Two things that save my life daily in business: a good project management tool and recurring tasks.  My system of choice is Clickup, but there are a ton of options out there.  Don’t get wrapped up in the arguments of which one is “better” because they all do basically the same thing, just with a different user experience.  If you ask me, I’ll tell you the best system for you is the one that you use consistently.

The one non-negotiable I had when looking into project management tools is the ability to create recurring tasks easily.  This has been a game. changer. for me in terms of creating mental space so I don’t need to remember every single thing every single day.  I get it – I’m a pen and paper girl too, but if there’s a system out there that will make my life easier, you better believe I am giving up my favorite pen and pretty planner for it! Wondering how to set up recurring tasks for your business in your project management tool of choice? Keep reading!

why recurring tasks work:

• Most responsibilities can be broken down into several repetitive tasks.  Even if every single thing I do isn’t repetitive, automating reminders for tasks that I do daily, weekly, monthly, or even quarterly has made a world of difference in the constant overwhelm I used to feel.
• Whenever I log into work, my to-do list is already done.  I don’t have to spend time creating a list every day and am able to just get to work right away.
• Because this portion of my job doesn’t take up 100% of my time, I batch my work and only log in 2-3 days per week.  I’m able to set up tasks for the days of the week that I plan on working (I try to make it the same days each week). For more on batching, check out this post.

here’s how to set them up:

1. Make a few lists of the tasks you do frequently.  This can be on paper, in a Google sheet, or wherever you can feel free to brainstorm. You should have one list each for the things you do weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly, and even annually.  This works best if the tasks are done with the same cadence, meaning with the same time in between.  If these are tasks that you do, say, on a project basis, you won’t want to use recurring tasks here.
2. Add anything to your list that you’d like to do on a recurring basis but maybe you don’t get to right now.  This can be looking at reports, asking customers for feedback, checking on inventory, whatever works for you!
3. Now, dig into that project management system you just signed up for and create a task.  Give it a due date and assign it to whoever is responsible – this process also works if you have a team! 
4. Set the tasks up to repeat daily, weekly, monthly, or whenever you need it to based on which of your lists it falls on.  Here’s the kicker and the one thing that will make this all make sense.  Unless you absolutely have to, don’t schedule something based on the date, but by the day of the week that it falls on.  This will allow you to batch your work and control your schedule a little bit more.  For example, if you don’t like to work on Mondays, schedule all of these tasks on Friday or Tuesday, so they don’t interfere with how you naturally prefer to work.  Make your schedule work for you, not the other way around!

That’s it!  Seems easier said than done, I know. But I promise this will make a huge difference in clearing your mind and simplifying your calendar.

not sure where to start?

Are you struggling to figure out the area of your business you should start with in simplifying your processes? I’ve got a quiz here for that!

Leave a comment below if you found this helpful!  I’d love to hear about your experience!