accordingly. And by blocking off my calendar for these tasks, I can avoid interruptions and stay focused.

Overall, Microsoft ToDo has been a game-changer for me in terms of productivity and organization. I highly recommend giving it a try.


So how I do it?

I used to think to-do lists were key. Now, I understand the real power of managing my priorities — and it's changed everything. It's much more than that.

You need to Understand the WHY of your goals.

I just wanted something really simple, and easy. That weaves into my workday, as is it already. 
Yet I am prone to complicate things and fiddle with tools instead of doing the actual work.
I needed something minimalistic, invisible, that won't introduce friction to my #productivity.

It was also extremely important that whatever I use will bring realism into my planning of the day.
Over-planning anyone? Getting too much stuff on your plate?
I needed something that takes into account the time already lost for productivity bc of meetings. And also allow visual estimating.

Next, I needed something that always sits in front of my eyes, no matter what I'm doing. So I always know what I'm supposed to do now and next. Better if it nags me to get back on task should I happen to wander or get distracted.

The Solution?

So, as my company was already using Microsoft Ecosystem, I went with Outlook Calendar + ToDo + Dashoard.
Want to know how I set them up to get them working flawlessly?
Read on ...


All the things I need to get done are organised in Projects as lists in ToDo. That can be a dump of lots of stuff. They get priority set (or not) as a first pass.

Tangentially, there is no task w/o a purpose clearly stated; like: Respond to the enquiry from your boss, so that you get paid. 


Each morning I plan my day with #coffee. 

Going through my projects and select the most important/urgent tasks. These are going into 'My Day' list. I prefer using the 1-3-5 #system, but realistically no more than 3 tasks should be planned. This is the second level of prioritisation.

The magic happens here. 

When opening the 'Board' view in Outlook Calendar online, I can see the schedule for today and 'My Day' list side by side. Now I can use time-blocking by dragging the tasks from 'My Day' to the calendar into free timeslots. Outlook will create calendar appointments for each task.

And visually estimate the time needed by just dragging the edges to adjust duration, like for any meeting. The magic happens here as now I can see how much I can really get done in the time available for the day. When many meeting or complex tasks are present, my agenda will fill in quickly and I'm forced to only add what's most important. This is the third level.

Now, when I start my workday:

  • I know exactly what I do and when
  • my calendar is blocked, so I only get calls or last-minute meetings when really important
  • I get regular reminders of what I'm supposed to be doing should I wander off. 


Moreover, I mentioned it's only offering a #system to nag me into keeping on task. Two things:

  • I set my browser to open my DashBoard on opening a new tab,
  • Calendar will pop up notifications of your events. After starting working on something I keep snoozing the notification rather than dismissing it before I finish.


BONUS: you also want to see and managed your personal stuff here? 

But keep in separate from your company account?

ToDo offers a great feature to share/import a ToDo list. So set up a separate personal Microsoft account and create a list like todotoday. Share this with your work account and add the tasks for the day into it. Back into your main ToDo add tasks from the shared list to 'My Day'.


I don't always post here. Why not follow me on Twitter or join my newsletter for more detailed descriptions of how to do stuff?

 

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