Productivity
A few weeks ago, there was one day when my mom and I didn’t do anything productive. I had a cache of “Day Break” episodes because my mom hasn’t seen it before, and I thought she might like it. The problem is that she had misplaced her [paper-based] address book, so that was nagging her. We watched through the first six episodes (which, until yesterday, was all of them), but after every other one, she’d get up and look around for that address book.
She finally found it at the bottom of a plastic bag of “stuff” in which she was going to take to the Philippines after Christmas. Of course, she was happy and in a great mood.
Why is it that when I misplace something, then find it later, she’s still mad?
Anyway, if everything you need to do is written down and out of your head, then you can relax during the moments when you’re not dealing with your stuff. Ever since GTD, I’ve felt that much better about basically everything I’m not doing.
“There’s something else I need help with, but I forgot what it was.”
I cringe when I hear this because it usually means I’ll have to make an extra trip back to do another job that might have only taken a few minutes extra.
Now, I have a huge appreciation for agendas. Before, the only time I see or hear about agendas are with older people in managerial positions. When I was coaching, and we had division meetings, the director would pull out a paper listing topics needed to be discussed. (To be honest, I didn’t know it was called an agenda until recently!)
When I talk to my boss, and I sometimes won’t remember what questions I had until I walked out of his office. Then, I’d have to go back and interrupt him again. Sure, he’s only a few steps away, but instead of one “interruption”, I’m turning it into three or four. Annoying? Most likely.
Listen - this stuff is for everybody!
If you’re a student, dedicate a sheet of paper for each class or teacher to write down questions throughout the lecture. When they prompt the class to ask questions, or you meet with them in their office, whip out that paper and go through the questions quickly and easily. (I realize I have to actually follow this advice, so someone hold me to this.)
Last week, I had to meet with a counselor. Rather than keeping the questions in my head, I had them written down. It was so much simpler! What if this small tip would’ve shortened how much time I’ve been in college?
In my Palm PDA, I have an “@Agendas” category in the Memos section. When you have more than one topic you need to discuss with someone, create a memo with that person’s name. Below their name, list the questions/ideas you want to bounce off them.
I hope I helped you realize that you can use agendas anywhere, not just at work. It’s definitely made my life that much easier. How has using agendas helped you?
Reference: “Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity“, Chapter 7.
Since College v2 has a “What’s your system?” series going on, I thought I’d write about mine. (I’ll write about school specifically once that starts up for me again.)
My organizer of choice is currently a Tungsten E. On it, I have DateBk6 ($27.95), MyCheckbook (free), and HandyShopper (free). I also use the integrated memos app.
Appointment categories:
ToDo categories:
I have a couple custom views that help narrow down which ToDo categories are shown. No need to see tasks needed to be done at home when I’m at work or out, right?
Any ToDos that aren’t dated don’t show up on the calendar. I’ll occassionally look in tasks to see if I can get any of the lesser-important tasks done.
Tip: Use the icons for categories sparingly, otherwise the week or month view will be cluttered.
If you don’t want to fork over the cash, you can use the built-in calendar. However, you won’t have the luxury of hiding items that aren’t in the context of what you’re doing. Visually, I feel it’s worth it.
I use MyCheckbook as my checkbook register. I reconcile weekly, so I keep up with my checking account really well. Plus, you can backup to memo(s). Simple and neat!
HandyShopper currently isn’t used too much, but it’s cool nevertheless. I have two checklists: one for clean installing Windows XP at work, and another for my weekly review. I’m pretty sure I should brainstorm for other list ideas. Do you have any ideas?
I enter calendar items and tasks in Palm Desktop, both at home and at work. That way, I have two backups. In addition, I use BackupBuddyVFS personal (keeping the SD card at home).
Sidenote: I got a lot of insight from PDAaddict at OrganizedHome.com, who religiously uses Palm Desktop and her Palm PDA. She gets a ton of credit. I suggest that you read through her journal entries and create a system that fits you.
I use Memos for reference. Andy gave me a a portable and foldable IR wireless keyboard, so if I’m away from a computer, I can type stuff in there quickly. I have the following categories for sorting:
Within the File category, I prefix the title of the memo with a 1-2 word description contained in brackets []. (Example: [Car], [College], [Spiritual], [Work]) That makes it visually easier to sift through and find the memo I want. The Palm search function is really quick, too.
For Projects, I’ll list the tasks I need to accomplish and the goal for that project. If I can tackle one of the tasks that day, I’ll copy it as a new ToDo, then “cross it out” when I complete it. (I’ll put an “x” in front of the line.)
At home, my inbox is a single wire desk tray. When I’m out, I put loose papers, receipts, and index cards in a poly ultra wallet. Then when I get home, I dump from the poly wallet into the desk tray.
I’m really good with keeping up with voicemail. I’ll write the message down on an index card with the timestamp, and process that accordingly.
