So we’ve covered I think the high level ideas involved here, let’s talk about the ingredients before going further.

Ingredients

• Microsoft Outlook 2007+ – The reason this application is at the core of my system is because it’s open all the time anyway for me.  This is where I manage my calendar, email, and contacts already. 
• Windows Mobile 6.1+ – This keeps all the things that I use in Outlook with me on my phone.  On important aspect to this is that it’s using ActiveSync to synchronize those things, and that it synchronizes one other thing that I’ve not see done well in any other mobile platform, oddly enough.  The Synchronization of Outlook Tasks.  On the iPhone there is the ability to do that with 3rd party apps, but given it’s non-multi-tasking, this doesn’t work all that well, IMHO.  Android would be another contender, but the ActiveSync support isn’t yet complete, as far as I can tell.

Principle I – Keep a To-do List

Keeping a list of things that need to be done, seems somewhat common sense at some level.  Some of us try to keep that all up in our heads, some of us have a written on a post-it system.  I think if those work for you, that’s great.  For me, just because I have so much to keep track of.  What you may not be aware of is you probably have to-do lists and not be consciously aware of it.

1. Your Inbox – Your inbox represents things you need to take care of, perhaps.  Everyone in your inbox that comes in – probably needs to be either replied to, forwarded, read and discarded, or causes you to take some other action. 
2. Your Calendar – It’s telling you to go some place, or call into some phone number (conference call) all the time. 
3. Your RSS Reader – It’s doing the work of finding things for you to keep on top of in a list.
4. Outlook Tasks
5. Post-It Notes

A good To-Do List, I think should have :

• An easy way to tell you the things you need to do.
• An easy way to help you see what’s most important and what can be done later.

With those things in mind, the Outlook Task list can be an excellent choice, and in fact, is my primary choice to track those things that need to be done and in a priority.  Each Task can have a “Due Date” – which when those tasks are sorted by “Due Date” can provide an excellent view of what needs to be done and when.

The Outlook Inbox is an inherent to-do list by itself.  The problem with most people’s is that it’s “Full” containing hundreds or thousands of items in there.  It’s not easy to see what’s something you need to deal with vs. something that can be looked at.  Secondly, items are usually sorted by date of receipt, not when you need to deal with them.  If an email comes in that I need to deal with, I deal with it, and delete the email, so it’s no longer in that ‘list.’  Is this scary – I’d argue ‘no’ – it’s still in Deleted Items, you haven’t lost anything you’ve just moved something out of your list of things to do to another location.

My tips for working with my inbox vary depending on the type of email that comes in:

• When an email arrives, if dealing with it will take very little time, deal with it as soon as you can. 
• If an email requires a reply, I try to do that reply and delete the original.  If you want to remember to follow up on it, add an Outlook Task with a proper Due Date to make sure you follow up, sometimes I’ll even copy the text of the email into the task itself.  But either way, I delete that email as soon as I can.
• If an email requires a forward, the same rules for reply [for me] apply.
• Sometimes an email requires that you schedule an appointment, I do that, and also delete the original email.
• Sometimes an email just requires that you do something, and if it’s not quick, I create an Outlook Task with a due date – and yes Delete the email.

The net result of those things are that my inbox’s size is as close to zero as possible.  Which means – if something is in there, it means, I need to deal with it.  I don’t have to search through a long list, or even mentally try to figure out how far back I need to look for something that I need to take care of.  The inbox is a poor ‘to-do’ list – in general, which is why I deal with what’s in there, and get things out of there.  Having a good sense of an items priority is so important – and we know the inbox does not do that well at all.  A nice side effect – other people see you as someone hopefully that is at least responsive to email, and not one of those people that forget things, don’t reply back, and you just never know if they are taking action, or at the very least – reading and considering your email.  I strive for that, but I’m not sure how effective I am; I suppose others will know better than I.

Principle II – Prioritize your Tasks

In some ways, I think this goes without saying.  I personally, feel that it can be overwhelming if I’m looking at a list of things that I need to take care of – and it’s huge.  I think sometimes leads people to organizational paralysis.  Sometimes, it’s tough to know where to start, or sometimes you figure you might as well start somewhere – and are focusing on the wrong things.

Very important in this, at least for me, is to re-prioritize at least once a day.  I say – when setting a task for yourself, choose a realistic due date, and do your best.  But the thing is – I don’t think I’m always successful at knocking out everything that I had planned on a particular day.  Things come up, unexpected plans happen, and in general – change happens.  The only thing worse than a huge list of un-prioritized things, is a huge list of Overdue things.  Not only does it become overwhelming [not knowing where to start], but it also subtly [or not so subtly] says – “failure.”  And that’s not helpful at all.  So here’s what I do:

• Be realistic – make sure due dates are a best guess on what you can/should be doing today.
• At the beginning of each day, I look for those tasks which I should have done already and are overdue.  Change their due dates.  Are they still the most important thing to do today?  Can they be done tomorrow with everything else that might be on your plate today?  Either way – the due date should never be left in the past.  Make them due today, or in the future.  Either way, be realistic.
• As you get going through the day, periodically determine if what you have left to do today is still realistic – change the due dates of those things that you don’t have to to today to the future.
• This one is more controversial – when setting the due date, I try to set the due date as late as possible, while still being responsive.  I don’t know if it’s procrastination, but either way it’s deliberate for me.  It just so happens that on any one day, I just have a lot to do, and trying to be optimistic, sometimes leads me to trouble.
• Break Up the Big – If a task is so big that it itself is overwhelming, perhaps something like “Finish Marketing Plan” might be several days of activities.  Take the 5 minutes and break this down into much smaller chunks.  When estimating big projects, as a consultant, that’s what I do too – break the big things down to more granular levels so they can be comprehended.  For me – for example, any one task is no longer than hour or two.  This can vary depending on your type of work, and your tolerance for the big.  I enjoy checking-off those things which I can complete, so I get to the 1-2 hour of granularity.

What happens when you finish your tasks that you set up for the day?  Do you move onto tomorrow’s tasks?  Sure – if you have the time, but when you finish today’s tasks, take a step back – value your time, do you need some more time with your family or just to relax at home?  You’ve accomplished what you set out to do today, that itself is a great accomplishment.  You may have earned a break.  If I’ve been “on a roll” sometimes I’ll go ahead and get ahead for tomorrow – if i have the time, other times, I do take a break.  Either way – and this is perhaps the most important thing I can say – you’ve given yourself a few moments of control, you’re going to make that decision deliberately, and not be controlled by your task-list.