10 Productivity Techniques to Conquer Your To-Do List

Though to-do management is a great way to organize your tasks and complete them within the schedule, managing tools become quite a hassle. And not all productivity techniques work the same for everyone.

You need some smart productivity techniques that will keep you ahead of time. Experiment with these techniques for better to-do management.

Here are our top 10 productivity techniques that you can use to boost your efficiency.

Personal Kanban

Kanban boards are a great way to track your progress throughout the day. You can simply use sticky notes to list everything in just three categories other than using tools.

• To-Do
• In Progress
• Done

Dividing your tasks into these three categories will help you visualize how much work you have done and how much work is remaining. As a result, you can focus on the to-do items easily. You can also adjust the list by prioritizing tasks depending on the urgency.

Rule of Three

The rule of three is very effective for procrastinators. It means you don’t need to make an extensive to-do list that you can never complete. Instead, you should focus on the most important tasks you need to do by the day. So, make a list of the three most essential tasks for the day. Focus on these tasks and get them done as quickly as possible. Once the list gets smaller, you feel more energized to complete those tasks. Once the list gets smaller, you feel more energized to complete those tasks. Here, a good practice is to make the list of results you want to see at the end. Making a list of results rather than tasks will inspire you to get the job done.

Eat the Frog

This technique is also for procrastinators. Identifying the frog is the real deal here. Once you identify the frog, you should conquer it as soon as possible. The frog here is the most arduous task of your to-do list or the task you have been putting off for days.

The main trick is to get the task done by the morning. Once you get over the most challenging task remaining, it reduces the stress of other tasks, and you feel a kind of satisfaction for completing the task.

Time Blocking

Time blocking refers to dividing the day into smaller slots and assigning a specific task to each slot. These time blocks can be different in size. For example, you can have a time block of 20 minutes for checking all the emails. And then there can be a time block of 1 hour for doing the heaviest tasks of the day. There can also be time slots for browsing social media or having a cup of coffee with your colleagues.

The Two Minute Rule

The two-minute rule states that if you can do something in less than two minutes, you should instantly complete the task no matter where the task is on your to-do list. For example, you might need to make a short call with one of your friends or colleagues, which will take just a bit. Don’t put off the task to do later. Instead, do it now and move the tasks into the Done category on your Kanban board.

Single Tasking

The human brain is designed to focus on single tasks. We are primarily familiar with multitasking. Though it is considered to improve our efficiency, it conquers our productivity in real. Multitasking also increases our stress level, affecting our productivity in the long run. So, remove distractions and focus on only one task at a time. After you complete the task correctly, move on to the next task. This will enhance your ability to work deep and complete single tasks faster than before.

Eisenhower Matrix

Often, we confuse not-so-important tasks with the most important ones, and it conquers a notable amount of the whole day. This is why you need to differentiate tasks into four categories based on their importance and urgency. Urgent and important tasks should be done at first. Then you can focus on important but not urgent tasks and urgent but not important tasks gradually. Place neither urgent nor important tasks at the end of the list. Or don’t place them at all.

SMART Goal Method

This is a modern technique for setting achievable goals that you can work on. Setting random and unrealistic goals is often the most favorite task of procrastinators. You need to get out of this circle. Rather than planning something big, set Specific, Measurable, Assignable, Realistic, and Time-related goals. For example, don’t write a task like ‘Completing the Assignment.’ Write a task like ‘Completing first three chapters of the assignment by two days. This looks more realistic and achievable. And it will help you complete the task more efficiently.

The MSW Method

MSW here stands for must, should, and want. Categorize your tasks into these criteria to manage them better. The tasks you must complete today will go into the Must category. If you have a bit of an extended deadline for some tasks, you can put them into the Should category so that you can either complete them instantly or in the shortest possible time. Tasks that are less important but still you want to do will go into the Want category.

Pomodoro Method

We finish with this very effective and popular technique for handling your to-do list better. It is similar to the time blocking method. You should divide your workday into short sessions with breaks in between. For example, you can work deeply for 20-30 minutes and then take a break for 5-10 minutes. The short sessions will increase your focus, and the breaks will energize you for the subsequent sessions.

End Notes

Making a to-do list to increase productivity isn’t the real deal. Succeed in turning the to-do list into the done list is what should focus on. And we hope these techniques help you make the best use of your time without using complex productivity tools - just a simple tool like TimeCaptis will help.