Work Brain
In a previous post, I described how I use to-do lists as a second brain. Today, I’ll drill down into my work-specific to-do, also known as my work brain.
For work, I need to keep track of a deluge of projects in various states of completion, so a kanban board does the job far better than a regular old list. As an aside, when my personal to-do needs to be reined in by kanban, it’s probably time to re-evaluate some life choices.
The kanban splits into the following columns with a current count of items in each:
- No Status (14): Ideas I don’t want to forget about.
- Recurring (14): Things that happen on a recurring basis, paired with a recurring reminder.
- Next Up (31): Things that I’d like to tackle next, often without hard deadlines.
- Today (1): Things I’d like to do today — I can usually tackle a couple but not all.
- Must Do (4): Things I have to do today — I limit this to no more than five items.
- Completed (1445): The Holy Grail.
At the beginning of the week and month, I’ll also write out what I want to accomplish for the upcoming week or month, respectively. The longer the horizon, the less tactical the planning. But these exercises, in conjunction with my kanban board, keep me from going crazy (mostly).
