[World Domination] To Do? Next Actions? Try a Focus List

Last week I blathered on about my productivity upgrade, where I talked about what tools I’m using and how I’ve been using them. I very briefly glossed over my Hipster PDA and the Google Calendar Task List, but I’d like to circle back and talk about them a little bit more.

I used to rely upon to-do lists, as many people still do. After reading Getting Things Done, I converted that into a “next actions” list, which breaks tasks into smaller, bite-size chunks. Instead of adding “work on Project Koala*” on a to-do list, the next actions list breaks that down to the next very specific things, such as “outline chapter 6″ or “research reproductive rates of koala bears in European zoos”, or follow up with artist on illos for chapter 7″.  Smaller bites are easier to wrap your head around, and to work into your schedule.

Google Calendar is now my to-do list. By blocking out time to work on Project Koala on, say, Tuesday and Friday from noon to 3, I know what I’m doing. Evernote is now my next actions list; I’d have a notebook for Project Koala with an outline of the project and step-by-step details on what needs to be done in what order to get it done. During my scheduled Project Koala time, I follow my notes and do as many of those tasks as I’m able inside that allotted time.

What use does that leave for my Hipster PDA, and the Google Calendar Task List, where to-do lists and next actions traditionally reside? Rather than using them for tinier degrees of micro-management (a horrible thought), I have turned them into repositories of the Big Picture. I use them for what I call a Focus List, which reminds me of my priorities and upcoming deadlines. My focus list gently reminds me that the deadline for Project Koala is next week, that a draft for Operation Kangaroo is due at the end of the month, and that I have deliverables due to a publisher the month after that.

How does this help keep me focused? If all I’m looking at today is the steps of Project Koala that I have to achieve today, I’m feeling pretty good about what I get done today. I may just as easily look at how little time it might take to accomplish them (which is why I use blocks of time to do as much on the list as possible, rather than giving myself a fixed number of specific tasks) and blow it off, figuring I can get caught up on another day. If I’ve planned out the project well and set up the calendar correctly, I will have plenty of time to get it done by deadline. Even if I figure I can get Project Koala done on time, I might lose sight of the fact that there’s another project due after that, and another after that, and so on. If I get Project Koala done early, I have some breathing room before I have to dive into Operation Kangaroo… or I can dive into Operation Kangaroo a bit early and get ahead, so I have wiggle room when life goes kaflooey as it so often does, throwing me a curve that screw up my schedule and puts the deadline in jeopardy.

The Focus List reminds me what the foreseeable future looks like, so I can make informed decisions when shifting the smaller elements of my schedule and work habits around.

*There is no Project Koala. It was just the first thing to pop into my mind to name a fake example.