Getting My Sh*t Together

WARNING- this is a long and potentially very boring post. However if you feel like you are always missing something or that you have too much crap laying around your house or office, or that you just never seem to get stuff done...read on. Also, this is not an ad, I did not get paid for this!
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A few folks at work went to a seminar put on by David Allen. He wrote this book called "Getting Things Done" which is more than just time management, it is about organizing your life in such a way that you free up the RAM in your brain and get everything documented, filed, delegated etc. It goes beyond just the "make a list" concept and I highly recommend it. The group at work that went to the seminar now meets weekly (very briefly) to discuss any ideas or difficulties they are having while customizing and implementing the system in both their business are personal lives.

Because I'm the HR chick at work and want to know what is working or not working for people, I have been attending these meetings. I got so many good ideas just in the first 20 minutes I spent with these folks, that I decided to read the book myself.

I can tell you now that both my work and home "in" email boxes are EMPTY! I have created files for all of the items that I need to keep, files for emails that require some kind of follow-up action, and files for items for which I am waiting on someone else to do something. I also did the same for all of the crap I had laying around the house. This photo is of my new "in box" which consists of anything laying around, you know, those stacks you create, those baskets you fill with stuff, things you leave out to remind you that there is something you need to do. Notice the basket filled with crap, the Day-Timer calendar insert FROM 2004, the various pieces of paper and note pads and cd cases etc. And also notice that my actual in box is empty. That's because I had so much crap, it wouldn't fit.

So one of the things you do is create in-box items as you think about actions you need to do (errands, phone calls, etc), and projects you want to capture (a project is anything that has more than one action item associated with it). You put each action and each project on one piece of paper (I used index cards) and then put them in your in box. After you have dealt with everything in your in-box (anything that takes less than 2 min. you do immediately, everything else you either do, delegate it, or defer it). By this time you have everything filed (which is a whole process to set up itself, but WAY worth it and many of you have something started already), put away, taken care of, or ready to be put onto your action item list or project list. My file cabinet is pictured here just as I was in the process of re-labeling everything. One of the key rules is that you have a separate file for EVERYTHING you could possibly need so that you never have to have a "TO BE FILED" file. What a novel concept, 'cause that is the file that has the most stuff actually IN it! You should be able to file stuff away so fast that there is no reason you can't do it immediately when that piece of paper shows up or the mail arrives etc.

I also went through my files and purged the crap. Here is a photo of the trash pile (at the top) and the "to be shredded" pile on the bottom (because you know you just can't throw your bank statements in the trash anymore because of all of the white-collar-dumpster-diving-identity-thieves). I LOVE tossing things out and this was a very fun process for me. The older I get, the more I'm seeking simplicity and clarity in my life. This desire, by the way, is why I think that getting everything out of your brain, to do lists, project ideas, reference information, is such a slammin' idea. When you know you are capturing your commitments and thoughts and ideas on paper (or electronic media) somewhere that is accessible and up to date, you just don't worry as much about "missing something." You totally know what I mean!

One of the best ideas in this book is to categorize your action items into types. For instance, calls, errands, at home (for stuff you need to be at home to do), at office (for something you need to be at work to do), at computer (for stuff you need to do on your computer), agendas (for stuff you need to be talking to a specific person about. I use this one with my boss, I keep a folder with stickies in it. When I think of something I need to talk to him about I put it on a sticky in the folder. The next time he stops by my cube I whip out my folder and hit EVERY item in it. It's brilliant).

This way, when you are sitting in your car waiting for your 13 year old, slower than molasses son to get out of school, you can make a couple of phone calls and you don't even have to think about it. It's just there, on your list. Now, how you keep your lists is a personal call. Lots of people have PDA's and that's perfect because it's always with you. I'm an old fashioned gall and I keep a Day-Timer. However now, I print out my action list and my project list once a week and keep a copy in my Day-Timer. My call lists always include who I'm calling, why and their phone number.

I could go on forever. I'm not going to completely re-write this 250+ page book for you. You just have to read it. It is well done, the writing is clear on conversational which makes an otherwise boring topic easy to read. There is so much more detail that I'm not getting into. I do need to tell you the sense of peace I have right now. I still have much to do to get this system fully up and running (like getting hubby on board), but it already has lowered my stress levels significantly.

This takes the cake: the GTD (Getting Things Done) prayer.

TAGS: getting things done, David Allen, organization

Comments

[Daxohol]

Dude, this is the most USEFUL post I've read ever!!

Seriously, the clutter of papers in this house is ridiculous. Thanks for some very helpful tips!

[BlancaOBRIEN29]

Some time before, I really needed to buy a good car for my firm but I didn't have enough cash and couldn't buy anything. Thank goodness my colleague suggested to take the mortgage loans at trustworthy bank. Therefore, I acted so and was happy with my term loan.