Did You Remember the Milk?

I have a good memory. Always have. I think part of the reason I always did well in school is that I could remember things well. Tests seem easy when you can remember your teacher saying the answers!

Unfortunately, my good memory has led to bad habits. All through high-school, college, and even seminary, I tried to keep some sort of assignment or task list. But it always seemed pointless. I can remember what I have to do; why would I ever have to write it down? Because of this, I always gave up my assignment notebooks after a week or two.

But now I’m a pastor. Most of the things I have to do are not announced by a teacher; I decide them on my own, or I base them on conversations people have with me. In fact, on Sunday mornings alone, I am bombarded with comments, questions, and “just-one-more-things.” This isn’t a bad thing; it makes sense that the most people would talk to me on the day I see the most people! The problem is that embedded in those conversations are tasks that I might decide I need to do.

So with all these possible tasks out there and all the very real tasks that present themselves to me on a weekly and even daily basis, I’ve gotten overwhelmed.

Early in my ministry, I realized I couldn’t rely on my memory to  get everything done anymore. I needed a better way. I finally started using some “GTD” methods. (If anyone doesn’t know, “GTD” refers to “Getting-Things-Done”, based on the book by David Allen. It has a lot of good, common-sense ideas on how to keep track of all the “stuff” we have to do.)

I’ve tried a few ways to make this “GTD” work. I used a program on my phone, and a system connected to my email program. Both of those methods ended up falling apart for me for different reasons. But now I’m trying again with a new method: Remember the Milk.

Remember the Milk is a website / program that lets you keep track of your tasks. I’ve just started using it, but it seems to be very promising so far. One thing I like is that there are so many ways to “get at” the program: it’s on my phone, connected to my email and calendar, on my web browser, and even on Twitter. I’m really hoping that this method will “stick” and I’ll end up being more organized and productive. I guess we’ll see…

Do you do “gtd?” What’s been working (or not working) for you? I’d be interested to hear!