Where do you keep your task list? This is the digital age in which you can have almost anything you need within a fingertips’ grasp at all times so shouldn’t your task list be just as convenient to access? If you’re still writing your to-do’s down on a legal pad or brightly colored Post-it notes instead of utilizing a digital task manager such as Microsoft Outlook®, you’re not reaping these nine great benefits of the modern technology available to you:
1. Always Backed Up
Most importantly, activating the appropriate settings on a digital task list means your to-do list is always backed up online. That means you never risk misplacing a notebook, throwing away a Post-it note, or losing a napkin with a potential client’s number on it. Always being backed up puts your mind at ease and saves you valuable time you might otherwise be searching for lost or misplaced information.
2. Access On All Mobile Devices
As an entrepreneur, you are always on the go so your task list needs to be mobile as well. After all, you dream up tasks and ideas throughout the day, not just while sitting at your desk. Syncing your task list with your cell phone enables you to capture tasks as you think of them. Have a bright idea for a marketing campaign at the doctor’s office? Simply create a task on your phone to research the idea! The task will conveniently be on your computer when you have time to work on it. The ability to view your task list while out of the office also enables you complete simple tasks while away from your desk such as phone calls and emails.
3. Centralized
Tasks on paper tend to multiply rapidly and find homes in random places. A sticky note on your computer screen. A jotted memo on the back of a client file. A reminder on a paper napkin from a lunch meeting. By keeping a digital task list, you are able to capture all of your tasks and reminders in one convenient, centralized location. It’s like a one-stop shop for all of your to-dos so you don’t have to waste time racking your brain to figure out where you wrote down a particular note.
4. Email Integration
If you use a paper task list, you must spend time writing down the who, what, where, when, why on your calendar or task list every time you receive an email invitation for an event or meeting you want to attend. The one-click integration feature available on digital task lists turns those repetitive steps into just one step, making the process of adding pertinent information to tasks during their creation quick and simple every time. One-click integration is a strategic time-management tool you can use when you process your emails. If you use Outlook®, use the quick steps to add emails to your task list with just one click.
5. Calendar Integration
Digital task lists offer a calendar integration feature which is best be utilized in two ways. First, you can clearly see scheduled tasks when inside your calendar which serve as a reminder that open blocks of time do not necessarily mean you have adequate time to schedule a meeting. Secondly, calendar integration enables you to prioritize tasks based on the time you have between appointments which ensures you don’t overschedule yourself.
6. Set Up Re-Occurring Tasks
Re-occurring tasks like purging your files, following up with past clients, paying bills, or even just changing your air filters are necessary tasks but they’re often forgotten. Digital task lists enable you to automate daily, weekly, monthly, or annual reminders for such re-occurring tasks. This feature removes the inefficiency of repeatedly typing or writing tasks that require completion on a re-occurring basis, as well as plainly forgetting to do them.
7. Categorize
Digital task lists offer a category feature which enables you to quickly prioritize and work through your tasks. You can group similar tasks together for greater efficiency such as Emails, Phone Calls, Marketing, or Social Media. You can otherwise use specific categories for each project or division in your business to help you maintain focus on the areas that demand your immediate attention.
8. Assign Dates
Written task lists often leave off the most important information - the due date! That is because written task lists are usually created for only one day at a time. You then roll over uncompleted tasks to the next day. The problem is not all tasks must be accomplished that day but your attention is constantly drawn to them. By assigning due dates to tasks on your digital list based on priority, you don’t see tasks until it’s time to work on them. Utilizing this feature therefore frees up time and energy to focus on the tasks that do require your immediate attention.
9. Automatic Roll-Over
Truth be told, there are many days you don’t complete all of your tasks or maybe any of your tasks. Digital task lists conveniently and automatically roll uncompleted tasks over to the next day which means you don’t have to write down tasks over and over again when you fail to complete them as originally planned.
If you want to be more effective and efficient with your time and get ahead of your competition, you need to transform the way you work. For many of you that means not wasting time writing down meeting details, rewriting tasks, searching through piles of paper for misplaced information, and constantly feeling overwhelmed by the number of tasks showing up on your daily to-do list. If you are in the habit of writing down your tasks, you’re losing out on the multiple benefits of operating from a digital task manager. The ripple effect of increased productivity in your life, including the ability to get stuff done anytime, anywhere, could be mind-blowing!
Are you SCREWING your productivity?
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