I seem to have two types of tasks to manage, project tasks and personal tasks. The first type of task is one you are very familiar with; it is the individual project tasks that we manage in our MS Project gantt charts.
But these tasks are not the topic of this discussion.
I want to discuss personal task management. These are things that I need to do that are often not scheduled, but things that arise that I need to take care of, maybe return a phone call, respond to an email, read a report, or pick up a loaf of bread on my way home.
Project tasks are managed with fixed start end dates throughout the various stages of the project, from initiation to closing.
Personal task management, on the other hand, requires organizing and prioritizing seemingly random and unrelated tasks that arise unexpectedly throughout the day.
I’ve found, and maybe you too, that if I don’t find a way to manage these tasks, they can take precedence over my real job of managing the overall project and its own tasks.
Personally, I keep a notebook open on my desk and jot down or make notes as things arise, crossing them out when done. The last thing I do at the end of the day is review the list to see what needs to be done the next day.
While this works for me, it may not work for you.
Here are 4 personal task management tools others have used:
To-Do Lists or Check Lists
Make simple lists to manage tasks.
Kanban Boards
Easy to use, simple, and effective by using sticky notes to organize tasks into 3 categories, to-do, doing, and done.
See our post on Kanban Boards
Calendars
Writing reminders on a calendar is another visual method of organizing tasks, but is no longer effective when there is no more room on the calendar
Software
Desktop or cloud software can be used to set up your tasks with reminders. Many PMs use the task feature in MS Outlook, for example.