Organize IT

This week Organize IT will be two years old! This is a great achievement for me because most of my hobbies and interests usually succumb to a loss of enthusiasm after just a few months. Two years is probably a record for me and I’m still going strong. In this post I’m going to cover a few suggestions I’ve picked up for how you can have a blog that lasts for two (and hopefully more) years, my own favorite posts from the last year and what the next twelve months will have to offer. Thanks for the support!

Inspirational quotes for 22nd August 2008.

Richard Koch: “Few people take objectives really seriously. They put average effort into too many things, rather than superior thought and effort into a few important things. People who achieve the most are selective as well as determined.”

Wilt Chamberlain: “They say that nobody is perfect. Then they tell you that practice makes perfect. I wish they’d make up their minds.”

Davd Allen: “A complete and accurately defined list of projects, kept current and reviewed on at least a weekly basis, is a master key to stress-free productivity.”

Dr. David M. Burns: “Aim for success, not perfection. Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will lose the ability to learn new things and move forward with your life. Remember that fear always lurks behind perfectionism. Confronting your fears and allowing yourself the right to be human can, paradoxically, make yourself a happier and more productive person.”

Welcome to the second part of my guide covering prioritizing by needs, where tasks are prioritized by whether you need, should, or just want to do them. I’ve already introduced the concept and last week I discussed tasks you want to do. Today I am going to look at the next stage in the system, things you should do.

This is a guest post by Chris Bowler.

I recently returned to work after four months of parental leave. Four months does not seem like a long time, but it was long enough that I forgot about some of the aspects of working on a larger team in the same physical location. Specifically, I had forgotten just how many interruptions there are at the office. In comparison, even three kids at home were no match for the number of interlopers appearing at my office door. How does a person remain productive in the face of these distractions? What I’m going to say here is common sense, but I needed to remind myself of these ideas and thought other folks could use them as well.

Organize IT recap for 15th August 2008.

• You may have noticed that I’ve sneaked in a new design for the site to freshen things up, seeing as the old one was a year old and looked really cluttered. It’s very much a work in progress and I will be tweaking, adding and removing bits over the next several weeks. I like it, I hope you do too. Let me know your thoughts and feedback on it.
• There is a new productivity blog out there with some big names behind it, called Work.Life.Creativity. What makes this one special and different from the crowd is the active forum community, which I will regularly be posting on. There are some great ideas, great discussion and great people on there so I definitely recommend you check it out.
• If you haven’t checked out my new, free ebook covering how to de-clutter your life, please do! I’m going to be turning my attention back towards the topic of clutter soon, but in the meantime I have came across a Reader’s Digest article that covers 75 storage tips for each and every room in your home. Because how you store your possessions is one of the keys to effectively de-cluttering, it will certainly give you some ideas.
• How do I describe this site? The blog covers how to improve and accelerate your learning potential through a combination of mindmaps and life coaching principles. The mindmaps on it are incredible and well worth a browse. There is some deep stuff to delve into if you have the time.
• Tea is nowadays becoming a standard part of any healthy lifestyle thanks to more exotic variations like green, black and oolong teas. Personally, I’m a big fan of green tea, if only for the simple reason I think it tastes nicer. Men’s Fitness has a short but sweet look at these three types of tea and covers what the exact benefits are.