Getting things done: my practical system for emails and tasks

Why I actively manage priorities and time

I set two ultimate goals when I look at how I spend my time:

• Using that time to create the largest possible impact (privately and professionally);
• Ensuring I sustain a sufficient energy level so I can keep creating impact in the long run.

Burning fires, environment, and personal inclination all contribute to deviating from those two goals. Personal inclinations may include:

• Perfectionism and spending more time than needed on something;
• The natural tendency towards tasks we like, rather than tasks that create impact;
• And more.

To avoid deviation from the two goals above, I benefit from an organizational system to track and manage objectives, priorities, and tasks.

How I actively manage priorities and time

Everyone develops their own workflow. Mine is inspired by the book “Getting Things Done: The art of stress-free productivity” by David Allen. The main reason why those principles work so well for me is that it provides a very simple and learnable way to get distractions out of my immediate sight.

Here’s how I personally do it:

1. I use structured task lists
2. I write down every distraction and then forget about it
3. I block regular head time in my diary
4. I continuously review my priorities and plans
5. I schedule time to work on tasks
6. I embrace unforeseen changes

This helps me removing clutter and achieving “Inbox Zero”: an empty inbox every day and no noise before priorities.

The system is much simpler than it looks. Once muscle memory is developed, efficiency goes up and stress level goes down.

1. Use structured task lists

Everything is a task and will require time: reading an email, working on a project, and everything else.

I am always aware of all the places where those tasks are listed and accumulate. For example:

• My personal email;
• My professional email;
• My personal todo list (I use Apple’s “Reminders”);
• My professional todo list (I use Microsoft’s “To Do”);
• My CRM’s task list;
• And more.

All my tasklists have a very similar structure.

• “Inbox”: the default list where tasks are created
• “Important”: I use this to tag my currently in-progress priorities
• “High impact & Focus needed”: everything that must be done because it has high impact, and requires focus time
• “Must do: approaching deadline”: everything that must be done because it is time critical
• “Delegated-Waiting”: stuff I delegated to someone, on for which I’m waiting on someone to be able to progress
• “Someday Maybe”: every good idea that’s worth tracking but is not providing the most significant impact or is not time critical

I use these specific names to trick my brain into categorizing tasks effectively (see below).

For emails, I keep things simpler and usually merge “High impact & Focus needed” and “Must do: approaching deadline” into “To Do / Reply”

2. Write down every distraction and forget about it

Distractions (ideas, thoughts, preoccupations) come up as I am focused on something else.

When this happens, I write them down as quickly as possible in an Inbox. I don’t think about when or how I’ll do something, I just write the bare minimum I need to remember about them when I’ll read back.

Then, I go back to what I was doing.

This is the most critical and beneficial step. Write down, forget, and avoid losing focus.

3. Block regular head time in the diary

I block time in my diary when I am free from meetings and can focus my energy on strategic thinking. If something extremely important comes up, I will make time for it. However, I try to defend that time as much as possible.

Different times work for different people. I found blocking the same time every day the most effective strategy for me. I do it in the morning when my mind is still fresh.

4. Continuously review priorities and plans

Priorities change and plans must too.

I make it part of my daily routine to review my tasklists and reshuffle priorities. I usually do this at the beginning of my morning focus time.

In practice, I go through:

• Everything in my Inbox
• If the action takes less than 2 minutes, I just do it
• If the action takes more, I rephrase it so it’s concise but self-explanatory. I write single tasks, not broad goals. I write it so clearly that all I need to do is follow those directions if I read it in a month’s time
• Everything in my Inbox (daily) and “Someday Maybe” list (weekly)
• Do I really need to do the task? If the impact is unclear or not within a useful timeframe, or it’s not really a must-do, I should delete it;
• The second best option is to delegate the task;
• If it will have a significant impact within a useful timeframe and I have to do it, I move it to “High impact & Focus needed”
• If it is an absolute must-do-now, I move it to “Must do: approaching deadline”
• Otherwise, it lands in the “Someday Maybe” list
• Everything in my “Delegated” list
• If not done, do I have to nudge the person?
• If done, should I mark it as done, or move it to one of my todo lists?

5. Schedule time to work on tasks

Unless I block time in my diary (not in my todo list), meetings and priorities will accumulate and I won’t get things done.

For this reason, right after I review my lists, I schedule concrete time to work on stuff.

If something needs to happen on a particular time, I also create a diary blocker rather than just a reminder.

In practice:

• On Mondays, I go through everything in my “High impact & Focus needed” and block time in the current or next week
• Every morning, I go through everything in my “Must do: approaching deadline” and block time in the current or next day

On top of allocating time, I tag my current work-in-progress in the “Important” list, so I know at all times how much is on my plate.

I aim to dedicate two-thirds of my time to high-impact initiatives and one-third to urgent, less time-consuming must-dos. As a result, I typically focus on no more than 2-3 high-impact tasks and 4-5 must-dos simultaneously.

6. Embrace unforeseen changes

A system should help manage chaos, but not become a dogma.

I use these as guidelines, but try to prioritize reality compared to the system.

Every time unforeseen changes happen, it’s important to adapt and leverage them. For example, if a meeting is cancelled or I happen to have some free time during the day, I may choose to go through my Inbox or “must do” lists and just get small tasks out of my way.