Is it sufficient to be on top of what you need to do, when you need to do it and for whom it needs to be done for? Well the simple answer is "no". The reason is a little more complicated. The very nature of task lists is that they never diminish. As you complete tasks at the top, more items are added to the bottom. Further more, it is rare that any single activity is done in isolation of everything else. More often, even the simplest of activities is linked to a chain of activities or part of a group of activities. The activity may involve one or more people or teams. Those people and/or teams may appear multiple times in your list activities and you will likely want to visit activities in related blocks and not in isolation.
There is one further complication that is far more important. "Ticking" off Tasks does provide you with a list of mini-achievements, but do these "ticked" off items give you a sense of where you have come from and where you are going? The underlying and fundamental human need at play here is linked to goal recognition or having a sense of accomplishment. If we do not often reach this sense of accomplishment we slowly but surely get tired, worn-out and bored with what we are doing. The things that used to have us bouncing out of bed in the morning, do not matter any more. A sense of accomplishment comes simply by seeing in every action you take, no matter how small, your own progress against a bigger picture goal.
Whilst at the core of the challenge that confronts us is the ability to quickly and easily capture, process and dispatch or revisit requests, true success and fulfilment requires something more.
A possible answer involves a method for putting all those requests and tasks into context.
The context is the goals and desires that govern our daily life. If the task lists discussed above, were grouped and facilitated in such away that they were clearly identifiable again goals then each "tick" would be a step closer to that goal. By seeing these completed tasks as steps towards a goal we will have a better chance of achieving the sense of accomplishment on a daily, hourly or even minute-by-minute basis.
