To-do or Not-to-do?.. That is the question.

"Note to Self: Remember to write a to-do list"

As a full-stack, dev-ops software developer we have to juggle a lot of moving parts. We work on multiple projects with multiple time-frames in addition to looking after servers, performing system-administration and keeping up with the constant changes in the tech landscape.

In short, we can have a lot going on at any one time.

Who doesn’t love a good to-do list?

Over the years I have used everything from pen-and-paper to test driving the latest tools of the moment to try and keep up-to-date and on top of what I need to do. Everyone out there might have their own system, but if there is one thing we can all agree on, its the importance of keeping some kind of to-do list.

Choosing what to-do from your to-do list

But writing the to-do list is only half the battle.

We’ve all been there. You finish collating everything you need to do, and then, inevitably you sit back and think "Gee. Which one of these should I be doing first?"

Usually it’s the task you leave until last. The big one. The gnarly one. That’s usually the task you should be starting first.

It’s as simple as this. If you have a good to-do list and are able to prioritise your work then you will be more effective in your job as you will be working on the "right" things.

I can’t count the number of times I have been "busy" working on the wrong things. I’m sure we’ve all done it at some point. Spend ages on a small cosmetic bug while there is a humongous bug just sitting there waiting for us to start it.

Identifying Priority's: The Eisenhower Priority Matrix

The biggest problem I have is identifying "what I should do next". Out of everything I have to do, what is my next highest priority task? That’s where the Eisenhower Priority Matrix comes into play. It identifies tasks based on their importance and their urgency.

If you do a Google search for "Eisenhower principle" you will most probably stumble upon this famous quote of his:

"What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important"

His matrix is simple and it goes like this:

  • If it’s important and urgent you need to do it now.
  • If it’s important but not urgent you should plan in time to do it

As an example, if you have identified that your car tax is due (a very important task) but your house is on fire (a very urgent and important task to resolve), I don’t think many people would have trouble identifying what they need to do first. Quick!!!! Phone the fire brigade immediately and run back into the house to save the old Amiga 500, Nintendo and original Xbox! (Actually, the original Xbox could probably survive a nuclear blast but that’s another story)…

Unfortunately, when we scan through our day-to-day to-do list, our items usually don't jump off the page like a burning house.

I like the definition for the Eisenhower Priority Matrix and how to use it provided on the MindTools website. Go here and have a read [here]

Like I say, there are countless to-do apps out there but if you wanted to incorporate the Eisenhower principal in your own to-do list then below is a simple example.


public double CalculatePriortyValue()
{
    CalculatedPriority = 0;
    if ( this.IsComplete == 1)
        return CalculatedPriority;

    // Minus 1 day so that you finish this task a day before its due
    double daysDueIn = ((DueDate - DateTime.Now).TotalDays - 1);

    if (daysDueIn < 1)
    {
        // This date is in the past. flip the value to a positive.  
        // The further in the past it is the more urgent it is.
        daysDueIn = Math.Abs(daysDueIn);

        if ( Math.Abs(daysDueIn) < 0.1)
            daysDueIn = 1;

        // Multiply importance by Urgency then multiply it by the number of days in the past it is!
        // The further in the past it is the later the task is and bigger the priority.
        CalculatedPriority = (Importance * Urgency) * daysDueIn;
    }
    else
    {
        // Multiply the importance and urgency then 
        // divide it over the number of days
        // we have got to do it in.
        CalculatedPriority = (Importance * Urgency) / daysDueIn;
    }

    return CalculatedPriority;
}

Revising your to-do list

The hardest part of any to-do list is keeping it up-to-date. A to-do list is no good if it’s not updated. I know this from experience. I’ve gone through cycles of using them then forgetting about them. However, for your to-do list to be effective you need to live inside it. You need to update it constantly so you know "what’s next". If that’s ticking boxes on a piece of paper or using the latest fandangled mobile app, if you’re not updating it “you’re not doing it right”.

The "Not" to-do List

This brings me nicely onto the not-to-do list.

You see, the great thing about the software dev landscape is that there is always "something new to learn". However, the bad thing about the software dev landscape is that there is always "something new to learn"!

If you’re like me, you probably have lots of new software dev areas that you want to learn and explore. It’s quite common for me to constantly feel like I am playing “catch up” because the amount of “stuff” to learn out there has exploded.

Let’s face it. It’s simply impossible for you to learn everything. There aren't enough hours in the day!

So you end up carrying around a lot of mental "to-do" cards. Things in the back of your mind that you think you should be doing but in reality haven't got the time for. Truth is, you’re probably never going to get the time to do everything. Time is against all of us.

This is where the not-to-do list comes into play and in my mind is just as important as the to-do list.

Think of the not-to-do list as a way of clearing your mental cache.

Before, you would stick X, Y or Z on your to-do list and it would forever expand. You would feel as if you are drowning under the stuff you need to do. But the truth is your never going to get around to doing everything on that list. The tasks that are “ideas”, “stuff to learn”, “nice-to-have features” all should be added to the “not-to-do list”. If it doesn’t have a due date, stick it on the not-to-do list. It can’t be that important.

Before, you ended up carrying around a lot of mental cards in your head, but by adding these items to your not-to-do list your mental cache is cleared. The fog dissipates and you can focus on the important things. At the same time you haven’t forgotten about these tasks. Because the not-to-do list will keep a record of them for you.

Now.... Note to Self: Remember to write my to-do list"

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