It may surprise you to know that although I am a “techie” I do not propose that everyone always use technology for every aspect of business (or daily life for that matter). Rather, my business experience and dealings with numerous companies has shown that there are very few people who whole-heartedly embrace technology and integrate it into their lives.
For example, I have dabbled with numerous To-Do apps from smartphone-based apps to online services interlinked with Customer Relationship Management Tools (CRMs) and not once have a found one that “beats” my pen and writing pad. Every Monday morning, I write down the main tasks for the week and check them off (or update them) as the week progresses. I have tried using the more “techie” solutions and they all have their strengths, but the reality is that the physical act of “ticking off” an item on my list is more rewarding that “clicking off” a virtual item.
Although the process is generally slower to write rather than type out a to-do list, the feeling of accomplishment is not as great as it is when I can add a tick to one of the items from my trusty pad. There are numerous dis-advantages to this manual method (single point of data, no easy search facility, bad handwriting, etc) but all those downsides do not balance the scales of the true purpose of my to-do list. It (in its purist function) is a method to tracking my progress, balance my week and motivate me to succeed. There may be “bigger” methods to make the act of completing a task more rewarding (whiteboard list, musical accompaniment, etc) but they all require more effort than simply grabbing my pen and jotting down what I need to do this week.
However, my to-do list is only roughly a page long every week (I try to be efficient rather than detailed) and as such if my list of tasks were dozens to hundreds of items long, I would not be using such an antiquated method. For the effort to maintain a paper based to-list of a hundred items is a lot more of a hassle than having 100 items in say Todoist. I may not get the same satisfaction of progress but that is offset but the saving in effort needed to maintain a paper list.
As such, I always propose to clients, solutions that are their best fit for their needs. If they wish to have a to-do list, I can give options, but I would also advocate for a simple solution rather than one a complex one. For example, a client came to me to find a suitable appointment management system for their engineers. After taking the specifications and researching the market, there were numerous services that fit their requirements. However, as part of the investigation, I detailed how they could setup a Google Calendar for free for basic management and how they could even use Microsoft 365 to “hit two targets with one arrow” by improving their email system and use Outlook Shared Calendars.
Remember, not every solution needs to be the most high-tech, the best solutions are the ones that fit with your needs. As every solution is only as good for as long as you use it.
If you have a problem and would like me to investigate possible solutions, please get in touch via the contact page.
