Time is on my side. Yes it is.

Right, maybe for Mick and the boys, but not for most of us. Especially students, saddled with frequent deadlines and to-do lists that run the length of a tube sock.

Now, I’m a big proponent of To-Do lists. I’ve been writing reminders on my hands for as long as I remember having hands, going ballpoint for those daily chores, permanent marker for something I had to recall the next day.

When the assignments got too big and the writing got too small, I switched over to Post-It notes, slapping them across my room like they were Bieber stickers. And once I discovered there was more to computers than Lucasarts adventure games, I began using task managers such as, well, Task Manager. 

Back at school, I carry around my Macbook Pro like it’s the Ring of Power, which makes me a big proponent of Things. This clean and simple task manager handles most of what I need it to and has been a lifesaver over the past semester. 

But it still isn’t ideal.

Though I’m diligent in making notes of most tasks I need to get to, when it comes time to tackling them, well, I tend to get a little choosy. And that’s the downfall of Things for me - on any given day, I have about 5 items that need my immediate attention, and I tend to prioritize them based on how I feel about them.  

Some items are persistent and show up every day, mostly because they have longer delivery cycles and I tend to put them off until I absolutely must deal with them. But not all. If the task is pleasurable or fun, I sometimes tend to it right away, even if the results aren’t due for another month.

And so I’m considering creating a task management app that also considers the relative mood I have about each task - ranging from “Awesome” to “Boring” to the in-between “Meh”. I really think it’ll make me (and people like me) more productive.

I’m already doing it with Things, and I’m making a conscious effort to tackle the “Meh” and “Boring” tasks first. I know I’m going to get to the Awesome tasks no matter what - they’re “Awesome” for a reason! Getting the Boring tasks done first gives me incentive to work towards the Awesome tasks. By then, the Awesome tasks don’t seem like tasks at all - they feel like rewards for everything I’ve already accomplished. 

For instance - I had about five tasks to complete this past weekend, including cleaning the apartment (boo!) to writing this blog (yay!). But because I knew I would enjoy writing this, I saved it to Monday morning, well after the apartment was clean and everything else was cleared off the list. 

It may not feel like much, but I now get to start the week of with a sense of accomplishment. Plus, I have time to read Peter King over some coffee before the work week even officially begins...