Feeling overwhelmed by tasks and deadlines?
You're not alone. Our modern pace demands constant multitasking and tracking. But trying to remember everything is a fast track to stress and scattered focus.
The good news: writing things down and using reminders isn’t just convenient — it's scientifically proven to reduce anxiety and improve productivity.
Let’s break it down:
🔎 Fact 1: Your brain isn't a storage unit
As Harvard Business Review notes, one of the main causes of missed deadlines is cognitive overload.
When you record tasks or use external systems, your brain frees up capacity. Less mental “holding” means more focus on actual doing — especially for pending or urgent tasks that require immediate attention.
💬 Some numbers:
The average person switches between tasks over 1,200 times a day. That can lead to a loss of up to 4 hours a week, or about 9% of annual work time.
Reminders help reduce those unnecessary switches and let you focus on what truly matters, like follow-up actions or looming deadlines.
📝 Fact 2: Writing tasks down clears your mind
Whether on paper or digitally, writing helps structure your thoughts and reduce anxiety.
It’s especially useful in remote work and multitasking environments: once a task is written down, it no longer takes up mental space — freeing you to solve more complex problems and stay on top of important due dates.
⏰ Fact 3: Reminders protect your deadlines
Studies show regular reminders lower the chance of missing something important — like a pending task or due date — by up to 40%.
That’s a big deal — not just for personal productivity, but for team workflows, where everyone needs to stay synced on deadlines, task status, and follow-up actions.
📦 Practical tools in Jira
Already use Jira in your work? Great! Here's the good news: you no longer need to look for separate applications to implement a reminder and task control system.
Here are a few tools to help you optimize your work and stay resourced.
You're not alone. Our modern pace demands constant multitasking and tracking. But trying to remember everything is a fast track to stress and scattered focus.
The good news: writing things down and using reminders isn’t just convenient — it's scientifically proven to reduce anxiety and improve productivity.
Let’s break it down:
🔎 Fact 1: Your brain isn't a storage unit
As Harvard Business Review notes, one of the main causes of missed deadlines is cognitive overload.
When you record tasks or use external systems, your brain frees up capacity. Less mental “holding” means more focus on actual doing — especially for pending or urgent tasks that require immediate attention.
💬 Some numbers:
The average person switches between tasks over 1,200 times a day. That can lead to a loss of up to 4 hours a week, or about 9% of annual work time.
Reminders help reduce those unnecessary switches and let you focus on what truly matters, like follow-up actions or looming deadlines.
📝 Fact 2: Writing tasks down clears your mind
Whether on paper or digitally, writing helps structure your thoughts and reduce anxiety.
It’s especially useful in remote work and multitasking environments: once a task is written down, it no longer takes up mental space — freeing you to solve more complex problems and stay on top of important due dates.
⏰ Fact 3: Reminders protect your deadlines
Studies show regular reminders lower the chance of missing something important — like a pending task or due date — by up to 40%.
That’s a big deal — not just for personal productivity, but for team workflows, where everyone needs to stay synced on deadlines, task status, and follow-up actions.
📦 Practical tools in Jira
Already use Jira in your work? Great! Here's the good news: you no longer need to look for separate applications to implement a reminder and task control system.
Here are a few tools to help you optimize your work and stay resourced.
Allows you to easily create reminders for tasks, deadlines and follow-ups directly from Jira - without needing admin rights. Recurring reminders can be activated automatically, helping you not to forget about regular activities. Unlike Jira automation, where you need admin rights to customize and the messages are always the same, here you control the text and timing of the notifications. Especially useful for teams with high workloads who need to make sure they don't miss anything.
Create rules that automatically perform actions when specified conditions occur - for example, sending a reminder when a deadline approaches, a status change, or a long period of inactivity. The built-in features are suitable for simple scenarios, while more advanced customization allows you to implement complex processes: escalation of urgent tasks, automatic reassignment or follow-up notifications. Here is a powerful tool for teams with high task volumes and complex workflows.
Embed sub-tasks and to-do lists directly in issues. Helps teams track detailed steps in a process — especially useful when you need to monitor progress or ensure consistency in repeated tasks.
- Team Calendars for Jira (via Confluence Premium)
Visualize deadlines, releases, and team availability using a shared calendar view. Excellent for aligning cross-functional teams and seeing the big picture.
Get real-time reminders, task updates, and due date alerts directly in your Slack channels. Keeps your team in the loop without having to leave your daily workspace.
Using the right tools doesn’t just help you stay productive — it gives you space to think clearly, act with intention, and lead your team with confidence.
Reminders aren’t just a safety net — they’re a smart system for doing your best work.
What keeps you organized? Got any productivity hacks or tools that help you stay focused?
Using the right tools doesn’t just help you stay productive — it gives you space to think clearly, act with intention, and lead your team with confidence.
Reminders aren’t just a safety net — they’re a smart system for doing your best work.
What keeps you organized? Got any productivity hacks or tools that help you stay focused?