I've been contemplating why I have so much more difficulty keeping track of my "to-do" list now that I'm not working an office job.
I haven't worked for a year and a half, and for a while I figured it was simply that I am better about "getting stuff done" when there is an outside influence providing structure to my days. And that is part of it.
But there is so much disparate stuff to keep track of now... Stuff related to the kids. Bills to be paid. When I have library duty. Medical appointments. And all the stuff related to being a writer: Subscriptions, periodic searches for markets, keeping up with Facebook lists and emails, etc.
For the past year and a half, my ability to stay on top of everything has declined. I am constantly "losing" emails, or not responding to things, or letting balls drop.
I have finally figured out I MISS MICROSOFT OUTLOOK.
My primary email is gmail. It does not provide the ability to color code items to categorize them. (I work best when I can categorize things visually.) Also, I can't follow an entire conversation, because gmail treats every new email--even it's part of a longer discussion--as a discrete email. I WANT TO SEE THE CONVERSATION FFS!
So, I'm trying to use the "Tasks" feature in gmail and I may just have to go back to always having a notebook or something with me to keep notes/to-do's. Because I just can't keep track of it all.
What do you do?
I haven't worked for a year and a half, and for a while I figured it was simply that I am better about "getting stuff done" when there is an outside influence providing structure to my days. And that is part of it.
But there is so much disparate stuff to keep track of now... Stuff related to the kids. Bills to be paid. When I have library duty. Medical appointments. And all the stuff related to being a writer: Subscriptions, periodic searches for markets, keeping up with Facebook lists and emails, etc.
For the past year and a half, my ability to stay on top of everything has declined. I am constantly "losing" emails, or not responding to things, or letting balls drop.
I have finally figured out I MISS MICROSOFT OUTLOOK.
My primary email is gmail. It does not provide the ability to color code items to categorize them. (I work best when I can categorize things visually.) Also, I can't follow an entire conversation, because gmail treats every new email--even it's part of a longer discussion--as a discrete email. I WANT TO SEE THE CONVERSATION FFS!
So, I'm trying to use the "Tasks" feature in gmail and I may just have to go back to always having a notebook or something with me to keep notes/to-do's. Because I just can't keep track of it all.
What do you do?
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