Dead Presidents Get More Done

On Productivity…

The Eisenhower Matrix. God doesn’t that sound like something. Just knowing what this is will make you feel like a productivity badass. You’ll be so cool at parties.

The Eisenhower Matrix is attributed to Dwight D. Eisenhower. Yes that Eisenhower. The 34th President of the United States Eisenhower. Before becoming president, good old Ike served as the NATO Supreme Commander (what a boss title). He developed this method to organize his tasks based on urgency and importance, which helped him make more efficient decisions in both military and presidential roles. God Ike was such a nerd. I love it.

How It Works

The Eisenhower Technique involves dividing tasks into four categories based on two criteria: urgency and importance. These categories are often represented in a matrix with four quadrants, like so:

1. Urgent and Important (Do First): Tasks that require immediate attention and have significant consequences if not completed soon.

2. Important, but Not Urgent (Schedule): Tasks that are important but do not require immediate action, allowing for scheduling at a later time. Put these in your to-do app (see below).

3. Urgent, but Not Important (Delegate): Tasks that need to be done soon but are not necessarily important to your long-term goals or values. These can be delegated to others. Give them to the minions!

4. Neither Urgent nor Important (Delete): Activities that offer little to no value and should be eliminated from your schedule. These are beneath you.

Pros

• Simplifies Decision-Making: By categorizing tasks, it becomes easier to prioritize what needs immediate attention and what can wait.

• Increases Productivity: Helps to focus on tasks that align with long-term goals and values.

• Reduces Stress: By managing urgent tasks promptly and scheduling important tasks, it reduces the stress associated with last-minute rushes.

• Encourages Delegation: Identifies tasks that can be delegated, freeing up time for more critical activities.

Cons

• Over-Simplification: No all tasks fit neatly into the matrix, making it challenging to categorize them accurately.

• Neglect of Certain Tasks: There's a risk of consistently neglecting tasks in the "Not Urgent but Important" quadrant, which could impact long-term goals.

• Misjudgment of Task Importance: Users might misjudge the importance or urgency of tasks, leading to improper prioritization.

Who It Works Best For

The Eisenhower Technique works best for people who want to improve their time management skills, especially those in leadership roles or environments with high demands on decision-making and prioritization. It's great for people looking to balance urgent tasks with the strategic planning of important, longer-term objectives.

Personally, I prefer the ABCDE Method, but with anything related to getting things done, you have to choose the method that works the best for you when you need it.

TickTick Review…

I’ve written before about how I am an Apple guy; I’ve been a long time Apple Notes and Reminders user. But recently, I’ve been switching things up. Lately, I’ve been using TickTick to track my tasks and while I am still early in, so far so good.

OK, so why the switch?

Apple Reminders is great. It’s simple and part of the Apple ecosystem which also means that it is basically free. But, it is that simplicity that can work against it. Reminders offers very minimal features, almost no customization, and there is no integration with my calendar. I’ve heard nothing but good things about TickTick, so I figured it was time to give it a go.

But first a word on to-do apps vs project management software.

To-Do Apps vs. Project Management Software

To-do apps focus on personal (i.e. one or two people) task management. They help us write down tasks, set reminders, and track deadlines. These apps are typically simple to use and emphasize quick task capturing and individual productivity.

Project management software, on the other hand, is generally meant for team collaboration and managing complex projects. These tools offer more detailed features like Gantt charts, team communication, resource assignments, and project tracking. These often cater to a broader scope of planning and execution. I’ll go into more depth on these in later newsletters.

Alright back to TickTick. The app is designed for people who need a straightforward, intuitive system to manage daily tasks. It has just enough features to be useful, but not so much that it is overwhelming. And since I am in a pros and cons kind of mood, let’s do this:

Pros:

• It’s User-Friendly: TickTick has a very intuitive design that makes it easy to navigate and manage tasks. The learning curve here is not big. It also was pretty easy to import my Apple Reminders. Chef’s kiss!

• Cross-Platform Syncing: It’s available for iOS, Android, Mac, and Windows. Again, Apple guy that I am, that isn’t as much of a big deal, but it’s nice to know that my tasks could be synced across all devices if I ever lost my mind and bought an Android device (shudder).

• Customizable: You can personalize your experience with different themes, priority levels, and tagging options. I need to play with this more, but I do love me some customization.

• Integrated Calendar: TickTick has a built-in calendar but also can integrate with third-party calendars. This is super nice and merges my to-dos with my deadlines quite nicely. I had no problem syncing up to my many, many Google calendars.

• Advanced Features: The app has Pomodoro timers, a handy Eisenhower Matrix feature (see above) and habit tracking. This is above and beyond what Reminders (or many other task managers) can do. Oh and TickTick also supports full on notes. Right-click any task and boom convert it to a note!

Hold on, it ain’t perfect.

Cons:

• Limited Collaboration Features: While TickTick offers shared tasks and lists, it lacks the extensive collaboration features found in dedicated project management tools. BUT as I’ve have said, that isn’t the point of to-do apps in general, so it kind of gets a pass here.

• It’s Not Apple: In Reminders, I can create shared notes with anyone in my family. While I can do the same with TickTick, I now have to get everyone in my family to install (and possibly pay for) the app. No bueno.

• Why so Laggy?: Again, I am early in, but the app feels a little sluggish. It doesn’t seem to sync as quickly as Reminders does between my desktop and phone.

• Subscription for Premium Features: Many of TickTick’s more advanced features, like even more customization and unlimited task lists, require a premium subscription. It doesn’t break the bank, but it’s also not free. I tend to like free.

Final Thoughts

All in all, TickTick is a pretty good choice if you are looking to upgrade your task management tools. This is especially if you adhere to the Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology. For those unfamiliar, GTD, a concept developed by David Allen in his book of the same name, is a system designed to improve organization and productivity. More on this in future posts. Like a lot more…but I digress.

TickTick is an uncomplicated app that doesn’t try to be more than it is. And if you use it as intended, I think you’ll find that it makes it a pretty compelling choice for your task management needs.

On Gratitude…

As I write this, the sun is shining and honestly the weather could not be more lovely. I have a few moments of quiet and nothing that I absolutely have to do right now. The next couple days will be super busy, so I am luxuriating in the mellowness of this moment. Whatever you have ahead of you this week, find a few minutes of respite. Capture some time for yourself and enjoy some quiet. And as always, thanks for reading.

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