Hello Reader,

Configuring a task management app to fit your needs and working style can be daunting, especially when starting out.

Today, I am sharing how to organize your task management tool so that it works for you and boosts your productivity.

Let’s dive in,

A simple list like pen & paper

If you are just starting out with a task manager app, I suggest using a simple to-do list.

In this approach, you would create all your tasks under one list. It will resemble your working style of using a pen & paper-based list. In addition, you can use priority to highlight which task is more important in that list.

Later, you can create additional lists.

ABC method

In the ABC approach, you organize your tasks into three categories, importance & urgency.

• A (high-priority) — “Must Do,” critical items with close deadlines or high-level importance to them.
• B (medium-priority) — “Should Do,” quite important tasks over time, not as critical as A, but still essential to spend time doing.
• C (low-priority) — “Nice To Do” these tasks have low importance & consequences if left undone at this moment.

Once you assign a category, then further prioritize each category by assigning a numerical value to each task within it (e.g., A1, A2, A3).

The letter (A, B, or C) indicates task importance, and the number (1, 2, 3, or 4) is their level of urgency.

Fun fact, this method was originally published by Alan Lakein in 1973.

Eisenhower Matrix

Eisenhower Matrix is also known as the Urgent-Important Matrix. In this approach, you organize your tasks in four quadrants.

• Quadrant 1 (Urgent and Important): These are emergencies and crises. The tasks include a production downtime, a client’s urgent request, project status report due today. You have to do these tasks first.
• Quadrant 2 (Important but Not Urgent): These tasks significantly impact your life. These tasks include journaling your career plan & dreams for yourself, quarterly planning, daily and weekly reviews, learning a new programming language, and starting with Web 3. You should schedule time for these tasks and protect that time at any cost.
• Quadrant 3 (Urgent but Not Important): These are interruptions, distractions, unplanned Twitter Spaces etc. Delegate or defer these tasks.
• Quadrant 4 (Not Urgent and Not Important): These are time-waster tasks, procrastination activities, and aimless internet browsing. You should eliminate or minimize these tasks as much as possible.

“What is important is seldom urgent, and what is urgent is seldom important.” ― Dwight Eisenhower.

You can implement Eisenhower Matrix with most apps, and here is an example of Eisenhower Matrix with Todoist ​

Write & speaker Steven Covey recommends spending most of your time in Quadrants 1 & 2 and as little time as possible in Quadrant 4.

Getting Things Done by David Allen

It is also known as GTD.

It is a comprehensive system that requires a lot of time to capture & process your tasks. I have tried using it a few times but could not keep up with its foundational need of adding every single task & information in the app.

In GTD, you organize your task by its context and priority.

The idea is to capture all your tasks and ideas in your task management app, process them to determine what needs to be done, organize them by context or priority, and then execute them.

Here’s a breakdown of the key steps:

• Capture: Write your tasks and ideas in one list (Inbox).
• Process: Review each task and determine what needs to be done with each task.
• Organize: Organize tasks by context (e.g., work, home, computer, phone, errands) or priority (e.g., urgent, important).
• Execute: doing the tasks based on their priority and context.

PARA system by Tiago Forte

PARA stands for Projects, Areas, Resources, and Archives.

The idea is to organize your tasks & information into these categories. Here’s a breakdown of each category:

• Projects are specific goals that require more than one action step to complete. Learning React or C# and preparing for Azure or AWS certification are perfect examples of a project.
• Areas are the responsibility in your life, for example, daily 9-to-5 work, daily reading, maintaining your health, gym, etc.
• Resources are reference materials needed for your projects or tasks. You keep them in folders and note-taking tools such as OneNote or Notion.
• Archives is a folder for you to move your completed projects & tasks.

I use the PARA method to organize my projects, tasks, files and notes.

Energy-based organization

In this method, you organize your tasks based on the energy or focus required.

For example, you might group tasks that require high levels of focus or creativity together and do them when you have the most energy and mental clarity.

Kanban-based organization

In Kanban, you move tasks through different stages or “lanes.” such as “To-do,” “In-Progress,” and “Done.”

The task sequence in each lane indicates the order of execution so, as the importance & urgency. This method skips the complexities of defining urgency and importance for each task and helps you focus on what provides the most value.

Kanban is very popular these days among people trying to avoid multitasking.

That’s a wrap.

There are many approaches to select from, and you can apply a combination of two or more strategies. Remember to keep it simple and flexible, and don’t be afraid to adjust it as you go.

We’re currently going through a series that focuses on building a productivity system to help increase your clarity and overall productivity. Last week, we discussed task management apps .

Your Friend, Vinod

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