Online to-do lists are key for a modern business’ productivity, organization, and success. Before, employees were bound to pen and paper to keep track of their ever-changing priorities. Now, helpful task apps take your to-do list online and create a more collaborative, transparent, and agile list of everyone’s important tasks.
You’ve probably found yourself scrabbling about for a piece of paper and a pen whenever you think of something you need to do. If you’re like most people, if you don’t write it down, you’ll immediately forget what you need to do. No doubt you’ve got a never-ending to-do list that you’re always trying to check off but have yet to see the end of.
With most things “going online” these days – to-do lists are no different. There are plenty of apps available for you to use in crafting your online to-do list. The question is, why should you use one, and how do you use it to keep yourself organized?
It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect its successful outcome.
What Is An Online To-Do List?
An online to-do list is essentially a digital version of your paper to-do list. The benefit of taking your to-do list online is that you can update and customize it however works for you. The best to-do list apps are easy to use, personalized, and offer you more functions than a simple hand-written to-do list. Many people opt to download an app to their phone and then add to it any time something personal or professional comes up that they need to remember to complete. This helps people plan for the future and prioritize their responsibilities.
Why Do You Need To Use A To-Do List?
A lot is expected of the modern worker, and there are always a million things competing for your time and attention.
If you don’t write them down while they are on your mind, it can be easy to forget important things you need to do. In life, becoming overwhelmed and forgetting important tasks is a very real thing. Without a plan in place, procrastination and forgetfulness takes over and you end up getting nowhere, fast.
What Can An Online To-Do List Help You With?
A to-do list, and more specifically an online to-do list, can help you with the following things:
1. Keeping You Organized
This has got to be the main reason why any of us keeps a to-do list at all.
Writing down your tasks and keeping them organized in a way that is helpful to you makes it more likely you’ll work your way through them.
2. Keeping You Productive
When you have everything written out in front of you that needs doing, you can more easily prioritize what needs doing.
It is so easy to waste your time thinking about what needs doing without ever really getting started.
We choose to spend our time on things that are relatively unimportant because they are easy and make us feel like we’ve done something.
The result? Never getting around to the important stuff.
These to-do list apps can help you to plan your day and prioritize your tasks in a way that will help you get the most out of your time.
3. Helps Your Memory
Having a to-do list can help to improve your memory.
You’re allowing yourself breathing space. You have something to remind you of the important things in life so you don’t have to remember them all yourself.
It’s almost like you are downloading your thoughts onto the app and permitting yourself to forget things.
Our brains are easily overwhelmed when we ask them to hold too much information at any one time.
Lists are proven to help you to remember things. It is information that is easily digestible, meaning it will stick around in your memory for longer.
4. Motivation
Does anything feel better than crossing something off your list?
When you’ve completed a task you get this sense of achievement that motivates you to keep going! Motivation is a byproduct of productivity, not the other way around. Keeping a to do list and watching yourself accomplish more and more tasks is a great way to stay motivated throughout your work day, week, and your entire quarter.
What Should You Look For In An Online To-Do List?
What you need from a to-do list will depend on what your life looks like.
We all have different needs and requirements for the level of support we are looking for.
Some of the things that are relevant and useful to all of us are:
- It offers you customizable ways to organize your tasks. We all operate differently, and our brains work in diverse ways. You need an app that will allow you to use your to-do list in a way that works for you.
- It sends you reminders about your upcoming tasks. A to-do list is all well and good but if you have to remember to check it, it’s only as good as your memory! An app that sends you reminders for what you need to do helps you to keep on top of your tasks.
- It is fast and easy to add new tasks. No one wants a slow app that’s clunky and hard to use. You want it to have a quick and easy interface that makes it simple to add new tasks.
How To Get The Most Out Of Your To-Do List
Schedule recurring tasks
If there is something you do every week or month, why not schedule these things as recurring tasks in your app to make sure you never forget it?
Make more of your emails and notes.
If you get lots of emails and take notes about things you need to do from various coworkers or business partners, transfer the information from these different mediums and keep them in one central location and make sure you keep on top of what you need to do.
Other To-Do List Options For Productivity
- Use a time blocking app. If you struggle with procrastination, a time blocking app can help you to divide up your day into blocks. During these times you only do what you’re allocated to do. This can help you to concentrate on single tasks instead of trying to do too much at any one time.
- Sticky notes and a whiteboard. Sometimes the simple things work the best, right? A whiteboard with notes can help you to visualize the tasks you need to do.
Whatever method works best for you, it’s important to ensure that you’re always connecting your daily tasks to your overarching quarterly priorities and OKRs. Using Profit.co, which integrates your OKR management module with your tasks module, makes for a convenient and well-connected system. You can connect your day-to-day tasks directly to your OKRs by associating individual tasks with key results. This helps you understand how your tasks are connected to your quarterly priorities.
Additionally, the tasks module allows you to create collaborative workspaces and customizable boards where departments and teams can convene to make progress on recurring business processes and important team tasks. This makes for a great business space that is completely virtual and keeps your entire team on the same page.
You also have a My Space tasks board for your personal tasks. Depending on your organization’s settings, this might be transparent for team members to see, or it could be private. This allows you to organize your priorities, write detailed notes on tasks, flag high-priority items, set due dates, and link documents directly from your Google Drive or computer.
For more information about Profit.co’s business software that helps your teams focus, collaborate, and achieve more for your success, check out our product and schedule a demo today!