Use AI to Turn Your To‑Do List Into Clear, Trackable KPIs

If you are reading this post, I am pretty sure that you structure your life; one of the easiest ways to do it is to plan it beforehand. And that’s exactly why a to-do list exists. You list all things that you need to do before in an app or even in a physical notebook, and if you are structured enough, you might finish 90 percent of them and then create a new list and start working on it. Or if you are like me, who creates to-do lists and never achieves them, and in fact never cares about them, this post is for you.

I quit programming and started learning product management in my final year. While I am still chasing a stable job, product management has taught me so many useful principles that I am now applying them in other parts of my life. One such example is the KPI, also known as Key Performance Indicators.

KPIs allow you to measure your performance towards the goals you have set. In simple words, A KPI is a number that tracks progress toward a specific goal.

To understand more, let’s take Zomato (or DoorDash in the US) as an example. If Zomato wants to increase its monthly orders in a specific city, it will create a goal to increase the number of orders per user in a month and set a KPI, such as monthly orders per active user, to measure whether it is achieving the goal or not. KPI’s can be different depending on the broader goal you want to achieve.

For example, instead of increasing the number of orders from an individual person, Zomato creates a new KPI where it onboards a new person every hour to increase its overall orders for the month. Here, the goal is completely different; instead of just increasing the orders per user, the company also wants to onboard new users.

You can use the same principle for your to-do list tasks too. For instance. If you want to get fit or lose weight, first you set the actionable to-do list tasks. For instance, instead of just saying get fit, you set goals like walking 7000 steps per day, and increasing 20 grams of protein consumption. and much more. And then you set your measures since you already have the exact numbers you need to track.

The term KPI might not be clear to you at first. Let me break it down for you. Instead of setting a vague task like “increase the total orders,” Zomato or any other company using KPIs sets a specific goal that is measurable and a specific number to achieve. When you measure the goal, you can track whether you are progressing toward achieving that goal or not.

And when you do this, you have a very clear picture in your mind, a specific number that you want to achieve. Having this makes you take action instead of sitting and thinking about what to do next.

Let’s be honest, most of us create vague to-do list tasks that are harder to achieve. Some of the examples include learning English, getting fit, or completing a specific course.  It is not wrong, while you are trying to achieve something good, setting this vague task makes it harder for you to take action.

For instance, before using this method, I had a plan to get fit and healthier. The first thing I did was create a to-do list to get fit by the end of the year.

While my first few days were very productive, over time, I lost interest and didn’t know what to do, and started skipping my workout routine.

Now, fast forward, in the past few months, the same goal has turned into actionable tasks for me, helping me to achieve what I want to achieve. Instead of just setting a goal like getting fit by the end of the year, I have set specific things that have to happen to achieve it.

For example, to get fit, I need to walk a minimum of 10,000 steps so that I can burn more calories and work out for two hours per day to get my body in shape, and increase my protein intake. If you are consistently achieving 10,000 steps a day and increasing your protein intake, then you are progressing towards your goal. If you are not achieving those numbers, it means you are not progressing towards your goal. You need to modify those numbers that are achievable for you.

As you can see, these are the key performance indicators that can help me to get fit by the end of the year. Instead of just tracking and setting “get fit” as a general target, I now use key performance indicators as my daily goals. So instead of just having a “get fit” to-do list task, my to-do list tasks now look like this:

• Walk a minimum of 8,000 steps per day
• Eat chicken breast and meals every single day
• Do a 45-minute workout every day in the evening

See how specific the things are now without ambiguity. Setting actionable tasks lets you figure out what exactly your next step is. And this doesn’t stop here.

How to Create Actionable To-Do List Tasks Using AI

The best part is you don’t need to understand what a KPI is. You can use any LLM, such as ChatGPT, to find key performance indicators for the goals you want to achieve. You can use this prompt to create actionable tasks and create KPI’s for tasks to track.

Using this prompt, you can create tasks that you can track. Once you start progressing and tracking your progress, you will know exactly whether you are achieving your goal or getting closer to it. And ever since I started using this KPI to-do list method, here is how my to-do list tasks look.

You don’t need to understand the meaning of KPIs to create your actionable tasks, either. Simply head over to ChatGPT or any LLM of your preference, give it your goal, follow these steps, and enter the prompt.

If you think that the task is overwhelming or too long to finish, you can also specify how much time you have so that the LLM suggests shorter and more effective tasks based on how much time you have left.

Now you have a complete to-do list with actionable tasks that you can add to your to-do list app and track them. Most of the to-do list apps don’t help you to set KPIs and track them automatically. However, you can use any to-do list based on your preference and create actionable to-do list tasks.

In fact, you can build it on your own. I have written a detailed guide on how to build your own Todo List app, even an Android app, for free, which you can use to track your KPIs.

Most LLMs these days also come with memory support, which can remember things for you. You can use any LLM as your personal assistant to track your to-do list tasks. Or we have built a Notion Template that works best if you don’t want to do things manually.

You get a complete KPI dashboard where you can add tasks and keep track of them.  You also get templates for weekly and monthly reviews, along with extra AI prompts and other to-do list templates to get started.

All you need to do is install Notion on your device and get the template from here. Once you get the template, you can tap on “Add to your account.” Notion is free to use, and you can sign up using your email or any Google account for free.

Small Measurable Tasks Make Big Goals Easier to Achieve

This simple change, with the help of AI, has completely transformed my to-do list into actionable tasks. Whether you are a student, a business, or someone who is struggling to complete their work and has no specific actionable tasks, this guide will help you to fix your system. You can also combine these tasks with other to-do list principles for a smarter to-do list.