Organize IT

Focus right now is a big issue for me. Mind like water? Yeah, whatever. The golden oldie – getting in the zone – is still where it’s at. There is nothing quite like being so focused on what you’re doing that tasks just fly off your to-do list. There is a lot written about getting focused (check out my own tips), but I’ve found the most effective strategy involves cutting out distractions. While typing up this post for instance, it took me twice as long to do because I let the following three distractions break my focus:

Half-a-job Bob is the guy who never fully finishes what he’s doing. He cleans the home, but doesn’t put away the hoover or duster after use. He will process his mail and pay his bills but he won’t actually file any of it away till later. It drives me mad, because he regularly leaves loose ends all over the place without a care in the world, so they inevitably become my loose ends too. Are you like half-a-job Bob?

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Ahhh, Moleskines. When it comes to creatively-minded people, they are viewed right up there with Apple Macs and Starbucks. I’ve been using my own Moleskine (thoughtfully bought for me by my wife to shut me up) for the last couple of months to doodle down thoughts and catch all my random ideas. What makes it so great is that it feels so sturdy and solid, and that makes it ideal for hacking and tweaking (try adding tabs or a pen holder to a normal notepad and it will probably fall apart).

There are a lot of great productivity tips and advice out there. Whether you want to do a weekly review, manage your time better, figure out your life’s purpose or get a grip of your to-do list, it’s all there in books and blogs, at seminars and on CD. It will improve your life in little ways. But I’ve found that there is one big piece of advice that overrides it all, advice that requires a little bit of common-sense to apply it  but is truly life changing. That advice is to find the balance in everything you do.

Last week I wrote a lot about falling off the productivity wagon, asking why it’s considered normal practise. A lot of you argued that it really is a positive thing because it helps you to learn and evolve. While this is certainly true I would also argue that there is a lot to be learned from evaluating how to not fall off so often. Thus I’ve identified the five big reasons why people actually do fall off the wagon.