A single source of truth for your tasks

A huge problem with modern knowledge work is how information is spread across multiple tools and platforms. On average, we use ten different software tools and spend more than two hours of our day searching around for the information we need to get work done.

All this searching and context switching takes us out of flow and kills productivity.

So, how can we manage this information disaggregation and spend less time searching and more time doing?

Why create a single source of truth

The best way to reduce this context switching is to create a single source of truth: your one reference point for everything you need to get done.

We have tasks and information flying at us from all directions. They can come from project managers like Asana and Trello, communications tools like Slack and email, even our calendars, or open tabs in our web browser. By creating a single source of truth, you get all these items onto your one list of things to do.

We’ve talked about the importance of daily planning. However, to do this effectively, you need two things. First, an easily accessible overview of all your work so that you can see all the outstanding work and begin to prioritize it. Second, a quick and easy way to capture items that come up throughout the day and to push them into your single source of truth. This lets you close the loop on whatever pops up throughout the day, and removes the burden of remembering to do them.

A critical component of this process is that you stick to a system. If you don’t trust yourself to return to those items you are pushing into your single source of truth, the system breaks down and you go back to having multiple places where tasks live.

Creating a single source of truth with Taskable

Maintaining a single source of truth can involve data entry to ensure everything makes it into your system.

However, Taskable makes it super easy to pull in items that come up throughout the day if you are using project management tools at work. You can integrate those tools with Taskable so that any tasks or items assigned to you sync to Taskable.

With our Slack integration, you can quickly capture an action item that pops up in conversation. Our upcoming Gmail integration allows you to quickly star emails and push them to Taskable.

Finally, our browser extension is a catch-all that allows you to capture web pages and create tasks so you can follow up later and close some of those browser tabs.