Becoming a multitasker

I’ve never been good about juggling multiple projects. I can multitask by writing while breastfeeding or eating, but when it comes to managing, say, working on a book and housework, or housework and grading papers, or writing and grading, I tend to zone in on a single task. Everything else gets dropped. Now with the housework the kids and the hubs do help out a lot, but I’m still the one home the most with the most flexible schedule...and honestly I’m getting tired of the constant mess and chaos myself. I often joke that you can always tell how much writing I’m getting done by how messy my house is, but the joke is getting old even to me.

Awhile ago, someone told me about the app Todoist, and I downloaded it, but never really used it. A little over a week ago, I started to play around with it.

Folks, this app is perfect for anyone managing multiple large projects...and especially for writers.

You’ve got your basic to do lists, like “personal” which I use for housework, “errands” and “work” which I use for my college teaching. But then you can add more lists. So I have one for the nonfiction book I’m under contract for, the novel I want to start submitting soon, short story ideas I want to develop, the second job I mentor for, magazine articles I want to write, things I want to cook for dinner tonight, even a list of things I want my husband to do (a literally honey do list)

Now here’s the beautiful part: once you create all these different lists for the different projects that you’re doing, you can assign days when you want to accomplish each task, creating a daily to do list:

The only thing that’s  not included in the free version of this app that I kind of want is the ability to see tasks after they’ve been completed. Like I can’t show you that for today I’ve already checked off applying for a grant and cleaning a bathroom. It would also be cool to set up reoccurring tasks, like every day there’s laundry, and I’d like to do writing exercises every day. But so far this has really helped me stay on top of multiple projects and not feel so overwhelmed. My house is slowly getting clean, I got the book revisions in on time, and I’m on track to have everything set up and ready for my fall classes.

A shot of what the app looks like, if you want to try it: