Two minute rule
It’s very easy to forget about the two minute rule because it seems so inconsequential. Tasks that take a mere two minutes (or so) shouldn’t be such a problem, right? Well I’ve always found that it’s actually these small, quick tasks that fill up my to-do list and, quite frankly, when you have a bunch of them to do they are a royal pain in the ass. So why did I forget about doing it? With this in mind, the two minute rule is my top principle to focus on this year.

Vertical map
It’s very easy to forget about the vertical map (or horizons of focus) and neglect the bigger picture. I have two reasons for this. Firstly, it all seems rather obvious so why overthink it?  I want to be happy and healthy, have a successful career and a loving family… you know the drill. Secondly, there is the hard to disagree with argument that though it’s fine to dream about the future, it’s what you do in the here-and-now that influences everything. But of course, just saying you want to be healthy and have a loving family isn’t enough to actually achieve it. You need an actionable plan (hence the vertical map).

Mind dump
It’s very easy to forget about the mind dump (seeing a pattern yet?). Perhaps I feared I would end up unearthing a load of extra work but that’s not how it works. Collecting and processing are two different processes. Just because I’d collated several pages of potential work to do it didn’t mean I automatically had to do it. It’s all about getting it all out of your head and freeing your mind from the mundane matters of remembering what it is you have to do.

Those are the three GTD basics I’ve most neglected over the last year and am aiming to focus on again but there are more that you can focus on. I asked people on Twitter what basics they neglect. Sam Spurlin said he fails to keep his next actions list up to date, while Howard Yermish brought up the common problem of neglecting the weekly review. Why not share some GTD basics you would like to re-focus on this year in the comments?

Check out my free new ebook, Clutter 101: The Definitive Guide To De-cluttering Your Life

1st quarter

• The Art Of Conversation
• 8 Reasons Why You Should Start A Blog Today
• Self-Help Myths: Expand Your Comfort Zone
• When Productivity Becomes An Habit
• Has The Bubble Burst?
• 9 Reasons Why Getting Things Done Sucks!
• 4 Life Lessons From Gregory House M.D.
• The Good Email Etiquette Guide
• 6 Ways For Maintaining High Energy Levels

2nd quarter

• 7 Practical Ways To Clear Your Head And Regain Focus
• Why Are You Simplifying GTD? Simplify How You Use It!
• 7 Reasons To Ditch Your PDA And Switch To Pen And Paper
• 3 Big Reasons Companies Don’t Deserve Your Loyalty
• Why Writing Regularly Can Help You Grow
• Having One Of Those Days? Here’s How To Deal With It
• Self-Help Myths: The Early Bird Catches The Worm…
• The 3 Key Steps For Keeping Promises To Yourself
• How To End The Multitasking Madness And Regain Your Sanity

3rd quarter

• Do Less, Not More And Start Enjoying Yourself!
• The Vertical Map Is Dead! How To Really Plan For The Future
• An Alternative To Top-Down, Bottom-Up Planning
• 6 Tactics For Staying Sane When You Are Unemployed
• Let’s Start A Personal Productivity Twitter List!
• The 3 Stage Strategy For Dealing With Toxic People
• The 4 Ideas That Will Revolutionize Your Productivity
• The 5 Simplest Healthy Habits You Will Ever Learn
• Self-Help Myths: There Is Never Enough Time In The Day

4th quarter

• The Art Of Time Management: How To Be Effective
• The Art Of Time Management: How To Be Efficient
• Raise Your Consciousness: The Best Habit Building Tip Ever?
• 9 Reasons Why Getting Things Done Rules!
• 8 Simple Ways To Get On Track And Keep Your Focus
• My Argument Against Batching Your Work
• Why You Fail At Being Productive And How To Fix It
• Productivity Isn’t Just For Christmas, It’s For Life
• 6 Effective Ways For Fulfilling Long Term Goals

Check out my free new ebook, Clutter 101: The Definitive Guide To De-cluttering Your Life

But to me there is a big problem here and I call it new years fever, let’s see if you agree with me. The levels of expectation associated with the new year are so high and that can only lead to overly ambitious goals and resolutions (and maybe lots of sweating). If you want to achieve something that involves regular focus over the next 365 days it’s not hard to imagine that when the initial enthusiasm has gone and you hit that first hurdle in your progress, you’ll fall to the ground hard. Most new years resolutions are ditched within the first month, though I’d be interested to hear your stories of resolutions and how long you stick with them.

