mind and be confident that it's safely recorded in your calendar—but this is unrealistic. And it violates our original criterion that any time-management system should require only a few minutes each day.
That's the power of the "things to remember" column of your list. You can't expect yourself to be able to think seriously about time management at all points during your busy day. But the act of pulling out a piece of scrap paper from your pocket and quickly jotting down "anthro paper topic" requires minimal energy, no thinking, and barely any time. You don't have to consider when to begin working on the paper topic, what steps are involved, or how many days it will require. You simply scribble down three words.
The key is that the list is a trusted piece of storage. You are confident that tomorrow morning, when you're doing your only time-management thinking for the day, you will see that reminder and record the appropriate steps in your calendar. Because of your list, the deadline will not be lost. It will be scheduled.
Restarting After a Period of Neglect
To date, I have yet to have successfully followed any time-management system without interruption for longer
than two months. I try, but inevitably I hit a rough patch.
