"...Next time i'll try, for the first time in my life.
It won't pass me by.
Procrastinate it can wait, i put it off. let's start today!
my room's a mess and i can't get dressed.
I gotta be out by eight o'clock.
Deep inside i know the answer.
Well there's no time like the present and i'd like to hang out but who doesn't.
I've made enough mistakes for this lifetime.
Now i'm here to make amends.
Next time i'll try, for the first time in my life.
It won't pass me by.
Procrastinate it can wait, i put it off. start! stop!"
Gorilla Biscuits "Start Today" Revelation Records 1994
I just got back from a week in San Francisco. It was a wonderful trip, inspiring and re-energizing in whole host of ways. I've been about half an inch from total burnout recently, and this trip have give me some real perspective on how to start addressing that in a real, practical and concrete way.
This is my first shot at a blog, and I've started it mostly as a way to track my progress in reorganizing and refocusing how i approach my work and the tasks in my life. For most people, I can imagine that nothing sounds more boring then the details of how I go about prioritizing the little details. If thats you, you can stop reading right now - no hard feelings I promise. But, if you wanna stick around and talk about color coding and workflow, please do!
Long story short, I had a number of significant and challenging conversations with people I deeply respect about the challenges and difficulties I'm coming up against in my work as a organizer at a national office. In particular, my buddy Chris turned me on to a great book by David Allen called Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity. You can check out the David Allen fan club here and here.
In my experience, most people on the left stay far far away from books like this, and for good reason. Most of them reek of corporate, cut throat, back-stabbing power grabs or conversely, new-agey crystal worship BS.
At the risk of total public humiliation, I think this one is different. It offers some clear, straighforward advice on how to deal with the intense level of commitment and responsibilites that almost everyone takes on. So, my plan is to document, step by step, the process of getting my shit together.
Step one.
I started making my lists. Lists of bills to pay, projects to complete, goals to meet. The list is totally overwhelming - the amount of work on my plate right now is kind of crazy - it includes everything from coordinating a major national organizing project to overseeing the redesign of our website, to coordinating our presence at the US Social Forum, to updating our voicemail system. And taking out the office trash.
The next step is breaking down each task to all the component pieces involved in getting them done. But I already feel much better just having it all down on paper.
I bought hanging wall files, a phone log, and something called a "Self-Stick Removable Action Pad" at Staples. I think accessorizing is going to be the most fun part of this.
So, not that onyone is actually reading this yet, but I'd be interested in hearing about different organizational systems people have used, and what that found to be most useful.
Next time: the workflow chart. Are you ready?
the details
connections
pages and notes
history
7 comments:
So, I use a moleskin daily organizer which I break down into appointments and things to do, I'm not always great about updating it, but I'm trying to be better, nothing feels as good as checking something off a to do list!
and, glad you've started a blog!
I use my palm pilot for EVERYTHING. My calendar and work email program are all synced and I keep my to do lists there, as well as all appts relating to work, personal, bike training, school, etc. I keep file folders for everything- for work at work, for personal stuff at home. Things i need to deal with are in a file folder holder on my desk (both at work and at home). Files that I'm done with or where I store things (bills, info, etc.) are in filing cabinets.
I'm pretty vigilant about updating my to do list after meetings that involve new tasks and checking things off when I'm done.
Despite all this, I still feel pretty overwhelmed most of the time. :0)
Welcome to the club, Steve! Yes, these things can be good for keeping track of your thoughts. Personally, I draw a calendar for every new month and make "to-do lists" in my journal. I'm ready to step into the 21st Century, though, and next year I just might go hi-tech with one of those slingshot organizers!
Steve,
I'm so proud of you. The GTD Revolution is strong in you! When I'm in top form I have yearly personal evaluations and goal setting of key areas of my life: family, relationship with Clare, organizing, writing, personal/spiritual growth, community. Catalyst Project and Heads Up both do annual retreats to eval and goal set. These three retreat then give me the goals and approach to the coming year. I do montly work overviews catagorized into project areas and list out all of the steps that need to be taken (that I can foresee). The break that down into weekly overviews with space to add additional steps as they come up. The weekly is broken into Calendar Items like meetings and Action Items. Then I use my Franklin Covey planner to keep track of calendar and daily to-do list. Clare got me doing the monthly/weekly lists and they help so much. David Allen's GTD gave me the tools to make lists that work.
I'm all about the business/management section of the bookstore. Other favorites: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. For interesting looks at society/culture - The Tipping Point, Wisdom of the Crowd and the Starfish and the Spider: the unstoppable power of leaderless organization.
I find that caffeine keeps me organized. It is all I need to be both highly effective and unconstipated.
hi all.
thanks for the great comments! i hope that we can use this space to continue sharing ideas and strategies.
BTW Frida, we need a better coffee maker in the office if I'm gonna get anything done!
I can really learn from this- I don't have a great system. Sometimes the Big Post It chart paper on the wall with a do to list, sometimes an email to myself, always a "To DO' file on my desktop. None are totally effective. Help me
Post a Comment