I have a tickler file setup, but I haven’t been using it with consistency. When I get back to a trusted system, where I get my inbox to zero and keep it that way, I’ll probably get better at it as a byproduct. Since my summer hasn’t been intense, I’ve been fine not using it. I’m sure when school starts, I’ll feel much more inclined to using it.
If you don’t have a handheld, look into the Hipster PDA. Although Palm OS 5 includes Notepad, I currently use index cards because it’s easier to write on. I definitely don’t like writing with the stylus too much. Plus, it’s easier to carry index cards in my pocket. So, I’ll write something down, toss the card in my inbox, then process it at a later time.
I have a single letter-size hanging file drawer. I use manila folders to keep the papers in, as opposed to the hanging folders themselves, for easy transport. The majority are sorted by full name, except for purchases. I’ll file miscellaneous purchases in a generic A-to-Z filing system. However, for the major ones that I buy semi-regularly, I’ll create a dedicated folder for those. I’ll occassionally go through and purge to keep the drawer fairly light.
When I’m without index cards, I use my cell phone. I either:
The fewer the amount of inboxes, the easier. In this instance, I’m getting stuff sent to email. I’m happy to say my email inbox is at zero, and it’s been there for a long time.
My calendar isn’t public or shareable, like Google Calendar, Backpack, or 30 Boxes. My system is currently like this because I’m not by a computer all the time, and the internet connection at work is slow.
I wrote this to show yet another way of keeping organized. I probably missed a few points, but this post was sitting in queue for a long time, and I just wanted to get it out.
However, I’m always open to new ideas if it’s for the better. The only reason why I haven’t tinkered is because David advises us not to. (Right?) We can get stuck tweaking the system, but it comes to the point where it’s counter-productive. At the moment, this has been working for me. However, if you have any idea that could possibly be it, chat it up in the comments! Thanks for reading!
After Merlin at 43Folders wrote about WriteRoom, Jeff wrote Dark Room. I love how I can just focus on writing without other programs drawing attention away. It’s really small, and all you need to do is unzip and run it!
Keyboard shortcuts:
The catch is that you need the .NET Framework Version 2.0, which is about 22 MB (x86). Why?
The .NET requirement is because of the language he chose to write the software in. It’s fundamental to it working, much like the app it’s modeled on requires a Mac. This is a .NET app, which is a platform like Cocoa on Max OS X.
It’s also what enabled him to whip this up in a matter of a few hours. Getting rid of the requirement would require rewriting from scratch. And, that would probably not happen as the barrier is too high.
If you’re going to comment about Dark Room, please don’t whine. I would hate to see the developer cease development. Remember: it’s all about keeping it simple and removing all distractions from the task at hand.
Great work, Jeff! I’ll be writing anything I can inside Dark Room for awhile, no doubt…no doubt in my mind.
Update: Edited the link to Dark Room since it’s been put on its own project page.
I think I’ll be reverting to index cards to keep track of tasks I need to do, and other random chicken scratch as well, rather than using Notepad on my PalmOne Tungsten E Handheld.
The main reason why I have it is because of its simple and awesome calendar (with the help of DateBk5) and contacts apps. They can hold so much, and I don’t have to write them all out by hand. Oh yeah, I also use MyCheckbook. Those help me keep my life mostly organized. But, I haven’t been as good with keeping tasks under control. I take longer than I should with them on my handheld.
After reading “Getting back to the paper chase“, I don’t need to save a few pennies by using my handheld as much as I can. Index cards are cheap! I just need to utilize whatever is easiest for me to get things done.
I’d hate to revert to personal stuff blogging right now, but that’s all I can really do right now. I haven’t been keeping up with geeky-type stuff.
Note: I posted this before. Oops! Ramona Creel writes “20 Ways To Say No”. I’m pretty easy going, so I probably need to give this list a few looks from time to time. (Source: Lifehacker)
I think my mom could use a Hipster PDA! If anything, she’d love the calendar idea! I hope Javier makes his calendar template downloadable. The least I could do is print the cards for her, then she could fill them out as she pleases. Ooh, I’m bubbling with excitement! Anyone wanna further my thought process?
I got to work this morning to find that the summer clerks setup breakfast for everyone and we were going to have a staff meeting. (I don’t have a work email address, but that’s another story.) Anyway, there was plenty of good food - too bad I had some breakfast before my commute. Why’d you eat if there was gonna be a breakfast already? Because I didn’t know…didn’t I just say that a second ago? C’mon!
It ended up going for more than an hour. Wow. I know everyone does a great job now, but some of the people just went on. Then again, I’m not too annoyed; it’s a good thing to hear what our company does. I can hear how much of an impact our people have on the community, so it’s pretty inspiring.
To make a short post long, by the time I realized it’d be a full-fledged staff meeting, I was sitting in a not-so-optimal spot. I couldn’t get up and go to the door, because I was somewhat in the middle of the two huge tables. Note to self: next time, sit on the outside edge of a table, closest to a door - if I can.
I was so compelled that I went to Borders earlier this afternoon to buy “Getting Things Done” by David Allen. I’m in chapter 3, and very impressed with what I’m learning so far.
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