Editing Time management (section)

=== Task list organization ===

Task lists are often diarized (notes written in a diary) and tiered (having rows of organized notes). The simplest tiered system includes a general to-do list (or task-holding file) to record all the tasks the person needs to accomplish and a daily to-do list which is created each day by transferring tasks from the general to-do list. An alternative is to create a "not-to-do list", to avoid unnecessary tasks.<ref name="Morgenstern" />

Task lists are often prioritized in the following ways.
* A daily list of things to do, numbered in the order of their importance and done in that order one at a time as daily time allows, is attributed to consultant [[Ivy Lee]] (1877–1934) as the most profitable advice received by [[Charles M. Schwab]] (1862–1939), president of the [[Bethlehem Steel]] Corporation.<ref>{{cite book
|title=The Time Trap
|first=Alec
|last=Mackenzie
|edition=3rd
|year=1972
|pages=41–42
|publisher=AMACOM - A Division of American Management Association
|isbn=081447926X
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tkTOSmAtuKMC}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
|title=Working Smart
|first=Michael
|last=LeBoeuf
|year=1979
|pages=[https://archive.org/details/workingsmart00mich/page/52 52]–54
|publisher=Warner Books
|isbn=0446952737
|url=https://archive.org/details/workingsmart00mich|url-access=registration
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book
 |last        = Nightingale
 |first       = Earl
 |author-link = Earl Nightingale
 |chapter-url         = http://www.success.com/articles/647-earl-nightingale-s-greatest-discovery
 |date        = 1960
 |title       = Lead the Field
 |chapter     = Session 11. Today's Greatest Adventure
 |type        = unabridged audio program
 |publisher   = Nightingale-Conant
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20130108090914/http://www.success.com/articles/647-earl-nightingale-s-greatest-discovery
 |archive-date = 2013-01-08
}}</ref>
* An early advocate of "ABC" prioritization was [[Alan Lakein]], in 1973. In his system "A" items were the most important ("A-1" the most important within that group), "B" next most important, "C" least important.<ref name="Lakein">{{Cite book
| publisher = P.H. Wyden
| isbn = 0-451-13430-3
| last = Lakein
| first = Alan
| title = How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life
| location = New York
| year = 1973
}}</ref>
* A particular method of applying the ''ABC method''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dyslexia-college.com/schedule.html|title=Time Scheduling and Time Management for dyslexic students|work=Dyslexia at College|access-date=October 31, 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051026082426/http://www.dyslexia-college.com/schedule.html|archive-date=2005-10-26|url-status=live}} — ABC lists and tips for [[dyslexic]] students on how to manage to-do lists</ref> assigns "A" to tasks to be done within a [[day]], "B" a [[week]], and "C" a [[month]].
* To prioritize a daily task list, one either records the tasks in the order of highest [[:wikt:priority|priority]], or assigns them a [[number]] after they are listed ("1" for highest priority, "2" for second highest priority, etc.) which indicates in which order to execute the tasks. The latter method is generally faster, allowing the tasks to be recorded more quickly.<ref name="Morgenstern" />
* Another way of prioritizing compulsory tasks (group A) is to put the most unpleasant one first. When it is done, the rest of the list feels easier. Groups B and C can benefit from the same idea, but instead of doing the first task (which is the most unpleasant) right away, it gives motivation to do other tasks from the list to avoid the first one.

Various writers have stressed potential difficulties with to-do lists such as the following.
* Management of the list can take over from implementing it. This could be caused by [[procrastination]] by prolonging the planning activity. This is akin to [[analysis paralysis]]. As with any activity, there's a point of diminishing returns.
* To remain flexible, a task system must allow for disaster. A company must be ready for a disaster. Even if it is a small disaster, if no one made time for this situation, it can [[metastasize]], potentially causing damage to the company.<ref>Horton, Thomas. New York ''The CEO Paradox (1992)''</ref>
* To avoid getting stuck in a wasteful pattern, the task system should also include regular (monthly, semi-annual, and annual) planning and system-evaluation sessions, to weed out inefficiencies and ensure the user is headed in the direction he or she truly desires.<ref>"Tyranny of the Urgent" essay by Charles Hummel 1967</ref>
* If some time is not regularly spent on achieving long-range goals, the individual may get stuck in a perpetual holding pattern on short-term plans, like staying at a particular job much longer than originally planned.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.adaptrm.com/blog/time-management/| title=86 Experts Reveal Their Best Time Management Tips| access-date=March 3, 2017| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170303123713/https://www.adaptrm.com/blog/time-management/| archive-date=March 3, 2017}}</ref>