Am I making this too difficult?

I was a bit surprised when I read Merlin Mann’s post at 43folders about his very simple folder system for email. I have ten folders and it still doesn’t seem like enough. Then I read his notes about the latest podcast with David Allen. And I must agree that the more I struggle with this [...]

Paper Management

Oh, the paper possibilities! You can pile, you can procrastinate, you can create problems for yourself, or you can prepare a system.

Maria Gracia describes the 4 D’s of Effective Paper Management at Lifeorganizers.com. They are:

Do It
Delay It
Delegate It
Dump It

Stephanie Winston is known for her TRAF system of dealing with paperwork, with four things you [...]

Discoveries of the Day

Reading chris brogan led me to InstigatorBlog which led me to…
Goal setting at emomsathome…no more negative goals, which led me to…
motivation at Tales of a Corporate Hypnotist, which led me to…
toach.net…how to increase proactivity.

Organizing A to Z

A complete list by Maria Gracia: Organizing A to Z.

Files

Files here, files there, files everywhere! There are all kinds of files. Action files, financial files, tickler files, household records files, reference files, computer files. The tricky part about files is you have to set up a system that fits your unique needs. Whatever advice you look at, you have to tweak until it works [...]

Remind Yourself

Here are some more ideas from the book “They Shoot Managers, Don’t They?” by Terry L. Paulsen.
Remind yourself of changes you’re trying to effect with key words (like POSITIVE FEEDBACK or BETTER LISTENING) on sticky notes to put on:

the telephone
your debit card
the dashboard of your car
the refrigerator
the television
the bathroom mirror
your computer monitor
your coffee cup

Change the [...]

Weekly Plan

Create a Weekly Plan during the Weekly Review to see how your week will look in a week view. For each day of the week, what’s on your calendar? What repeating tasks for work and for home need to be accomplished? What meals do you plan to have? Schedule action steps for your goals and [...]

Master List

Stephanie Winston, author of “Getting Organized,” recommends keeping a master list of everything you need to do. This is a running list of things you need to remember, discuss, plan, solve, errands to run, calls to make, etc.
Low tech: notebook, index cards…
High tech: PDA, notes section of email, text file, Wiki…
Whatever you choose, it needs [...]

Dial it up, dial it down

Are you in the drone zone, the panic zone, or somewhere in the middle?
The drone zone-you may be moving, but you’re not productive. There’s no energy, no motivation. Dial it up: increase input-search for new ideas, design a creative environment, use color.
The panic zone-overworked, stressed…again you’re not productive. There’s no energy, no motivation. Dial [...]

Discovery of the Day

Success From the Nest is a new addition to the list of creative blogs I read. It has great cartoons plus this great post about discovering your passion(s).
Reading Make It Great! led me to Rothacker Reviews …
which led me to the Learning Journal Worksheet…
which led me to the Meeting Planner Organizer Worksheet and 5×5s Worksheets [...]