How To Get Organized Today

If you are still using post it notes and the palm of your hand to track your to-do list, don't feel bad.  With all the gadgets and specialty paper products out there today, it's a little tough to decide where to start if your current program isn't working.  Palm, IPhone, blackberry, 3x5 index cards, moleskin......all are useful in their own way but today I'm going to tell you what works for me.  My system certainly isn't right for everyone and you're sure to discover several different methods and opinions on this subject.  Hope mine helps.

One of my favorite tools is the Hipster PDA. In it's simplest form, the HPDA is just a small stack of 3x5 index cards secured with a binder clip that fits neatly in your pocket. If you're on the go a lot , this really is an indispensable tool for keeping up with what has to be done. I've not found an electronic PDA that's as quick and efficient as the trusty pen and paper yet. Maybe it's a reminder to get that report into Tim by Friday or an old friend's new phone number just given to you by a coworker. If you have to wait for your pda to power up, enter your passcode then open your task manager, it makes you very unproductive. Jot it down on the 3x5 and store it later.

At then end of each day, I spend 5-10 minutes entering my tasks into my task manager of choice, Remember the Milk. I accomplish this via varying methods but usually by way of email submission to the RTM website (more on this later). At times I will enter tasks directly into my Blackjack II or on the RTM website directly. What's important is that we get everything off the cards and into electronic storage.  As for the cards, I file them away in a small file box.  Not sure why as I rarely refer back to them.  Do whatever you feel comfortable with.

It's the end of the day and I've just filed away my spent 3x5 cards.  I feel pretty good that I won't forget anything important now as it's all stored in my personal task list on RTM and it's synced with my PDA via RTM's sync tool.  Now I have access to my important information no matter where I may be.  If I complete a task on my pda, it completes on the website and vise versa.  Same with adding and editing.  The great thing is that I'm not toting a large paper binder or thumbing through a small notebook to stay organized.

I'm a big fan of Getting Things Done (GTD). Though I don't utilize the entire program, one of my favorite aspects is the mind dump. Have you ever awakened at 3am and immediately had something on your mind that kept you from going back to sleep? Happened to me all the time. Though I was skeptical at first, I followed the program and believe it or not started going to bed with a clear head.

A simple process, all you're really doing is putting everything that's on your mind into your planner. This is easier done than said. Using something called a "trigger list" to jog your memory you do a brain scan once per week and move everything from your conscience to your task list. My first scan resulted in a HUGE almost unmanageable list. However, subsequent lists got smaller and smaller to the point that it takes very little time now to do this weekly scan. The key thing to remember is that if it's on your mind, it goes in the planner. Maybe your oldest child is 7. If you're worrying now about how to pay for college in 10 years, put it in your planner. Don't get caught up in the fact that something is so far down the road that you shouldn't be planning for it now. In some cases, that will be right. You will create a category or tag called "someday/maybe" that you will store all of the "wishful thinking" or not important currently items. A few of the items on my someday/maybe list are braces for my daughter (not currently in the budget) and a return trip to Hawaii.   Once a week, you will scan through this list and move anything that now needs attention to another list. Easy? You bet!