Frances Banks

At the start of each week, I determine the tasks I need to complete over the next five days. I then organize my tasks into three levels: third-level tasks take less than half an hour to complete, second-level tasks take less than an hour, and first-level tasks take more than an hour. Next, like assembling pieces of a puzzle, I compare this list of tasks to any meetings I have that week and figure out when I can schedule deep work. During my deep work blocks, I only assign one first-level task. These tasks are my most mentally demanding and I need lots of uninterrupted time to tackle them. I also schedule an hour or so each day, usually divided into two chunks, where I attack a batch of third-level tasks. If I have a day where I won’t have a large enough block to work on a first-level task, I’ll try to complete one or two second-level tasks. It all depends on the constraints of my schedule.

…eader name, I track when I last worked on their file, what steps I’ve taken, and what work remains. When I finish the task, I strike it through and type the next task below the last. It’s essentially a running tally of the work I’ve done, the work I have left to do, and how much ti…

…s that are non-work related. On the right side of the spread, I sketch a rough schedule for my day. I decide which work-related tasks I’ll be tackling after running through a Word document I call my Master Task List, or MTL, that’s saved on my work computer. The MTL has a list of all my clients, with their names acting as separate headers; under each heade…