Hello All! I talked a while ago about my systems and I confessed to you that I am often changing the way I do things in hopes of finding a perfect solution. Until about 8 months ago, I kept a high level To-Do list on my chalkboard in my office. Every time I’d look at it I’d think, “Wow! Look at us! We’re really doing this! Look at all these projects!” — until one day I looked up and I was running out of wall for all the things I had going. Leads, sales calls, meetings etc. and I knew I had to get more serious & grown up about my To-Do list. (Plus, all the chalk dust was SO messy!)

ENTER TEUX-DEUX

I have all kinds of tools that I use to manage my projects, leads, calendar, contractors, and time management, but the biggest helper in my world is this simple little app from SwissMiss (my personal hero). The interface is really easy to use. Here watch this video:

Neux TeuxDeux from TeuxDeux on Vimeo.

Okay, so now you know what it’s all about, but here is the way I use it. Every day, I go down my project list and I sort all my tasks into 4 categories. It sounds involved, but it really only takes about 5 minutes and REALLY takes the edge off any major To-Do stress I might feel.

All the items requiring ACTION, go into my Teux-Deux list for the day, and the other items go into the other lists at the bottom. I always tackle CONNECT first because I like to get my emails & calls out of the way before I start a design phase. (We should talk about design phases someday soon too. I have theories about WHEN you can get design flow and when you can’t.)

Next I tackle DELEGATE. I send stuff off to my contractors, my assistant and my husband/partner/developer Tim so that I can strop stressing about that whole column. Shout out to my team — thank you for being so awesome and helping me out so much!

I personally like to save RESEARCH for my off time. Now, this might not work for everyone, but I sometimes have my best ideas & inspiration while I’m cooking or folding laundry, or surfing blogs while watching Mad Men. I get stuff done whenever it feels right for me, so I would just suggest the same for you.

So, then ACTION items. I put all the quick “whackamole” style items at the top. Anything that will take only 5-15 minutes get knocked out first. I’m talking BEFORE MY COFFEE. (Coffee is the reward for short term goals!) Then… the juiciest & best part of my day is when I CLOSE MY EMAIL. I go down to the kitchen and get my cup of coffee. I kiss the babies on the head, then go back up, put on some tunes and settle in to my chair for a lovely and (hopefully) stress-free design phase.
So, I hope that was helpful and interesting for those of you who are in similar fields. Let me know how you like to get things done!

p.s. I’m sure you already know, but this isn’t a sponsored post. I just really love this little app. And Tina Eisenberg.