Your calendar is meant for scheduling, your to-do app is meant for listing tasks 8 Best Android To-Do List Management Apps 8 Best Android To-Do List Management Apps Don't try to combine dozens of tasks in your head. These amazing Android task management apps help you to keep track of your to-do list efficiently. Read More But given the interdependence of these two activities, segregation simply doesn't make sense. Google is now integrating Google Calendar and task lists by introducing reminders.
Reminders will start as a feature in the mobile app for Google Calendar, available for Android and iPhone, but will soon be available on the web as well. Either way, Google Calendar can be synced across all platforms. How to Sync Google Calendar with All Other Platforms How to Sync Google Calendar with All Other Platforms Google Calendar is hands down the easiest, most intuitive, and most versatile way to organize your day. The only problem that users commonly encounter is syncing it with their devices. Read More
While called Reminders, this new feature presents a list of all pending tasks. But they are tasks on steroids.!
Is that how it works. When you tap the plus icon to create a new calendar event on the mobile app, you'll now see another option for "Reminder." Tap that to create a new reminder.
Google Calendar brings together various productivity methods through the introduction of reminders. Foremost is a technique called backward programming, championed by author Cal Newport of Study Hacks.
The idea is that you need to schedule your tasks on your calendar. When you have a long to-do list, you don't know how or where those tasks will fit into your daily plan. And so they remain unattended with the usual. “I'll be here later” attitude.
By assigning a fixed time to a task, you're more likely to follow through and get started on it, says Newport. He's not the only one. Several productivity writers like Art Meisel also recommend thinking about “when” a task needs to be done and scheduling it into your calendar.
Google Calendar's new feature puts this productivity method to work by encouraging you to schedule your tasks instead of endlessly adding them to a list. When you're creating a new reminder, Calendar prompts you to add a date and time so it can alert you when the clock runs out.
Perhaps most importantly, by keeping your to-do list and your calendar in the same visual space, you're more likely to start scheduling those tasks, or even kill small tasks when you notice a window in time. When you see that your next task is scheduled for at least 5 minutes later, you can take care of one of the small items you see in your recurring reminders, like paying your credit card bill.
Yes, Google Keep handles your tasks already 4 Google Keep Tips and tricks for better notes, lists and to-dos 4 Google Keep Tips and tricks for better notes, lists and to-dos Read More finish? ? The big reason, in my opinion, is that Calendar makes it easy to add tasks from anywhere, while also giving you a place to plan your day and actions.
Add from anywhere: A big reason many of us don't end up using a to-do list app is the friction involved:the number of steps required to add a task is so high, we just don't add a task. Since calendar reminders can be added from most Google apps and voice commands, friction is reduced.
Keep checking One of the tenets of David Allen's GTD Productivity Method is to constantly review your to-do list and reprioritize it. By putting your scheduled and unscheduled tasks in one place, it's easier for you to review and re-evaluate what you need to do next.
Be Flexible: When it comes to accomplishing those tasks, Calendar can function similar to how Trello can be a vision board for goals How to Create a Vision Board and Achieve Your Big Goals How to Create a Vision Board and Achieve Your Big Goals You can call them big goals. Big, furry, bold rocks or goals. Some call it a bucket list. Emptying that bucket requires action. This is where a visual tool like Trello comes in handy. Read more . Giving you a visual overview of everything you need to accomplish today, along with the unscheduled tasks you need to take care of at some point, Calendar becomes a single interface to get an overview of your entire day.
Productivity methods are subjective. What works for me may not work for you, so it's impossible to answer if Google Calendar is the perfect option for you to get things done. But the reminders go a long way to making it ideal for people who...
As with any productivity app or method, give this a shot. Remember Rule 3 of To-Do Systems The 3-Strike System:How to Prioritize Your To-Do List The 3-Strike System:How to Prioritize Your To-Do List Not getting your to-do list? The problem may not be your productivity, it may be your priorities. Let's learn how to prioritize to-do list and how to get things done. Read More
I guess Google Calendar with Reminders will have a much better system once it's also available in the web version of Calendar, so you're using it across all gadgets.
Will reminders make you switch to Google Calendar? Already using GCal and loving this new feature? Is this just not enough and are you going to stick with your current schedule and to-do apps? Tell us your opinion in the comments..
And don't forget to check out the revamped Google Tasks. How Google's new tasks help you manage your to-do list. How Google's new tasks help you manage your to-do list. Google Tasks have a new look. It's so easy to organize your tasks in your Gmail inbox. Read More
