During your weekly review, you follow a checklist of tasks, things like:
– process/empty inboxes
– review/update calendar
– check off/remove done items
– process tasks
– follow-up on ‘waiting’ tasks
– review project list
– review someday/maybe
– review goals
– and so on.
These are specific actions you do to review the previous week and plan for the following one.
After you’ve worked your way through your checklist, you might want to also review another list, a ‘trigger list’ of keywords that can jog your memory about things you might need to do that aren’t on any of your lists.
You could have a trigger list for work, with trigger words like these:
– projects started, not completed
– projects that need to be started
– clients to call/email
– former clients to email
– referral sources to contact
– research-legal
– research-management issues
– employees (by name)
– CLE
– thank-you notes
– bank/financial
– articles/blog posts
– etc.
A personal trigger list might include items such as:
– vacation
– hobbies
– birthdays
– graduations/weddings
– birthdays/anniversaries
– gifts to buy
– restaurants to check out
– amazon purchases/shopping cart
– car maintenance
– study/homework
– etc.
A quick perusal of your trigger lists might stimulate you to recall overlooked tasks to add to your inbox.
Merlin Mann posted a comprehensive trigger list some time ago. It might help you create yours.
Where do you store your checklists? Evernote is a good choice
