To-do lists are old news. The new trend in productivity is the “done list”: a log made at the end of each day of each individual’s accomplishments.
Done lists help bosses track their employees’ workflow without having to call endless meetings, reward success and get everyone reflecting positively on their achievements.
This is the thinking behind iDoneThis. Once you’ve visited the website at idonethis.com and entered your email address, the platform simply emails you at the end of each workday to ask: “What’d you get done?”
You write a reply, and if you are part of a team, you’ll get a digest of your group’s accomplishments from yesterday. You can also like and comment on others’ posts, and log into your team’s account online to see a calendar of your past achievements. Even if you fly solo, you can team up with a group of other freelancers to hold yourselves accountable and celebrate each other’s wins, or simply remind yourself at the start of each work day what you managed to get done the previous day.
To some, the platform will seem superfluous and best and Big Brother-ish at worst. It’s easy enough for a boss to email “What did you get done today?” to the team rather than getting an app to do it, or for employees to keep online to-do checklists that can be stored as “done lists” when all the items are crossed off. The app encourages bosses to more closely monitor the work of remote teammates on a daily basis.
But there are strong upsides to the automation. The app provides a daily reminder to reflect on successes – when left to our own devices we forget to do this at busy times – and taking a few seconds to write these out at the end of a workday can be incredibly motivating. It removes the need for bosses to feel as though they are constantly checking in or nagging by making achievement-logging part of a daily routine.
Discipline and rigorous organisation will only get you so far. To really work smart, you also need that emotional buzz that comes from being aware of all the great things you’ve already achieved.
q&a share credit for teamwork
Jessica Holland expands on the backslapping benefits of iDoneThis:
Is this all free?
The company calls its free version a “hobby plan” and designates it “for personal use only.” To share done lists with other people, you’ll need the standard US$9 per user monthly plan, which allows unlimited team members, three integrations with third-party platforms (Slack, Zapier and Teamwork) and email support. iDoneThis claims that its most popular plan is the Plus version, at $22 per user monthly, which comes with a searchable and browsable archive, unlimited third-party integrations and 24/7 support. A more exclusive Enterprise version with “bank grade security” is in the works.
How does this work for teams?
It can be used a bit like a Slack-style internal social network – teammates’ posts have a like button and a comment box, so you can congratulate people or give them feedback. You can tag other people in the post who helped you out, and tag topics to sort through later. Accomplishments will also be logged on a shared team calendar.
Who uses it?
According to Mashable, high-profile tech companies such as Zappos, Foursquare, Reddit and American Express have all made use of iDoneThis. There are positive reviews on the site from a vice president at TripAdvisor, who likes being able to keep tabs on employees without nagging them for updates, and from the general manager at Reddit.
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