Quick Comparison of Task Management Systems
I betcha there are thousands of task and to do websites and software packages out there. Virtually all of them are based on one of the three following systems. The fourth system, at the bottom of the page, is something new. It’s actually very simple and unique. You can fully put this new system with a pencil and paper. There’s also a software program that makes this system especially easy to use. Feel free to download the free to-do task management software if you’d like.
Here’s a brief layout of how most major to-do systems work.
The “Old School” way
A plain old list of things to do. The problem here is that when you have a lot going on, your list gets long and becomes difficult to manage.
| Priority | Due Date | Task |
| 1 | 2/5 | Put new ads online |
| 1 | 2/9 | Arthur’s invoice report |
| 3 | 1/17 | Make apt w/ Smyth |
| 2 | 3/1 | Backup Website |
The Stephen Covey Grid
Covey presents an amazing philosophy in regards to setting priorities, but what he provides is really not a very effective organizational tool. The underlying concept of the Covey system is this: Everything should be assigned a level of importance and a level of urgency. A classic example of something that is urgent but probably not important is a ringing phone. Urgent, non-important tasks can be real time wasters. An example of something that is important and urgent might be “oh, gee, we’re on the freeway and we’re almost out of gas!” Stephen suggests that we spend most of our time working on the important things in life before they become urgent. In other words, we should spend most of our time in grid two. (For what it’s worth, Stephen Covey’s book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is one of the most amazing books I’ve ever read.)
David Allen’s Getting Things Done System
An elegant and complete system. Fairly complicated. Time consuming and difficult to maintain. David’s GTD system is based on extensive categorization and filing. As presented in his book, Getting Things Done, Allen speaks more about what you’re trying to accomplish, and the philosophy behind it, and pretty much leaves you to figure out and implement a system on your own. (Don’t get me wrong, it was an amazing book. I’m just sayin’ that GTD is a lot of work in and of itself.)
And here is the basis of what I’m proposing: a simple grid…
| Project | Task 1 | Task 2 | Task 3 |
| Car Overheats | Call David for bid | Call Tim for Bid | |
| New Ad Campaign | Gather old ads | Gather passwords | Craigslist, Yelp… |
| Arthur’s database | Invoice Reports | Barcode functionality | Online meeting |
Your projects go on the left and you list out your tasks to the right. Easy, compact, complete. There are a few more columns, and a few more bells and whistles in the full system. Overall, this is something very simple that just plain works.
- Please take a look at the five minute video
- Then download the free task management software
- Then scroll down, comment on my blog and let me know what you think!
Thanks!
Mike