How I Get Things Done- Youth Initiative/Empowerment

There are as many methods of organization as there are subspecies of insects. For bullet journal enthusiasts organize themselves by painstakingly writing tasks aesthetically into an empty journal. There are some who prefer a lined notebook and a checklist. Others love to organize their tasks electronically. Finally, a select few are just capable of winging it and remembering their tasks without writing anything down. Some people choose to complete the hardest tasks first, while others prefer to warm up by finishing easier ones. There are many nuances in organizing. You are not going to find the best way to organize your tasks- it’s all trial and error to find what works best for you. I went through lined notebooks, bullet journals, and conventional school planners before I settled on a system that works for me; a system that I would like to share. Keep in mind that this is just a system that works for me, and it can be tweaked or improvised to suit your needs.

To start off, I organize my life using two services: Todoist and Google Calendar. I organize important events, like tests, deadlines, appointments, and time-sensitive tasks in Google Calendar. As for the specific tasks I need to do on a day to day basis, I use Todoist to organize them. Todoist, simply put, is an online to-do-list. You can type in tasks and sort them by priority, date, or project. When you finish them, you can check them off.

In Todoist, I organize all of my tasks by class; for example, homework for literature, and a task to study for a biology test. Whether it’s homework, studying, extra credit, or other miscellaneous tasks, I put them all under Todoist. However, it doesn’t solve the issue of which task to do first. Personally, I always do tasks chronologically, by importance, and by difficulty. For example, the homework due tomorrow is done before I study for the math final next week. However, between starting on Calculus or English homework (both due tomorrow), I always start with Calculus because it’s a more difficult subject.

As stated previously, the way I organize my tasks and complete them is firstly chronologically, then by priority, then by difficulty. There are many ways to tackle productivity. The way I’d sort my tasks would be much like the plan below:

1. Calculus HW (DUE TOMORROW)

2. English HW (DUE WED)

3. Study for Calculus Final (DUE FRI)

4. Complete English Extra Credit (DUE THUR)

In this example, I complete the homework that is due early, prioritize studying for a final, then complete the optional extra credit assignment. It’s worth mentioning that figuring out how you want to do your tasks isn’t limited to using Todoist. Whether you write your tasks down in a journal, use a different service, or use sticky notes, you’ll need to figure out the order you like to do them. The key takeaway I have from this is doing the tasks you prioritize efficiently. Using Todoist and Google Calendar are just the means I use to achieve this goal, and, hopefully, you will find these services useful too!