You’ve settled into your workspace, a steaming cup of espresso in hand, able to dive into the strategic plan your boss eagerly awaits. However simply as you start – Ping. A Slack message out of your finance accomplice: “Don’t overlook to ship finances requests by EOD.” You barely course of this earlier than – Ping. An e mail out of your dentist’s workplace reminding you to schedule your biannual cleansing. You’re taking a breath, however – Ping. Workday lets your direct report’s timesheet is prepared for approval. In mere moments, your focus time spirals into chaos, your to-do listing increasing with relentless urgency.
This barrage of notifications is greater than only a minor inconvenience; it’s a plague on productiveness. Simply as we cross a to-do off our listing, one other one pops up. It’s no marvel that two-thirds of staff finish their day with unresolved duties on their to-do lists.
So, how are we presupposed to handle to-dos flying at us from each course? Which of them will we swat away and which will we prioritize? And, how are the individuals who appear to remain on prime of all of it doing it!?
We got down to discover solutions to those questions by conducting a survey of 6,000 data employees throughout six international locations about their to-do listing practices. Let’s dig into what we realized.
A word on our survey methodology
Contents
The survey was carried out by Wakefield Research amongst 6,000 data employees in 6 markets: US, UK, Australia, India, Germany and France, with a quota of 1,000 respondents per market, between December twentieth, 2024, and January twelfth, 2025, utilizing an e mail invitation and an internet survey.
State of the to-do listing
Being organized is well known as a big benefit on the subject of managing duties successfully. The truth is, a outstanding 89% of employees imagine that essentially the most organized people are sometimes those who accomplish essentially the most. Desirous to be a part of this crowd, 82% of individuals have established a proper system to maintain their to-dos organized.
Nonetheless, these techniques are like snowflakes – no two are precisely alike. Apparently, over half (52%) of data employees admit that their organizational strategies might seem chaotic to outsiders, but they firmly imagine that these approaches work nicely for them.
No matter how totally different our to-do lists might look, all of us share the satisfying feeling that accompanies crossing an merchandise off the listing. The truth is, a placing 70% of execs with a to-do listing choose the fun of marking an merchandise full over receiving reward from a coworker.
Dueling lists: private vs. work to-dos
We additionally surveyed people about how they set up their private versus skilled to-dos. We discovered practically half (47%) of staff keep two distinct to-do lists to trace their private and work tasks. In distinction, a few quarter (23%) choose to consolidate all duties right into a single to-do listing, whereas 21% solely preserve a to-do listing for work-related duties, leaving private reminders to rely solely on reminiscence.
We additionally discovered that individuals are juggling their to-dos – each private and work – in lots of locations: calendars, notebooks, productiveness apps.
So which is the perfect method? Maintain private and work duties separate, or collectively? Observe duties in a single place, or a number of? Whereas everybody has their very own desire, our analysis suggests the extra you utilize organizational techniques and instruments out of your office to trace all duties, the higher off you can be.
People who use an organizational system they realized at work are 1.4x extra prone to contemplate themselves organized than those that depend on a system they designed on their very own. Moreover, organized people are twice as doubtless to make use of instruments from their office to arrange their private to-dos.
The disorganization domino impact
Inside a group, particular person productiveness is a part of a extremely advanced and interconnected internet. You’ll have all of your geese in a row, however a disorganized colleague can halt your (and your group’s) ahead momentum.
If you happen to don’t contemplate your self a very organized individual, beware, as folks have little or no persistence for his or her much less organized coworkers. Virtually 4 in 5 (78%) of respondents stated they’d fairly tackle further work than be pressured to collaborate with a disorganized colleague. (Sort of like being the college group mission member who throws their fingers up and says, “fantastic, I’ll do all of it myself.”) Moreover, virtually two-thirds of employees stated they’d fireplace a disorganized group member if it meant enhancing general outcomes.
It shouldn’t come as a lot of a shock how resentful employees might be of a less-than-organized teammate. The dearth of order may cause critical delays – and critical dangerous emotions.
Enhance private productiveness in three steps
Tip #1: Timebox
A straightforward first step, we’ve discovered, to get a greater deal with of your to-dos, is to hone your means to estimate how lengthy a selected job goes to take. Then, put aside that point in your calendar, and do your finest to guard it.
This system is named “timeboxing,” and it’s particularly helpful for individuals who battle with procrastination or who usually discover themselves haplessly making an attempt to make progress on a number of tasks directly, in the identical quick window. (Spoiler: this hardly ever works out. Your consideration span is simply so versatile.)
Timeboxing is a tried-and-true method for conserving productiveness and alignment excessive. In a recent experiment with Atlassians, we discovered that 68% made extra progress once they timeboxed their calendar, and aim readability improved for 55%. The takeaway? Whenever you orient your day round a very powerful duties it’s worthwhile to accomplish, you’re – by design – figuring out your most vital work.
Higher but: make your calendar seen to your entire group to allow them to see what you’re engaged on, once you’re doing it, and the period of time it’ll take so that you can see it by way of.
Trello now consists of a Planner function that allows you to transfer to-dos over to your calendar proper out of your Trello board – and vice versa.
Tip #2: Give your to-do listing a makeover
Do you know that organized individuals are 1.4x extra prone to delete gadgets from their to-do listing in the event that they don’t full them inside a couple of days? Slightly than letting duties linger (and ultimately find yourself on the chopping block), get within the behavior of claiming “no” sooner than later. And bear in mind, if a job is neither impactful nor pressing, it could not should be in your to-do listing within the first place.With Trello, everybody might be free of having to trace down to-dos from a number of lists. All of your captured to-dos land proper in your Trello Inbox, the place you may evaluate, type, and filter new to-dos and set up nevertheless you favor.
Tip #3: Chart your every day “prime to-do” – and observe it!
To-doing and timeboxing are all nicely and good, as long as you will have a transparent understanding of what you’re working towards. That is the place the “prime to-do” is available in.
On the finish of every workday, take a couple of minutes to set a prime to-do for the next day, and rejigger your schedule to make sure it’s set as much as allow you on a regular basis and area it’s worthwhile to get it accomplished. The highest to-do ought to be one (only one!) high-impact job in your plate you can’t delegate or ignore – or quietly delete out of your to-do listing.
Beginning small is essential. Undertaking ONE large factor every single day offers you robust momentum. It’s straightforward for deep-working, task-accomplishing time to take a backseat to conferences, pings, and returning emails.
Actual productiveness means making manner for actual work; a prime to-do is a surefire manner of getting there.
Meet your private productiveness potential
Our to-do lists are as a lot of a piece in progress as we’re. As our assignments, groups, and work types evolve, so ought to the techniques and instruments we’ve in place to arrange all of it.
Pairing a versatile to-do listing software like Trello* with the methods outlined on this submit will set you in your manner towards a extra organized model of your self. Embrace the method!
Take a look at our Product weblog for all of the nitty-gritty particulars on the all-new Trello!
