Incidentals: one-time tasks that take a short time to complete, are easy to do, and aren’t repeated.Routines: sets of recurring tasks we need to do again and again.Projects: big, one-time jobs (paint a room, redo the closet, etc.) that require you to gear up and gear down. Problems: issues that stop us in our tracks and take precedence over everything else.

The 4 Types of Tasks and How to Tackle Them

Incidentals Best place for incidental tasks to live is on a standard to-do lists. These are often way to serve others, prevent problems from becoming drastic, or tasks clear the way for other, more important tasks. <ul><li>Short one-time tasks</li><li>Easy to do</li><li>Not repeated </li></ul>Examples:<ul><li>Respond to voicemail</li><li>Fix the bathroom faucet</li><li>Pick up the neighbor’s mail</li></ul>

1: Incidentals 

Routines are sets of recurring tasks we need to do again and again. These routines make up the bulk of what we do day-to-day, week-to-week, month-to-month, and year-to-year. In fact, if we take a look at our to-do lists we’ll see that the vast majority of what we put on them are routine tasks—no wonder we find ourselves making the same to-do lists over and over again! Sweep the kitchen floor, review the family budget, update the sales report and download the pay stubs are examples of routine tasks. The best place for routine tasks to live is in <a href="https://app.tactick.com/signup">Tactick </a>, the app built specifically for routine tasks. Tactick has a library with dozens of routines already built out. All we have to do is choose and customize the ones we need for ourselves, our families, our businesses, and our community groups. Since most of the work we do is actually routine tasks, having a dedicated tool to help organize and keep track of them all is critical to keeping the other three types of tasks in check.

2: Routines 

Projects are big, one-time jobs. They’re often the type of work we really want to get to because they propel or project our lives forward. We usually don’t do the same project over and over again, though we usually work a specific project routinely. Projects typically require us to gear up and gear down and entail thrusts of focused effort over a sustained period of time. Remodel the kitchen, paint the bedrooms, move office spaces, and upgrade the IT system are examples of projects. The best place for projects to live is on spreadsheets or in project management software. Projects are exciting to work on and complete, but we often have to postpone doing them. Why? Because when we don’t maintain our routines, we rarely have enough time to dive in to projects. In other words, when we don’t work on our routine tasks routinely we routinely have to postpone working on our projects. This is not only annoying but can quickly give rise to problems.

3: Projects 

Problems are issues that stop us in our tracks and take precedence over everything else. Though the number of problems we have is small relative to the number of incidental and routine tasks we have, problems are the work we often find ourselves managing from day to day. A flat tire, a sick child, a broken tooth, a friend in a crisis. Problems usually don’t end up on our to-do lists because we don’t plan for them, and we usually have to take care of them immediately. The best place for problems to live is somewhere else, far away from our personal, family, and business lives. While problems are a part of life, bucketing our work by the four types of tasks and managing each bucket can <a href="http://tactick.com/blog/the-2-ways-organized-routines-prevent-problems-in-your-life/">prevent preventable problems and minimize and contain unpreventable problems </a>.

Tactick " The 4 Types of Tasks and How to Tackle Them

Megan B.