Organize IT recap for 03rd November 2007

• If you found my article describing my de-clutter tracker, then you may like this chart by Real Simple, which details what needs cleaning around the home and when to do it in the form of a periodic table.
• Lifestyle inflation is a big issue and I intend to write more on it in the future. In the meantime, check out this article by Dumb Little Man which covers 10 smart ways to live below your means. It’s not a straightforward thing to do but these tips are comparatively easy to incorporate into your life.
• GTD isn’t flawless? Shock, horror! Steve Pavlina describes the missing half of Getting Things Done (hint: it’s the high level stuff).
• While we are on the GTD bandwagon again, let’s play GTD bingo!

Over here in the UK Autumn is in in full swing, and the cold and miserable weather is taking it’s toll. However, it’s had no effect on Organize IT which is banging out content as though Summer never ended! Below are my top posts from the last month. If you missed any of them please check them out and leave a comment!

• Productivity Tip No. 04: Start Something And Finish It
• Productivity Tip No. 17: Do The Crappy Stuff First
• Productivity Tip No. 35: Apply Some Pressure
• Simplifying Our Lives: Is It A Lost Cause?
• My Productivity Templates Revised
• Audit Your Life: Your Wardrobe
• Updated GTD/Productivity Links List 04th Oct 2007
• Laying The Foundations Of Your Environmentally Friendly Habit
• Why Your Plans Fail: My Thoughts
• Riding The Waves Of Life… Or Not
• Clutter 101: Track Your De-Cluttering Activity

Take a quick look around an average room and there are probably loads of areas that need to be regularly cleaned, and plenty of drawers, boxes and shelves that need de-cluttering. Apply all that to an entire apartment or house and that’s a lot of work and a lot of next actions to get through. It would make sense to have some sort of system for managing all those next actions around your home right? Oddly enough, this is an area that tends to get neglected, so in this post I will introduce my own system that I have recently been experimenting with.

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During the day our energy levels fluctuate and ultimate decline as the hours pass. The same principle applies weekly, monthly and yearly and our bodies can really be compared to batteries. For instance, our energy levels can peak one week then plummet two weeks later. And it’s not just our energy levels, it’s our productivity levels, happiness levels, concentration levels, motivation levels and so on. It’s all part of the natural ebb and flow of our lives. Animals largely live their lives around these fluctuations, and many years ago, humans would have done the same (what could be described as surfing the waves). Nowadays of course, we have so many commitments and distractions that we often have to just deal with everything regardless of whether we are peaking or sinking (just push through the waves the best we can).

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So that’s why I’m stuck working in ditches. Doh!