“Absorb what is useful, reject what is useless, and add what is specifically your own” -Bruce Lee
I’m a busy person. Writing, property managing, parenting, and hobbies upon hobbies… The way I get it all done is through a radical devotion to calendars and to-do lists. It’s not a perfect system, as anything that involves a human never is. But my productivity level is higher than average, so I thought I’d share some of the technical tricks I use. Even if you only use some of these it will probably help you get organized, and even better, less stressed out! It wasn’t until I had children that I realized how much time I wasted before. Now I get more done with two toddlers than I did back when I was a childless professional… and party animal. Embrace the planning!
1. Google Calendar: There have been a million posts on how awesome gCalendar is so I won’t dwell on this topic too long. It IS the best. Not only can you check it online, but it sync’s with your smartphone so you can refer to it anywhere. For me, the huge draw is sending ‘invites’ to my husband who forgets everything. So many websites use gCal now that all you have to do is click the “Add To My Calendar” button and you’re all set up. Get one!
2. Google Documents: People can use this for all different applications, but I use it for to-do lists. Mainly one document, which I have titled “BRAIN DUMP”. Brain Dump is where I write all kinds of disorganized thoughts like: throw out the leftovers in the fridge, pay the kids’ tuition, write that article you’ve been putting off, burn your fucking house down, call so-and-so to meet-up for coffee, or re-do all the front landscaping. It’s important to get all of this stuff out somewhere – a purgatory for thoughts waiting to be judged before they can go to calendar heaven. Seriously, not every thought you have is ready to be on a calendar yet. Sometimes you don’t know WHEN you can do something, but you still HAVE to do it. This means you store it in your cluttered head and unknowingly stress about it because you know you have something to do, but you can’t quite put a finger on it. Anyway, you need a physical place to put all this crap, and that’s why I created Brain Dump. The great thing about Google Docs is that you can also check it/add to it on the go if you have a smartphone. If you have an iPhone I found a great app called Notemaster that replaces the useless “Notes” app and actually syncs with your Google Docs. Now I can add to Brain Dump wherever I am so my head can stay clear. Finally, every evening, when I’m reviewing my gCal for the next day, I open up Brain Dump to see if I’m ready to transfer any of the items on it yet. No fleeting thoughts left behind!
3. Life Binder: Regardless of your lifestyle you can benefit from one of these – an actual physical place to ponder your life/goals/plans. I know in our high tech times it seems silly to put together a paper system at all, but I find that getting away from the distracting glowy screen and sitting thoughtfully with this binder is very inspiring and helpful. Electronics are not totally reliable, and you should have a backup like this to refer to in case your phone and laptop die. And sometimes, when you’re feeling overwhelmed and cluttered, this binder will bring you back to a nice peaceful center, beautifully displaying the order in your life, and spreading it all out before you (not hidden or nested in computer files). So yeah, go to the office supply store and get a full size binder that zips up (they look like grown-up Trapper Keepers), and a bunch of divider tabs with labels. Now sit down and think of all the major categories of your life. Everyone’s should have sections labeled Calendars & Planning (printouts of monthly gCalendar, handwritten notes) and Contacts & Info (printouts of all emergency/important phone numbers and addresses), but after that they can be a mixture of things, for example: Home Maintenance Projects, Career (college goals, side-projects, general ambitions), Finances (budget, goals for investing or debt killing, insurance/tax info, etc), Food (grocery lists, cooking menu, diet goals), Children (school schedules, parent volunteering), Hobbies (obligations to groups you’re in, personal goals, time you have to dedicate to it), or Exercise (workout routine, goals/plans for body/weight). Some people can do even more specialized sections like Music Band (schedule of upcoming gigs, sloppy notes for new songs), or personally I have a Gardening section where I keep a list/journal of all the plants I’ve tried to grow and accidentally murdered (so I won’t make the same mistakes again). Tailor it to your own needs.
So that’s the basics. The only hard part is setting it up because it takes a chunk of time. But after that it saves you time. I don’t even have to think about it anymore. The moment I have a thought that requires later attention I pull out my iPhone and jot it down. Stress all GONE.
Tip: Try not to get wrapped up in “features”. Just because software CAN do something doesn’t mean you should use it. Keep it simple. Notemaster can suck you in with all its bells and whistles, but I just use it to dump notes and sync to my Google Documents.
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I’m trying to be more organized in my daily life since I have some major changes coming up. This post was really helpful and I intend on using every word! Thanks!