Organize IT

On Monday I mentioned I’d finished the first draft of my book. This was significant for me because it took a year of regular (almost daily) work, something I’d never done before. It took me several years of trying to write anything consistently until I came across a way of working (with a little help from GTD) that allowed me to focus on this long term goal and stick with it. Having gained this experience and knowledge, I thought I’d share it here and see what you thought. Have you tried any of the following tips? Let me know what you think!.

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house not a creature was stirring, especially me because thanks to being a productive so-and-so I was on top of everything. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, the blog was updated, the paperwork was all filed at work and the glass of port was on the table for Santa (with strict instructions that I wasn’t to touch it). Why do I write about personal productivity and being organized? Why do I care about making the most of my time and working as efficiently as possible? Why do I come up with cheesy productivity themed parodies of classic Christmas carols?

Inspirational quotes for 05th December 2008.

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.”

If you’re reading this site, you will almost certainly have a to-do list of some form. It might be jotted down on a sheet of paper or it may be an elaborate list of next actions stored on your computer. These lists are important because they allow you to see and track what needs doing. They stop you from forgetting stuff and allow you to get those nagging thoughts out of your head. But the benefits go on. When you have completed a task on your to-do list what do you do?

In my last two posts I’ve repeatedly used my filing system as an example of productivity (epic) failure. As the end of the year is coming up I thought now would be a good time to shake things up a little. At the moment I use what is probably quite a traditional approach. It is split up alphabetically with subcategories for each section (I would have an insurance tab, B would have a bills tab, and so on). However, as far as I am concerned it’s more hassle than it’s worth and it crucially fails on three key accounts which I’ve detailed below.