Set your Dates

Now that we have Listed out Tasks we are well on our way to getting digitally organized. The trick now is to decide what needs to be done first. Setting your Dates is the next of the 7 steps to Organizational Success because it is essential to realize that you can’t do everything at once. Now that you have your task list it may seem to be a much more daunting task than when you first started.

 

The whole reason for setting dates to tasks is so that you don’t have to experience this level of anxiety over how much you have to get done. By establishing a date to a task that means that it’s “off your list” for a certain period, which allows you to focus on what needs to get done now. It may be difficult to set your dates, you want to get everything done and (hopefully) done fast, but taking some time to figure out what needs to be done first means that you will get your project done right. Every time I’ve done a project I have asked myself three questions when I’ve looked at my massive task lists;

 

1) What is the easiest thing(s) that I can do? – Also known as “low hanging fruit” the quick and simple tasks are the easiest ones to do, but they still have to get done. If you look over your task list there should at this point be two or three tasks that stand out as simple and easy things to do. I have had a few projects where the list looks so daunting and on the outset, it seems like the whole thing could take forever. This is why I like looking for the easiest things to get done. All it takes is for one small thing to be done to get the ball rolling.

 

When I started this blog one of the first things that I did was write up the Bio which went on the “about me”(hyperlink) page. This was very easy for me to do because, quite frankly, all I had to do was write about myself. Some other tasks that were on my list like “Send out Social Media Blast about my Blog” were something I wasn’t able to do first because I didn’t have a blog. Getting the ball rolling with something that is easily done can get your momentum going so the trick is to find something simple that you can claim an initial victory on your task list.

 

2) What NEEDS to be done first? – Just as some tasks will jump out at you as the “low hanging fruit” which can be easily completed, some things will be on your task list that must be completed first for the project to proceed. Trying to Organize your Digital Life without having a framework is tricky, and so you need to have a plan before you can implement

 

When you are asking this question, you need to think about what you “need” to get done first versus what you “Want” to get done first. There will be things on your task list that will look cooler and be more fun than other things. The problem is that if you go for the cool tasks before others that need to be done first, the cool tasks won’t work out so well.

 

In starting this blog I wanted to buy my URL and start designing my website first, but what I found quickly was that if I bought a URL and launched a site without a purpose, the whole thing would fizzle out, and it wouldn’t be cool anymore. I had to think of the meaning of the site before I was able to create it. The purpose of the site NEEDED to come first.

 

3) What can be done later? – At the beginning of every project when you’re full of energy and vigour for the task at hand, you want to get everything done and get it done now. It’s a great feeling, but what you need to consider is what tasks on your list can be put off for a later date.

 

Before anyone starts accusing me of procrastination bear with me here. Just as you have to decide what “needs” to be done, you also have to decide what needs to be done “later”. Part of this will be determined by what needs to be done first, and by your low hanging fruit, but what you also need to consider is the timing of your project. Yes it’s all well and good to get your task list in the correct order of what needs to be done and what can easily be done, but you also need to consider ensuring that you give yourself enough time to get the tasks done both properly and with enough time in between that you don’t overload yourself. You can’t get everything done at once, and if you were to try, then you would overwhelm yourself. This would practically ensure that your project either fails or isn’t completed properly.

 

 

The point of asking these questions is to make sure that you do your tasks in the right order and at the right time.  Setting dates to your tasks is a quick way to make sure that you don’t get overwhelmed with everything you have to do. Once you have gone through all these questions of your tasks your to-do list should start to look less like a list and more like a plan. Once you have your plan in place, then you get to start working on ticking off your accomplishments and getting your project done.

 

 

Does Having Dates help you?