Task

A task is described as “a usually assigned piece of work often to be finished within a certain amount of time”. But the most important thing to notice here is that “task” is referred to as a singular item in contradiction to how I referred to time as being something huge, something multiplicative in nature.

Tasks come with limits which are clear that make them easier to manage and complete.

Compared to task, the concept of time is fairly described. First, “time” includes past, present and future. Also, when you say “time”, it can mean 5 minutes, three hours, one day, five weeks or 6 months. "Ago" or "from now on". Because specifically defined and proved that, time is way more difficult to manage.

Also, with task management, there’s a list of certain things that you need to work on. Completing your tasks allows you to feel that you’ve made progress. What’s more, progress can also be seen if you create a certain list of finished tasks.

With time management, you have a wide period of time to schedule things over. This can translate to a full calendar that stretches for months on end. What’s more, you don’t get the feeling of closure you have when you see you’ve completed a significant piece of work.

When you’re dealing with limited items, being productive and making progress might provide a certain degree of satisfaction. When you’re on an endless trip, trying to make the most of every minute of every day, things can become overwhelming.

Tips for task management

1. Prioritise

Both on a personal and on a professional level, outlining priorities is a must. It’s the way to make sure that important things get seen to right away. This applies both to task and time management. Make sure you outline and give way to important tasks first.

2. Do the hardest task first

This might sound as a cliche, but it works. Additionally, there’s bound to be something on your task list that you absolutely dread.

However, the trick is to learn to do the hardest things first. It might be a bit difficult in the beginning, but in the long run it pays off.

Getting down to the thing you dread the most will help you cut procrastination. Also, once it’s done, you can easily get to the next task instead of pushing everything in front just because you dread it.

Also, completing important work will allow you to feel that you’ve made progress. It can also provide a push for getting more done.

3. Use the appropriate tools

To manage your tasks as effectively as possible, you need the right tools. There are a lot of online calendars, project management software and to-do apps to choose from.

There is not right or wrong answer here – everyone is different and what works for some might not work for others. For simple list making, Trello, Evernote and Todoist are popular choices. You could also use a tool like Toggl Plan, which comes with online calendar, for effective task management.

---