In a previous post, “Why your routine tasks make a difference….and why they will never be important“ I gave a definition of what routine tasks and the role they play in your overall productivity and effectiveness. Given that, we can draw the conclusion that we need to manage the routine tasks well and so here are some tips and a five step process to take control of your mundane routine tasks.
Why do you need to manage them well?
You might say that I made this point in the above post and that is right, to an extent. But I wanted to be clear that in my head there are 3 reasons to manage these things well.
You need to keep on top of them to prevent problems from building up and them holing you beneath the water line.
If you don’t keep on top of ‘filing’ eventually your productivity is hampered. You can’t find what you need and every task that requires this takes 3 times as long.
These tasks are never going to be your big impact tasks and so we need to manage them well to prevent them taking over.
If you find yourself consistently not getting the big impact things done in favour of these maintenance tasks, this is a problem. Most commonly this will happen out of a desire to ‘clear the decks’ before you tackle the bigger things. A desire to have a clean plate before moving on to bigger things.
This is an understandable feeling. But it’s my view that it comes primarily from not having an effective system for managing these routine maintenance tasks.
Completing and managing these kinds of tasks well, builds character traits that the big flashy tasks do not.
They create a foundation for self discipline. The willingness and ability to work hard and conscientiously at something that is difficult, or unpleasant. At something you do not enjoy. This grows a servant heart. A willingness to work hard and conscientiously at tasks where you cannot see how this immediately benefits you. It fosters humility. A willingness to work hard and conscientiously at tasks that a proud person would consider too insignificant for their time.
They can also provide momentum that will lead on to bigger and more significant things.
How to to take control of your mundane routine tasks
Following a simple, five step process to take control of your mundane routine tasks can eliminate stress and help you get on top of everyday life.
Step 1 – Identify and define them
You need a complete inventory of all routine tasks that are relevant to your life and work. We often get stressed about these things as we don’t have our head around what needs to be done. The needs take us by surprise. So, set aside a chunk of time, open a new note in your notes app or get a clean piece of paper and make a list of everything you can think of. Be as thorough and comprehensive as you can and at this point – do not filter it.
Step 2 – Filter the list
Once you have a full list, you can filter it. You need to ask three questions of everything on the list.
- Does this ACTUALLY need to be done?
- Does this need to be done by me, am I the best person for it or can/should I delegate it?
- Can this process be automated?
As you go you can ask the question “Will I, my family or my work suffer if I do not do this?” If the answer to the question, honestly asked is no, then it doesn’t need to be done.
Be careful with automation. Some things can be automated, like setting up a Direct Debit to pay your credit card bill, but you might prefer not to do this to maintain greater awareness and control of your spending and finances.
Step 3 – Identify and Decide the frequency needed
Run through the list of what is left and consider how often it needs to be done. Some of this is decided for your – bills need to be paid monthly, the bins get collected weekly. You can identify this on your list. Other things… you actually get to choose how often you do them.
You might decide to clear your email inbox once a day, or 3 times a day. You might decide to clean your bathroom daily, or weekly, or if you are single person living alone and out for the better part of every day, less often than that.
The point is, if it is not externally set, the decision is actually yours to make. But, consider the impact on and welfare of other people, not just your own preferences. And remember, this might mean you opt to do something LESS frequently than you would like, not just MORE.
Step 4 – Take control of it.
The aim here is to get ahead of it. You have comprehensive list of everything. You know how often it needs to be done. The key now is to apply the correct method for each task.
The most common way would be setting up a recurring task in your task manager. The due date being the day you actually plan to do the task. However, this can be difficult for some annual tasks. For something like renewing car insurance, I’d recommend having a date marked that you want to start thinking about it and then some kind of notation of the renewal date. You can either do this with a comment or note within your task manager. Personally I link the task to a note in UpNote that has all the information I need for the renewal.
The second way of doing this, gets more serious about it. Block time off in your calendar for it. I have a 15 minute slot every day blocked off for processing my emails and an hour blocked off for responding to them. I have a slot blocked off on a Monday evening for personal admin. A few tasks in ToDoist then tell me what to do in that slot.
Using the calendar in this way can helpful on two fronts. Firstly, for things like cleaning tasks, it helps you decide how long you need more easily than a task in ToDoist would. But secondly, by setting an end time for the task, like admin or cleaning, you impose a boundary on it. This stops it growing and taking too much of your day.
The third option is to employ natural triggers. I don’t personally like this option. For example, Carl Pullein says you shouldn’t put emptying the bins on your to do list. Just do it when it is full. I have lived in households where this method was employed. You would be amazed at how fluid the definition of full can become. You can still fit quite a bit into a bin that passed any reasonable definition of ‘full’ weeks ago.
Step 5 – Follow the process and review it
You have a comprehensive list of only the things you actually need to do yourself. You know how frequently they need doing or you intend to do them. Reminders and triggers are now set up in the most appropriate way for each task. You have taken control of it. Follow it!
All of these tasks, as per Carl Pullein’s system, go in a separate routines folder in ToDoist. This list is deliberately coloured Taupe, which is such a mundane and boring colour it will never stand out.
You need never stress about these things again. You have grabbed the bull by the horns and gotten ahead of them, at least in your head and planning.
What you are aiming for, is a process where things are kept on top of to the appropriate degree. And, without them expanding to fill your time in a way that totally derails you or anyone else. If it isn’t working or is letting you down on specific points, then review this every few months or so. Different seasons require different routine tasks so keep it under review. Incorporate new routines and retire old ones as you go.
If you follow this five step process, you will take control of your mundane routine tasks
