Task management mobile phone apps, such as Taskade or Clickup, offer an extensive task list with sublevels and checkboxes, allowing AI or manual input. As a result of using this app, I now excel doing many tasks I previously bombed at. And I can take on more projects without feeling overwhelmed or lost. With these kind of apps we can gain a clear roadmap to success, upping the ante with every win.
I’m using the app to outline tasks I need to do each day. The tasks include daily goals for making progress on bigger ambitions. For each goal, I list subtasks that I need to complete to achieve an A grade performance with the goal. I get an A if I do all the subtasks for that goal. I go from an A to an A minus if I miss a subtask. And I go further down the grading scale for every additional missed task. I also have bonus “A+” tasks that boost my grade up one level, so I can go from an A by completing every task to an A+ by completing at least one bonus “A+” goal.
If grades and GPA don’t inspire us, choose something that does. This could be, for instance, pretend money (achieving every task could be conceived of as a “million-dollar future”). Or a scale of praise (achieving every task could be conceived of as “You rock!”).
As background, I determined that the way to clean effectively is to go for an A+, where one missed cleaning day is an F grade. And we don’t ever want to throw off our “GPAs.” For me, an A for each day is making the bed, doing laundry, washing dishes immediately after use, cleaning the kitchen and washroom, and vacuuming, whereas an A+ is tackling any additional area, which is what I strive to do daily. Any missed task reduces the letter grade from A to A-, and so forth. And now my cleaning is so excellent, I rarely get complaints.
To get an A on personal grooming each day, I shower, shave, wash my hair, apply fragrant body wash, floss twice, brush twice, rub coconut oil on my face, apply light makeup, and spray perfume. If I shower before 10 am (as I work remotely), I get an A+. I checkmark each task on my app checklist, and now consistent A-grade standards for hygiene have become second nature.
The same goes for daily discipline with studies, where I set a standard for an A. To get an A, I study at least one hour each weekday, an additional 45 minutes at bedtime, and eight hours on weekends. Each extra hour boosts my grade one level.
The key is to select the most critical tasks in our lives and treat them as non-negotiable, where a minimum A must be met, an A+ is always the goal, and an F is never entertained. But what happens if we consistently get Fs on specific goals that are less important to us but need to be done? I have a strategy for tweaking these goals. If I don’t get an A in a particular area, I revise the tasks to make them more attainable. This might include changing 30 minutes of daily work on my documentary to 10 minutes. If I succeed with A grades on everything, I can up the ante by adding something new, such as more time, tasks, or goals. We should tweak everything until we consistently get an A on every goal in our app–and then build more excellent and abundant goals.
By choosing this process, we are not competing with anyone but ourselves. So, organize our big dreams in an task management app to begin chipping away at the monumental vision of life we wish to achieve. And make it more and more beautiful every passing day! After all, we deserve to experience our ultimate visions of a fulfilled life!