I have a chaotic, complex work environment that is constantly out of control. I could use a tool to help. I don’t have the MasterList. What am I missing?

The MasterList is a database for people whose lives are beyond the capacity of the usual tools for structuring and are complicated. A calendar no longer works, too much to keep track of in little boxes. Outlook to-do’s aren’t sophisticated enough and stack up into an undifferentiated mass. And if your Outlook task list triggers reminder alarms, a dozen could pop up each time you turn on your email.

So The MasterList employs an easy to use interface to manage a huge number of to-do’s in the simplest way possible.

The MasterList is not automated, nor should it be. It is a flexible tool for those who would truly manage their own lives. Managers rely on their own brains, their own instincts and their intrinsic managerial skills which have been honed and trained by years of experience, study, and testing on the battlefields of reality.

Each project requires important decisions about what should be done and when it needs to be done. Your brain is an amazing instrument that calculates hundreds of things at the same time to come up with best possible timeframe scenarios.

Luckily, the MasterList makes it so easy to put tasks into a project, and then even easier to change your mind and resequence the work.

Within a project, hit the plus sign to generate a new task. Choose the date and fill in the yellow data box with enough detail to help you hold your thought. “Call XYZ Printer re: pricing, format, stock, and how much lead time he needs.” Even if the report that needs to be printed won’t be out until the end of the year, this entry can be set for October and you can forget about it! This is not a calendar entry. It is not an Outlook entry. But it is easily a MasterList entry.

Little by little, each project you have will spawn its own set of to-do’s. Each to-do may eventually force a follow-up entry. Merely requesting an important document from the accounting department may not actually result in it ever getting into your hands. Whose responsibility is that? Take control over thousands of little transactions in your life that occur at the rate of 20 to 50 a day. Never worry again about something having landed on somebody else’s desk with no follow-up by you until it’s too late and your boss or a client has called the failure to your attention and pinned the blame on you.

With The MasterList, on the fly, so to speak, create the to-do about follow-up on the request. And, then forget it. Until it happens or until The MasterList reminds you that it hasn’t.

Isn’t it all about solving problems? You, the human algorithm, are the most important part of the equation for getting things done. So, put yourself in the loop! Why lose control. Keep tabs with every little aspect you deem to be important in terms of consequences.

The robot computer programs are not here to save us. Success always depends on the skill and finesse of the human algorithm. So, plug yourself in with The MasterList as your tool to keep yourself fully aware of anything and everything you care to. There’s no cost other than a small moment of notation to keep yourself in play as to control of the destiny and outcome of any aspect of any task you want follow-up on.

Buddhists believe that life is all about solving problems. By Jove! You’ve got it. We’re selling a whole life software solution. The MasterList is a sophisticated tool for people living and working life at the highest level. And once you’ve taken the time to think out what it is you need to do in all the many areas of your job or life, the MasterList becomes fun! Yes, really. It’s fun to see all your to-do’s in the morning under My Day. It’s fun to look at the line up of tasks and the color priorities, think about what you want to accomplish and blast a good number of to-do’s into the future in a judicious way. And it’s fun to see your list melt away each time you hit the lightening bolt.

Time management nirvana. And as the day progresses and you pare your list down more and more, and as new stuff feeds in, like some cosmic cyclic process (like the tide or the circulatory system) you will realize not only that you’ve got your eye on everything important. Better yet, what was missing is missing no more. One-ness with the process.

It’s a great feeling.

Jo-Anne Szoke
The MasterList