- Hierarchical task tree. Some people do not have to work with more than 20 tasks at a time. In that case, a simple ToDo List is all they need. But many of us get involved with planning hundreds of tasks. There are things to do today, this week, this month, and this year. When we set goals and work on projects, we need to organize tasks into categories and break down projects into tasks and subtasks. This is why a hierarchical task tree is so important. If all we had was one lengthy list of tasks, it would be too difficult to manage and wade through. A hierarchical tree allows us to neatly organize tasks into categories, goals, and projects.
- A second window pane for tasks. Projects and goals are usually made up of several categories, each of which contains many tasks. For example, let's say a writer is planning on writing a book. That single goal or project may be broken down into three subgoals: a) Write manuscript, b) write query letter to literary agent, c) write book proposal. Each subgoal is then further broken down into tasks. For instance, in order to write the manuscript, the author needs to conduct research, verify the accuracy of the information, organize the material, interview people on the phone and in person, write each chapter, check the spelling, grammar, and style of the manuscript, write a draft, revise the draft, and do final editing. This is only a partial list, but it demonstrates how quickly the number of tasks will grow. In order to prevent the Task Tree from growing too long and unwieldy, a good task manager will have a second window pane to list all the tasks within a subgoal or category. So, if we click in the Task Tree window on our example project WRITE BOOK, it will expand into three categories: a) Write manuscript, b) Write query letter, c) Write book proposal, and when we click on the WRITE MANUSCRIPT node of our task tree, the long list of tasks will appear to the right of the task tree in a separate task window. This arrangement reduces clutter, makes it easy to see an overview of all our tasks in each category and simplifies task management.
- A third window pane for notes. Often, there are notes associated with each task. Instead of having to double-click on a task to read its notes, a good task manager, will have a third window pane for notes. So, once a task is clicked, its notes will automatically appear in the Notes Window (located beneath the Tasks Window).
- A calendar. In order to manage our tasks and achieve our goals, we need to indicate the date and time we will work on each task. The ideal task manager will automatically add our tasks to a calendar whenever we indicate the date and time we plan to do the task. A calendar will allow us to instantly see what we are scheduled to do today, this week, and this month. The calendar introduces clarity to our plans and prevents us from forgetting appointments, events and tasks.
Chuck Gallozzi