Alternatively, as I’ve been finding to my irritation over the last few days, you might find that that need to have a personal reboot messes up what you’ve got going for you already. I’m content, I don’t need to change things too much. A little tweak here, bit more effort there, but other than that I’m good… so why the hell have I got this nagging desire to shake things up?! I blame the media, politicians, etc.

It’s with this in mind that I’m going to try something different. I’m not going to let new years fever get the better of me. In fact I’m going to stubbornly refuse to look at my long term goals, weekly planner or any other flavor-of-the-month personal growth tools. I’m going to enjoy Christmas and new year without any over-inflated expectations and then, in several weeks time, when the euthoria of the new year is well and truly behind us, I can once again think rationally about what I want in life. Now, who is with me? Merry Christmas!

Check out my free new ebook, Clutter 101: The Definitive Guide To De-cluttering Your Life

But the hard work must not stop here comrades! Constructive feedback is always invaluable so I’d be keen to know your thoughts, whether you’re a regular commentator or somebody who merely reads the occasional post. All those lurkers at the back, come forward and comment please! What do you like and dislike (be gentle) about Organize IT? Are the topics I write about interesting and varied? Is the standard of writing good or does it send you to sleep? I’m also curious about the the new site design I put up back in September. I never really got much feedback (probably because I only asked one person) but now is my chance to rectify that. Do you like the new layout? I feel it’s my best one to date, but do you find it easy to read, comment and explore? Look forward to your comments!

Check out my free new ebook, Clutter 101: The Definitive Guide To De-cluttering Your Life

With a new year coming up, resolutions will be once again a big issue. I’ve mentioned before how I feel they are frankly a waste of time, but  it’s almost mandatory that a new year requires a fresh start and renewed focus, so I’ve been thinking what alternatives to resolutions there are. I’d be really interested in knowing what your thoughts are on this 100% approach I’ve suggested. Do you have any goals planned for the new year? How are you going to approach them?

• Home
  Rather than thinking about your entire home, focus on an individual room. A good 10% goal is to decorate your bedroom perhaps, or de-clutter your kitchen. Be sure to read my Clutter 101 ebook for further ideas.
• Relationship
  Perhaps you can make an effort to have an intimate meal with your partner every month or just generally agree to talk more to each other. If you are currently single then maybe your friends can arrange a blind date.
• Social life
  Ring up an old friend you haven’t talked to in a while, arrange a meal with all your buddies so that you can all have a good catch-up or just spend a quality day with your best mate. If you feel your social life is lacking, search for a club you can join so you can mingle with like minded people.
• Job
  Try talking to your manager and have a good heart-to-heart about your future. Alternatively sign up to a training session or conference so you can improve your skills. It’s very effective whether you are happy in your job or want to do something else.
• Family
  Pick out a particular member of your family (it could be a cousin or brother) who you don’t have a close relationship with and focus on getting to know them better. Arrange regular get-togethers.
• Hobbies
  Have an interest that you’ve never pursued? Take those first steps and buy a book on the topic or join a group. When I wanted to start writing my book, I focused on doing one page at a time. Small and easy to do but it got me actively moving my interest forward.
• Entertainment
  It can’t be work all the time. You need to relax and enjoy yourself. perhaps you can arrange with your boss to leave work early on a Friday. If you like watching movies, perhaps you can buy yourself a big, new TV.
• Personal growth
  Pick out a bad habit you want to break (like smoking) or a positive habit you wish to develop (such as going for a run every morning) and do one little thing that will move you forward. It can be as simple as deciding to smoke one less cigarette a day or walking to work rather than driving.
• Health
  Sign up to a gym and just start going once a week if nothing else or focus on replacing snacks with healthy options like fruit. I’ve focused on this topic in a previous post looking at the simplest healthy habits you can do so refer to that for more ideas.
• Financial
  An obvious goal here is to put aside a small amount of your wage each month into savings. Alternatively you can start tracking your finances so you actually know what you’re spending. They may seem like small goals but in the long run they help you to become much more frugal.

Check out my free new ebook, Clutter 101: The Definitive Guide To De-cluttering Your Life

Marina Martin: “Get rid of your paper files and scan all your documents with a ScanSnap S510. I’ve been an insanely happier person since making this decision. Now I can file a document in multiple locations (say, a taxes folder and a health insurance folder) and I can use the search function on my computer to search the text of even the fine print of the back of my cell phone bill. If there’s ever a fire or a flood, I’m 100% backed up and protected, too.”

