As I was writing my post about choosing the most impactful next thing to do, I realized I need to explain the difference between a task and a project.
My thanks to David Allen and his excellent book, Getting Things Done, for my understanding of this topic. If you need help organizing your life and dealing with the endless stream coming at you every day, and who doesn’t, I highly recommend his book.
Project
Allen defines a project as anything that requires more than one step.
Task
He defines a task as any one step.
Tasks vs. Projects
Most of us struggle because we don’t understand this difference. And because we don’t, we have projects on our list of “todos” and they stop us in our tracks because:
- We look at the “task” and think of ALL the items, steps, people and/or materials that lay between us and the goal and we don’t know where to start.
- We look at all that “stuff” and are completely overwhelmed by the magnitude of it all.
- We realize we have to wait on something or someone before we can begin.
You Need Two Lists
The solution is to have two lists: a project list and an actual task list.
Your project list holds all the things you need to accomplish that require more than one step. This sounds easy enough, but I promise you will be surprised by what ends up here when you start putting this into practice. This in and of itself is a big reason this works.
Your task holds your…well, task and only your tasks.
Working Together
The two lists work together by putting the first or next step of your projects on your task list.
For instance, I’ll be offering Why I Failed Master Classes in the Nashville area beginning in September. The preparations for these events is of course, a project. So day-by-day and often moment-to-moment, I think about the next thing I can do that will have the most impact towards successful Master Classes and that’s my next “todo.” Today, it is organizing a list of benefits participants will receive by attending the classes. A next step after that is to post the benefits and other information on this site so you can sign up and attend (hint, hint). After that, there will be another “next step” to add to my task list.
How ’bout you? What’s your next task that will impact your projects?
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