Carl Pullein - How To Easily Manage Your Team's Workload in Todoist
The discussion highlights the use of Todoist boards as a tool for managing personal and team projects effectively. Inspired by Cal Newport's idea of listing active and pending tasks, the speaker suggests using Todoist to visualize current workloads and future tasks. This method allows individuals to manage their projects by quarters, ensuring they do not overcommit and can focus on completing tasks efficiently. For teams, managers can use Todoist boards to allocate tasks based on team members' capacities, preventing overload and ensuring fair distribution of work. This approach also provides tangible evidence to discuss workload with superiors, facilitating better project negotiation and planning. The speaker emphasizes the importance of knowing one's limits and using Todoist to maintain a clear overview of tasks, which can be shared with team members or kept private.
Key Points:
- Use Todoist boards to track active and pending tasks for better project management.
- Visualize workloads to prevent overcommitment and ensure task completion.
- Managers can allocate tasks based on team members' capacities using Todoist.
- Provides evidence for workload discussions with superiors, aiding negotiation.
- Know your project limits to avoid overwhelming yourself or your team.
Details:
1. 📚 Embracing Cal Newport's Productivity Strategy
- Cal Newport's strategy involves creating a comprehensive list of all active tasks in a Google Doc or Microsoft Word document.
- Additionally, maintain a subordinate list for tasks queued for activation, enhancing task management efficiency.
- Prioritize tasks by assessing their urgency and impact, using criteria such as deadlines and strategic importance.
- Implement a weekly review to adjust task priorities based on progress and changing objectives.
- Use examples like prioritizing tasks by project deadlines or client impact to maximize productivity.
2. 🗂️ Setting Up Todoist for Personal Use
- Todoist is effective for managing both personal and team projects by utilizing boards to visualize tasks, timelines, and priorities.
- For personal use, Todoist helps track project timelines, such as planning a half marathon or launching a course, with adaptable project lists updated monthly to align with goals.
- Users can manage workload by setting monthly project limits (e.g., 4-5 projects) to ensure quality and prevent burnout.
- In team settings, Todoist aids in assessing workload capacity, helping distribute tasks efficiently; for instance, identifying that Max can take on more tasks while Lando and Charles are at full capacity.
- Todoist facilitates communication with supervisors about workload capacity, providing data to help negotiate project timelines and assignments effectively.
3. 👥 Managing Team Workloads with Todoist Boards
3.1. Team Workload Management with Todoist Boards
3.2. Personal Workload Management with Todoist Boards
4. 🔍 Tips for Effective Project Management in Todoist
- Leverage Todoist boards to visually demonstrate workload to your boss and team, ensuring everyone is aware of ongoing tasks and priorities.
- Create non-completable tasks by starting the task with an asterisk and a space, enhancing planning by removing the checkbox and focusing on ongoing or reference tasks.
- Utilize Todoist for strategic planning by moving tasks across different quarters without marking them as completed, aiding long-term project vision.
- Maintain focus on quarterly objectives using Todoist boards, which help align team efforts with project goals.
- Organize personal development tasks, like preparing for events or workshops, by integrating tasks and calendar events, streamlining preparation and execution.