Another post that got a big reaction was my argument against batching your work. Batching is a common productivity tip but is it really that effective? Scott Young explained why it is so popular.

Scott Young:  “Every task tends to have a small amount of start-up time to get into the flow. You need to open your files, get prepared and even mentally get into the right state to perform a task. If you batch, these little hiccups are eliminated so you can handle a bunch of tasks in less time than spreading them out.”

Dean Johnson: “Batching is a great deal like computer networking. You have two primary factors; bandwidth and latency. You optimize your system for the factor that is dominant. Take, for instance, something like writing out bills. Getting them done requires fetching the checkbook, getting a writing instrument, returning chequebook, etc. That is the latency of the transaction. Batching the writing of cheques reduces that latency and thus overall time spent doing it. If you have no latency in the transaction, then batching is just a simplifying act, rather than a time saver.”

Going further back I asked the readers what sort of topics they would cover if there was a personal development course taught in schools. There were some great responses to this and it was interesting  to see, given the current economic climate, that financial studies was a common suggestion.

Lori Hoeck: “The biggest thing you can teach, which will profoundly change everything, is how to overcome insecurity. Self-confidence allows you to develop any other aspect of life, whether it be finances or organizational skills, with ease and fun.”

Finally, it what has been one of my favorite posts recently, I discussed the five simplest healthy habits that I personally I have used to get myself on the healthy living ladder. The post covered small, simple steps that everyone should be able to pick up without too much trouble. However, one comment emphasised the importance of regular exercise. I always feel better (physically and mentally) after a good workout so it’s an important tip to bear in mind.

Lynstly: “I think the most important [tip] is the least stressed. Exercise. A healthy, and I believe very easy, routine is twenty minutes of intense cardiovascular activity every other day… not hard to fit into most schedules, and you’ll feel the benefits immediately.”

Check out my free new ebook, Clutter 101: The Definitive Guide To De-cluttering Your Life

• Be realistic
  It’s so easy to get carried away with long term goals and let your emotions take over, rather than thinking rationally. After all, these sorts of goals are usually the ones that will change your life. It’s one thing to have dreams but you have to take practicalities into account. Every year we see people on shows like X Factor with dreams of becoming the next big music sensation. Slight problem though… nobody told them they couldn’t sing.
• Focus on what you can control
  An aspiring actor can only do so much if the director wants a particular look. A Musician might want to break into the charts but the buying public looks the other way. A writer could write a book, hoping it will become a bestseller, only to see it dismissed by publishers because they want a safe bet. Focus on what you can influence, don’t base the success of your goal on other people or outside factors.
• Make sure you really want it
  This isn’t about doing something you’d like to do, you better really want to do it. Just don’t waste your time if that’s not the case. Really. Seriously. You can cut out so much crap from your life by distinguishing between stuff you’d merely like to do and stuff you really want to achieve. Remember, you’ll be doing these goals for the long term so you will hit hurdles along the way and you’ll need lots of personal motivation.
• Break it down
  Break your work down, break it right down. Break your goal into sub-goals and then break them into next actions. It might seem ridiculous but when I was writing the rough draft of my book, I’d do just one page at a time, or I’d do thirty minute blocks of work on it. It might not seem like a lot and some of you probably think that you’ll never get much done but bear the following in mind…
• Work on it consistently
  It’s important - critical, in fact - that you work on your goal regularly and often. Find a routine that works for you and your lifestyle. Make it flexible and if your lifestyle changes, change your routine. Working on your goal a little at a time and on a regular basis is much more effective than trying to squeeze in the odd couple of hours every so often. When I was doing my book I’d work on it a little every day from Monday to Friday and have the weekend off so I didn’t get too jaded.
• Accept it will take hard work
  Not only will it take hard work, it will be for a long time so take a reality check now. Have a clear picture of what you’ve got to achieve. You can make it a lot easier for yourself by having the right mindset, the right tool and good support behind you. The challenge isn’t just in the amount of work or how hard it might be, it’s the fact you’ve got to keep with it and work on it regularly for a long time.

By applying these points I was able to work on my book regularly. Because I broke down my goal (my sub-goal was to do a first draft, then second draft, etc.) it made it easier to do regularly. It also meant I could always find time for it, so it was easy to do it daily. Finally, by cutting out other interests and hobbies that I wasn’t really interested in it also freed up a lot of time and meant I had less distractions.

