We’re going to be looking at the list you made yesterday. If anything else has cropped up today, it needs to be added there too, keeping to the correct column (this applies for the next few days until we finalise the system).
Setup Mission 14 : Deal with the “routine” items on your list
Completion Points : 30
In the last setup mission, you split your long list into two columns. Today’s task is to deal with the “routine” items in that list. You’ll need a few spare pieces of paper (the clean backs of pages from your recycling pile will do fine, you won’t be keeping these permanently). At the tops of these pages, write the following headers – “daily”, “weekly”, “fortnightly”, “monthly”, “less frequent”, “irregular” – each on a separate page. Now you need to work your way down the routine column and write each item you come across on the correct page. If you’re not sure which page an item belongs on, then decide which way of doing things will make the job quicker overall.
We’ll tackle each page in turn:
Daily
Unless you have a very good reason not to, all these tasks should be placed on one of your five crunch time checklists. If there’s a task that really has to be done at a different time of day, add it to your calendar as a standalone repeating block, for the time it will take. If you find lots of daily tasks won’t fit onto your crunch time checklists, it might be time to rethink the times you’ve set these for.
Weekly
There are a few ways you could tackle this list, pick the one below that sits best with your way of motivating yourself and with your schedule and lifestyle. Whichever way you choose, you’ll need to decide what day you start and end each week on. It’s best if you can to set any calendars and schedules up to show the week in the same way. Choose from:
- Have a single weekly list, which you’ll work on as you feel like it during the week, ticking off as you go. In this case, write your weekly checklist on the first available page at the back of your notebook (label this “Weekly Checklist”) and set about an hour’s block on the last day of your weekly schedule where you’ll check that the list is complete for the week, and finish off any outstanding tasks. This is good if you have a slightly more unpredictable schedule and/or if you’re good at getting ahead with tasks.
- Split your list into two or more sublists that you’ll tackle on particular days of the week. In this case, use a separate page for each sublist in the back of your notebook (“Monday Checklist” etc), and mark off an appropriate-sized block in the relevant days of your schedule. You could, for example, tackle a different room or area of your life on each day.
- If you like the first idea, but worry that you’ll leave everything to the last minute and get behind, write a single list but schedule in several blocks to work on your weekly checklist throughout the week. Still add that final block at the end of the week, and make sure you’ve given yourself enough time in total to cover all the tasks.
For any tasks that must be performed on a particular day, add these in to your schedule as appropriate, regardless of the scheme you’ve chosen to follow (this will also apply to all the other types of tasks below).
Fortnightly
Try to avoid using fortnightly tasks at all as it will complicate the system more than necessary. Could you do it each week instead (it might save you time overall, and you’d be more on top of things in the meantime)? Or in fact, would there be no downside to just tackling this task monthly? If you really can’t avoid fortnightly tasks then split the tasks into two lists (roughly equal in time if possible). On the next available pages in the back of your notebook, label two pages “Week A Checklist” and “Week B Checklist”. You’ll then need to add a task to “complete week A/B checklists” to the weekly checklist and routine you’ve already set up.
Monthly
Use the next available page in the back of your notebook to set up your “Monthly Checklist” page. Then, again depending on your motivation and discipline (you know what you’re like!), either:
- Set aside a block on the 27th/28th/last day/last Friday or some other regular time of each month that suits you to check that your monthly tasks are done, and wrap up any loose ends. Unless you want a massive job on this day (believe me, you don’t!), this relies on you working towards it throughout the month.
- If you need more discipline, split the list into sublists as with the weekly checklist – these could be for a particular date of each month (eg. a list of jobs for the 8th of each month) or for a particular day (such as 3rd Tuesday of the month etc). Still have a time at the end of the month for reviewing and checking that the tasks are complete.
- Again, as with the weekly checklist, you could compromise by having a single list, but schedule in particular times to work through the tasks on it.
Less Frequent
Add these individually to your schedule and set them to repeat as frequently as you think necessary.
Irregular
Again, these are best avoided. Try to add them to one of your regular lists if possible. If you really need repeating but irregular tasks in your life then add these back onto your temporary inbox page, but the time add them to the one-off side. Use an asterisk, highlighter or some other means of distinguishing them from the existing one-off tasks.
Once you’ve worked through all this, firstly give yourself a huge pat on the back, and then take a look at your schedule. All your routine tasks should now be scheduled in. Make sure that nothing clashes on a regular basis, and that you’ve not scheduled anything for a time when you realistically don’t expect to do it. Also make sure that you’ve allocated enough time for everything you need to do. There’s no point in trying to cram in more than you can really achieve – this will just make you fall behind, get stressed and lose motivation. We’re here to get things on track and have you feeling positive about your successes, so make sure your schedule looks positive to you at this stage.
If you have any trouble understanding or executing this, or need a few pointers, please feel free to comment at any point!
Life Game 101 