Many people rely on to-do-list apps but some experts say that we can get much more out of them. You just have to follow some easy tricks. If you want to find out how it’s possible, then read our blog post.

Free your mind from information

According to David Allen, a productivity guru and author of “Getting Things Done”, your brain can not remember and manage more than four things at once. The brain generates ideas but doesn’t store them, so for this reason, it’s important to record all ideas (not just some parts of them) into to-do-list Apps. Otherwise, you won’t be able to rely on your brain or a task list.

For such tasks there is a great app that is called Things 3. This app has an option that is designed especially for such type of tasks. Write down your ideas and tasks there – you can even do this using Siri. Later, you’ll be able to organize these records – create lists, assign deadlines for each task and so on.

Detail your tasks

David Allen says that most people use to-do-list apps incorrectly. The reason is that users do not detail their records. Allen advises to create such tasks, that initially require some action. For example, ‘To book a restaurant for Mom’s birthday’ instead of ‘Mom’s birthday’. Ideally, each action on a to-do list should take no more than about 20 minutes.

So, another good app is Trello which allows you to visualize all tasks and organize them into lists. In the app, you are able to easily check a full list of tasks, and see all details of each task in just one click.

Set a deadline

Many experts say that one of the biggest mistakes of people who use task apps is that they do not set deadlines. If you come back to the same task from time to time with an intension of taking action about it, and as a result you do nothing over and over again, then it may turn into a graveyard of unfinished tasks.

In that case, an app is better than a notebook. In such apps you can set a reminder based on geolocation. For example, you’re visiting the biggest tech conference in Ukraine – IT Forum, and you have a task in Google Keep – ‘To learn more about ICO (Initial Coin Offering)’. So an app could remind you about this task, and in that case you would visit the discussion panel about Blockchain and its technologies.

Create a balance with an anti to-do-list

To be clear, The Anti To-Do-List is not against a to-do list, but it’s a list of actions that are already taken. It complements a to-do-list, and what’s more, saves you from a thought that your day is gone and you didn’t achieve anything. It can bring you a good feeling of productivity and fulfillment.

Using an anti-to-do list is also a great way to track your progress.

Test and adjust

All people are different. Those tips that work for one person might not work for another one. So we recommend you to start trying out the tips mentioned above, and then proceed with adjusting them according to your needs.

You can also compare your weekly lists and see how much was done, and which methods/tips work better for you.