Tasks

Do you ever find yourself overwhelmed when looking at your to-do list? I overheard a co-worker saying she forgot what one item stood for on her list; sometimes these lists end up flustering more than helping.

To make sure this doesn't happen to you, try not to use abbreviations that represent other common words. For example, using DL as a reminder to do laundry might be confusing because it can mean driver's license or download. Don't hold off for a long time before reviewing your tasks or it might pile up. Since I have a lot to do, I like to review mine twice a day and if I can, cross off at least one item a day. Remember, it's important not to overload yourself and to set manageable goals. Sometimes it's better to eliminate tasks that have been lingering around too long and start afresh

Finally, find a system that works for you. If you're a techie, stick with one of my favorite web tools like Remember the Milk, and if you're a paper person, make post-it notes your best friend. I like to use the tasks feature on Gmail as my default to-do list because I'm constantly checking my email. An interesting technique my friend uses is to have collaborative to-do lists (you can do that with Google documents) with her partner so both can remind each other about his or her tasks. You can also share it with a roommate if you have similar house-related chores to do.

When I'm worrying about my own to-do list, I use Google Tasks. When I'm collaborating with others on a large project with a lot of moving parts, management gets a little trickier. I recently discovered Task Squid, an online task-management program that works for group collaborations as small as three and as large as 300 (or even higher).

First, set up your account, including user information, task lists, and categories. Even the screen is customizable; add your own logo, background image, or colors. Then, share tasks with others in your group or organization using Twitter, Facebook, email, or with the task's unique URL. Group members will be able to either accept or decline a task assignment, and helpful charts will display current projects' statuses, distribution of assignments across staff members or contributors. You can also export data to Excel for easy saving and sharing with anyone.

If this sounds like an exhaustive list of features, it's because it is! Find out what else you can do with Task Squd, and how much it costs to use after the break.

I think similar to my email, my Gmail tasks list needs to be gone through so I can delete some of my old to-dos! Everything from travel memos, to daily lists and reminders, my tasks certainly help to keep me organized!

Being able to move items to different lists is a great help, but now I can email a list to friends with Google's new email task list option in the Actions menu.

So now if you're planning a party and your friends want to help with all of the preparations, you can easily send them the party planning list!