Check out my free new ebook, Clutter 101: The Definitive Guide To De-cluttering Your Life

Recently I completed the first draft of my main book project, which had taken me a year to do. I’d had the idea for it ever since I was at school nearly a decade ago. It took me that long to find a way of working effectively and consistently. Would I have discovered that way if I hadn’t come across a lifehacking article and subsequently picked up GTD a couple of years ago? I’ll be writing more about the techniques I’ve used to focus on long term goals this Wednesday but in the meantime I’ve detailed the benefits I feel I’ve gained from being productive. I want to know why you do it too, though. Why do you do productivity? What benefits have you found? I look forward to your comments!

• More organization
  When you are an unorganized mess, knee deep in clutter it’s hard to get anything done. I remember those days long ago of digging through piles of paperwork, constantly losing stuff and pushing things to the back of the wardrobe. Not fun. And it’s not just clutter either. Having all your work in a good system frees up your brain to do all the clever stuff.
• More time
  There was a time long ago (probably when you were a baby) when you weren’t constantly under the pressure of deadlines and a lack of time. Thankfully it really is possible when being productive to regain the balance, by being efficient and effective. How you choose to use the extra time you make is a completely seperate issue. Some people use the time to do more work, others go on holiday or indulge in hobbies and interests. I currently choose to play Left 4 Dead (I was born in the golden age of console gaming, what do you expect?).
• More relaxation
  David Allen says productivity is about achieving a mind like water. I think a Fonzie-esque state of coolness towards all the work you do would also be a good way of describing it. While my fellow colleagues are rushing around like headless chickens, I’m sat there with my shades on confidently handling whatever is thrown my way (I wanted to wear a leather jacket too but the boss stopped me).
• More clarity
  Ever found yourself drowning under an avalanche of paperwork, emails, voicemails, letters, faxes, demands from your boss, requests from your colleagues and probably a few dozen other things? You’ll be thankful you’ve got the productive know-how to figure out what actually needs doing, when you need to do it and how you’ll do it. Simply stopping for a moment to do a little planning can make sure a difference.
• More focus
  Focusing on the essentials is important but it’s surprisingly difficult to do when you’re bombarded all day by demands and distractions. Getting productive means you cut out all that junk from your workflow, take a match to it and crush the remains in a compactor for good measure. Then you can put your energy into the work that really matters (in my case, the book and this blog).

Check out my free new ebook, Clutter 101: The Definitive Guide To De-cluttering Your Life

Paul J. Meyer: “Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort.”

Sharon Salzberg: “Often we can achieve an even better result when we stumble yet are willing to start over, when we don’t give up after a mistake, when something doesn’t come easily but we throw ourselves into trying, when we’re not afraid to appear less than perfectly polished.”

Agatha Christie: “I have enjoyed greatly the second blooming that comes when you finish the life of the emotions and of personal relations; and suddenly find - at the age of fifty, say - that a whole new life has opened before you, filled with things you can think about, study, or read about… It is as if a fresh sap of ideas and thoughts was rising in you.”

Margaret J. Wheatley: “Even though worker capacity and motivation are destroyed when leaders choose power over productivity, it appears that bosses would rather be in control than have the organization work well.”

Check out my free new ebook, Clutter 101: The Definitive Guide To De-cluttering Your Life

Hopefully you’ll tick it off. That’s right, a nice big tick. Of maybe if you’re feeling adventurous you might put a cross. I personally choose to be particularly rebellious and completely scribble out the task (nothing is more final and screams, “I’ve finished it!” than a load of scribble). Ticking something off as complete is the simplest and easiest motivational tool you could ever do. Make sure that whatever system you have allows you to do this. If it’s paper based make sure there is a nice, big tick box you can use. If it’s software based, a massive fireworks and fanfare animation when you finish a task would really get the point across. Just a little suggestion for all you developers out there.

When you are on a roll there is nothing quite like breaking down a big list of tasks and ticking them off one by one. But, you can also be a little sneaky with it. There is no reason why you can’t add something you’ve just done to your list, in hindsight, just so you can tick it off. Is it cheating? Well, I won’t tell if you don’t…

Check out my free new ebook, Clutter 101: The Definitive Guide To De-cluttering Your Life