I’ve been grappling with this issue for quite some time. In the battle between your Calendar and your To-Do list, who wins?
Gurus like David Allen usually land in the “list camp,” whereas folks from the “calendar camp,” like Stephen Covey, tell you to start with your Big Rocks. I’ve been torn for awhile now myself, but I’m beginning to land on my own point of view.
I think it is better to err SLIGHTLY on the side of the Calendar. Why, do you ask, after 37 years of considering this issue, am I falling a teeny, tiny bit over to the calendar camp?
1. Consideration of time available: Time is our most limited (and most precious) resource. We have to start with the never-changing constraint of the 168 hours we have in any given week. If you make a To-Do list that exists independently from your Calendar and does not align with the actual time you have available, you are setting yourself up to fail. If I agree to do something for someone without first consulting my Calendar, I may end up overcommitting.
2. Consideration of time and place: By putting To-Do’s directly into your Calendar, you can consider your physical location, needed materials, and energy level. For example, if I just keep a list of phone calls in Outlook Tasks, I’m less likely to make them than if I make a “call block” in my Calendar and list the To-Do’s directly in the appointment. Note how Molly, a leader in an anti-poverty nonprofit, plans out her train time in advance. She is carefully considering her energy level and cognitive capabilities on an Amtrak ride!
3. Consideration of backward planning: By plotting To-Do’s directly into your (digital) Calendar, you can work backward from big deadlines and events to lessen the scramble. For example, if you have a deadline like “Turn in final budget to board” looming in May, you can plot in Calendar appointments between now and then to help you meet this goal, like “Meet with operations team to produce draft of budget,” and a work block to “Prepare budget testimony for board.”
But, but, BUT, I am not going to be so bold as to suggest ALL To-Do’s go straight to your Calendar when you receive them. There is a time and place for To-Do lists. Here are the rules I apply:
Put it on your To-Do List if…
- You are not quite sure of the exact date you want it to happen. Sure, sure, sure, “what doesn’t get dated, doesn’t get done,” BUT if you give something an arbitrary deadline in your calendar, you know what happens, right? SNOOZE, DISMISS, DELETE. It’s gone.
- It will take you under 15 – 30 minutes to complete. For most leaders with busy meeting schedules, I treat 30 minutes or greater as the threshold for when something should go directly into the Calendar. Tasks that take more than 30 minutes are usually harder to “squeeze” into a week.
- You need to think about To-Do’s grouped by project or category. Sometimes our brains need to just dump items into a list, like when we brainstorm all the steps needed to complete the budget process. But after that, we may need to plot them into a Calendar to ensure they get done.
So, there you have it. A slight bias toward your Calendar, but there is still a need for an old-fashioned To-Do list.
What about you? Where do you fall?
Next up, how to make your To-Do list better speak to your Calendar!
Interesting article. In my book I discovered, via research, that people actually progress from one technique to another as the number of time demands they must handle each day grows. They start out using memory, then migrate to do using To-Do lists and then finally grow into using a schedule.
Peter Gollwotizer from NYU and others show that we are far more likely to perform an action that has a due date attached to it, so there is great power in the use of dates. Here’s another interesting fact:
Many time management gurus who say that you shouldn’t put everything into a calendar are heavily influenced by their use of paper calendars. Things have changed so that most younger professionals only use digital versions, and they are far more able to juggle a schedule as things change than anyone could with paper.
Advances in software and the mobile internet are slowly making their way into time management applications – including calendars. Soon, there will be a way to press a button and have your calendar organize itself whenever you need it to, using some rules/guidelines you have set up beforehand. Stay tuned…!
I tackle these and other related issues in my recent book, Perfect Time-Based Productivity.
Interesting article. In my book I discovered, via research, that people actually progress from one technique to another as the number of time demands they must handle each day grows. They start out using memory, then migrate to do using To-Do lists and then finally grow into using a schedule.
Peter Gollwotizer from NYU and others show that we are far more likely to perform an action that has a due date attached to it, so there is great power in the use of dates. Here’s another interesting fact:
Many time management gurus who say that you shouldn’t put everything into a calendar are heavily influenced by their use of paper calendars. Things have changed so that most younger professionals only use digital versions, and they are far more able to juggle a schedule as things change than anyone could with paper.
Advances in software and the mobile internet are slowly making their way into time management applications – including calendars. Soon, there will be a way to press a button and have your calendar organize itself whenever you need it to, using some rules/guidelines you have set up beforehand. Stay tuned…!
I tackle these and other related issues in my recent book, Perfect Time-Based Productivity.
Update: FYI, I wrote a very similar article which took a deep dive on this topic… http://perfect.mytimedesign.com/learning-to-optimize-each-day/
Hi Frank, Thank you for sharing your resources. Maia
You are welcome!
Update: FYI, I wrote a very similar article which took a deep dive on this topic… http://perfect.mytimedesign.com/learning-to-optimize-each-day/
Hi Frank, Thank you for sharing your resources. Maia
You are welcome!
I rather disagree with this idea. Calendar is efficient as a reminder system. But it stops there. Scheduling a task/ event/ an appointment – any time-bound activity – I understand. But migrating to-do list on to a calendar is simply not useful for various reasons. I personally found I’m really bad at estimating time for a task and the plan done in the morning usually doesn’t pan out.
It is better to work out the task based on prioritizing for the given moment based on the urgency, importance and readiness of the task to be done, including one’s personal will.
sathyawrites.com/12-principles
~ Sathya
Sathya, Thanks for your comment. I think this is actually a very personal choice. Some people need to be more “when” driven and some people more “what” driven. It really depends on your preference and job requirements. Ultimately, we want both approaches in our toolkits and to flex as needed. Maia
I rather disagree with this idea. Calendar is efficient as a reminder system. But it stops there. Scheduling a task/ event/ an appointment – any time-bound activity – I understand. But migrating to-do list on to a calendar is simply not useful for various reasons. I personally found I’m really bad at estimating time for a task and the plan done in the morning usually doesn’t pan out.
It is better to work out the task based on prioritizing for the given moment based on the urgency, importance and readiness of the task to be done, including one’s personal will.
sathyawrites.com/12-principles
~ Sathya
Sathya, Thanks for your comment. I think this is actually a very personal choice. Some people need to be more “when” driven and some people more “what” driven. It really depends on your preference and job requirements. Ultimately, we want both approaches in our toolkits and to flex as needed. Maia
It depends of number of tasks. If you are just a dude who wants to organize his life, I have a Filofax and I put the tasks directly into agenda, thus I know what to do, moreover, I know the date when I must do it. And it’s easy and it works. If you have your own company, then yes, you may need a highly advanced organization system. But, if I’m just a random Joe dude, why the heck will I need all this divided Dropbox/To-do/Agenda “GTD” system if I’m fine with simple Filofax?!
It depends of number of tasks. If you are just a dude who wants to organize his life, I have a Filofax and I put the tasks directly into agenda, thus I know what to do, moreover, I know the date when I must do it. And it’s easy and it works. If you have your own company, then yes, you may need a highly advanced organization system. But, if I’m just a random Joe dude, why the heck will I need all this divided Dropbox/To-do/Agenda “GTD” system if I’m fine with simple Filofax?!