I love a good productivity tool, but I’ve learned that if managing the tool becomes another task on my list, I probably won’t stick with it.
That’s one reason I keep coming back to Microsoft To Do.
I use Microsoft To Do for task tracking both at work and at home (I’ll save how I use it at work for another post). For my personal life, it has become the place where I keep track of all the random things I need to do without also having to keep them floating around in my brain.
And there are always random things.
One Place for All the Things
I keep separate lists for the different areas of my life. I have a Personal list for everyday life stuff, a list for my side hustle, Curiosity Trading Company, and lists for my Board of Directors marketing responsibilities with Tucson Young Professionals.
Having separate lists gives everything a home without making the system complicated.
One of my favorite features is recurring tasks. If there’s something I need to do every week, month, or on another regular schedule, I can set it once and let Microsoft To Do remind me when it comes around again.
This is particularly helpful for those little responsibilities that are important enough to remember but not important enough for my brain to actually remember them.
Simple Is the Point
There are much more elaborate task-management systems out there, but honestly, I don’t want one.
I want to open an app, see what I need to do, add something new when I think of it, and check things off when they’re finished.
Microsoft To Do does exactly that.
I also love that I can access my lists from my computer or the app on my phone. If I think of something while I’m out, I can immediately add it instead of trying to remember it for later. My pending tasks essentially travel with me.
And one more thing I love: it’s free. You don’t need a Microsoft 365 subscription to use Microsoft To Do for personal task management, just a free Microsoft account.
Is it the fanciest productivity app available? Probably not.
But that’s kind of why I like it.
It’s simple enough that I actually use it consistently and I’ve found that the best organization system isn’t necessarily the one with the most features.
It’s the one you’ll actually use.
