As a business owner, I wake up every day with deadlines staring me in the face. Often I fall asleep with them lingering as well. My first and last thoughts of the day are often to-dos that need to be added to one list or another, usually because of those pesky deadlines.
Being the mom of a preschooler comes with it’s own set of deadlines, especially this time of year. I’ve got applesauce deadlines (we pick apples and make our own every year), Halloween costume deadlines (kiddo decided she wanted me to make her a ladybug costume), birthday party deadlines (hers is right around the corner), and all the other insanity the end of the year brings.
So, how do I keep my sanity amongst all these deadlines and insanity? By using several of the tools I’ve reviewed recently.
- Producteev, a task management system, helps me keep all of my various projects organized and on-time.
- Tungle helps me keep schedule meetings without a dozen emails having to go back and forth.
- Google apps helps me to keep everything synced across two computers, my BlackBerry, and the web. No matter where I’m at, I know that my inbox will be current, all of my sent messages are in one place, and my calendar is up-to-date. Especially since Tungle syncs with my Google apps calendar.
So, everything I need to do goes into Producteev, in it’s own workspace, with a deadline when needed. I try to schedule everything I can into my calendar with a reminder – even things like exercise time and when to leave to get the kiddo at the bus stop. Family events make it in there, too, so I can look at one calendar to see when I have to travel to Aunt what’s-her-name’s house and when I have to travel for business (and hopefully they’re not the same weekend.)
How do you keep yourself on-top of things? I’d love to hear about your go-to methods for getting things done. Who knows – your way may help me find a few more minutes in the day!