1. Do the stuff written on cards with crappy handwriting before I forget what they say again. (This happens more than I like to admit to myself.)
2. Easy Win First, Hardest Thing Second. (Effectiveness based entirely on the relative ick of the hard task versus how well the easy win goes….)

What’s a “Squeaky Wheel” Task?

I try for hardest first on the idea that the most difficult, nasty things are dealt with up front and I can get to the easier, shorter things afterwards. Also, my energy as at its peak EARLY in the morning and goes downhill through the day (I need good techniques to recover in the PM so I can get a second burst of activity out of myself) so tackling the tricky stuff early on leaving the easier stuff for when my energy declines works well for me.

I typically go with a hard, short task first in order to build up some brain power and then I move into the bigger tasks before my brain begins to melt down as the day gets older.

“What’s a “Squeaky Wheel” Task?”

From the saying “The squeaky wheel gets the oil” - dealing with whatever tasks are most in your face, clients that keep bugging you the most or are the most insistent. FWIW.

I use the GTD plugin in Outlook to organize e-mails into projects. I end up with a lot of next action items and I find myself doing lots of stuff, but not always accomplishing anything. What I have started doing is using a “hipster pda” with the words “next accomplishment” at the top. I list the accomplishment (definition: accomplishment is something I can get done in a day or less… a milestone)Then I number down the card and list my next action items needed to complete the accomplishment.

I do this first thing in the morning and make up as many cards as I think I’ll be able to do in a day. The next day I update my GTD software from the cards and list the next days items on new cards. It’s simple and it helps me focus.

Daily GTD Action Plan

Chris over at High Octane Moron shares his strategies for determining what actions to tackle next on his context lists. 

From
reading his post on GTD, it’s apparent that Chri

[…] Monday’s the perfect day to climb back on the horse; if you’ve been feeling behind and guilty about the crap you’ve been putting off, have a quick browse here (quick, I said). And when you’re done, try a fast dash to get back your confidence and knock down a few “mosquito tasks.” […]