Task Management … on paper

The Number 1 Sign You Have Nothing to Do at Work … The 4th Division of Paperclips has overrun the Pushpin Infantry and General White-Out has called for a new skirmish.
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Currently, that task manager idea has turning into a central project, meaning I think about it occasionally and come up with ideas. Not sure whether I should send the stuff to the OmniGroup (OmniFocus) on the off-chance that they use some of the concepts, or put it on Ark of Ideas, or program a personal version for myself. But one side effect is that I am looking at ways to organize tasks — again.

There are two interesting sites so far in this regard: The productivity tools by David Seah and the “Getting Sh-t Done (GSD)” system by Bill Westerman (had a look at it ages ago, still very interesting).

Productivity Tools by David Seah

What I like regarding David Seah’s site is that he creates beautiful templates and provides some reminders on these templates. For example, on “THE EMERGENT TASK PLANNER” you have the following reminders:

david-seah-emergent-task-planner
Cut from the Emergent Task Planner, Copyright by David Seah, see http://davidseah.com/blog/node/the-emergent-task-planner/

Realistic expectations with the possibility to bypass them and a warning if you do more than six major tasks.

His site has a lot of other interesting templates for planning your day, and even allows you to order them pre-printed on Amazon. Nicely done — and it makes me wonder — why do digital tasks managers do not provide you with reminders or other helps? One of the major advantages of mobile media is that the device has the processing power to give you feedback, which in the case of task managers is often non-existent. There is so much unused potential here … it’s a shame.

“Getting Sh-t Done (GSD)” system by Bill Westerman

Of course, complex is not always the best solution and some require a simple system. For this I highly recommend having a look at the “Getting Sh-t Done (GSD)” system by Bill Westerman. Very basic and down to the roots, but perhaps that’s why it can be successful.

After all, the best task management system is one that works for you — and doing the tasks is the crucial step, not planning them perfectly.