I am a big fan of Todo lists partially due to the fact that I like to keep my mind clear from things to do on a daily basis. I had been trying various methods of organizing my todo lists using softwares like Tudomo, GTDAgenda and even had our developer at ayruz to create a custom todo app for us.
Recently I came across a in-your-face dead simple way to manage your todo using Excel and boy was it excellent!
The idea was simple. Have columns of various projects and write down the todo under them. Then record a simple macro that will strike off and give a color to the cells once the thing is done. And have a todo that reverts the process so that you can mark a todo as not done after marking it as done.
I have columns for different divisions as shown in the screenshot like ayruz, metrogeometry, amvizone and then I columns for departments such as finance, administration, business development etc. I also create columns for our clients which will enable me to focus on them specifically to meet their goals and ensure that work gets done on time.
To delegate work, I use a different color code so that I can concentrate on the work I have to do and periodically follow up on the work delegated to my team. It works awesome for me!
Some of the things I keep in mind while doing this is
- Always have the Todo on your desktop or somewhere you can reach quickly and if possible have it open all the time.
- Everything goes into the todo so that you do not have to remember to do it later. Open your todo and you have everything right in front of you.
- Another advantage of having everything in your todo list is the pleasure you get while marking something as done!
- Projects are different from todo tasks. Todo is the next step in the project. Its better to have multiple todo things like “Keyword Research for Client 1”, “On-page optimization for Client 1”, “Report for Client 1” than have a single todo that says “SEO for Client 1”. It helps reduce procrastination by making tasks simpler and gives the whole project a clarity.
Click here if you want to download my Excel 2010 template for a todo. It has macros recorded for “mark as done” (CTRL+D ) and “undo mark as done” (CTRL+U). Alternatively you can also have it up on your Google Docs to enable collaborative todo while working with partners who are always travelling!
How do you manage your work flow? Do you have a todo software or a nifty tool that helps you? Looking forward to hear from you in the comments 🙂
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