IrishOboe

(This post is continued from Part I)

The System

On bad days I do very little work in the system, but I almost always make sure I clean up for the next day.  It doesn’t take much, I just pick up the floors and go through the stuff on my desk, most of which I just throw into my inbox.  The inbox is the place for everything without a place.  On bad days, it’s so lovely to have an inbox to collect all that comes my way and still keep a relatively clean place.  Lunch is burning, Joseph needs me, and I remember something I mustn’t forget.  No problem, I just jot a note and throw it in my inbox – lunch and Joseph can wait that long.

Even on bad days I (almost) always check my Tickler and plan the next day before I go to bed.  It doesn’t take much time because most of the thinking has been done already and there are just reminders in my calendar and Tickler and I try to be very realistic about what I can accomplish in a day.  Usually I stick to what has been scheduled and add just one, most important thing that would make a big impact if I got it done (thanks Tim Ferris).  Just ONE.  That’s hard, but if I stick to it, it is surprisingly effective.  I can’t use the many things on my “to do” lists to procrastinate on what is most important and I end the day feeling good about what I’ve accomplished because it was, after all, important.  Besides, I often end up getting more done than that one thing because once that one thing is out of the way I get a burst of productive energy (like when you’ve finally turned in that paper that’s been hanging over your head).

In order for the inbox to work, it MUST NOT breed mosquitoes.  It must not stagnate.  I have varying success with this, but a few keys keep the turnover going.

1. Processing the inbox does NOT mean doing it means THINKING.
2. Pick up ONE item and THINK.  You must decide what the very next thing that should be done with it, but you don’t have to DO it.  In fact, you shouldn’t do it unless it would take less time to do it than to write it down into the system.
3. Do NOT put the item down and say “I’ll decide later.”  Decide on each item before moving on to the next.  Often this shows me that I really don’t want or need to take the time to do whatever it is so I chuck it – no guilt and no mess on the desk!
4. Regularly process the inbox so it doesn’t pile up.  I find it works well to go through some of the inbox while my computer is booting.  I usually empty it before Windows is ready for me.  (Something positive about the “Bill Gates tax.”)

Just this much keeps my desk space clean and pretty and keeps me “in the know” with all I have to do and I have peace of mind that nothing important is languishing someplace in the clutter.

On bad days you can see that almost nothing gets done accept one key thing: I’m prepared for the next day.  I used to crash into bed exhausted and unsure how I’d survive the next day.  Now I go to bed confident that I have a decent shot at it and a clean house and desk to great me in the morning to boot.  That is quite a gift.

Many days I don’t have much time to get to anything but the planned tasks because I have a beautiful son whose growth requires plenty of investment, but usually I can be there for him with my full attention because I know where I stand and know just what does and does not need to get done that day.  On these days the house stays clean, the family is fed by a calm mama who has taken some time to rest during the day, and I go to bed ready for the next day.  That didn’t used to be the norm.  In the past I would have called that a very good day.

On good days the systems really shines.  Just an unexpected hour to myself and I can rip through so many tasks because it is all ready and prepared for me.  Here’s how I work it.

Each paper item from my inbox goes into one of the following places: a general file system, my personal diary (calendar), the tickler, an action list, a project folder, or the trash.  Non-paper items get put away or assigned a new home.  Here I’ll focus on paper since that’s most of what’s coming in on a daily basis anyway.  There isn’t the time and space to write about how I got the system up and running and the many iterations of tweaking I’ve done to make it suit my needs, but if you’re interested in hearing more I’ll be happy to share!

1. The General File System: We have a lovely four-drawer file cabinet we got on ebay, so we have no guilt in being “wasteful” with our file system.  We use the equivalent of manila folders with a post-it for a label.  This makes it easy to make a new folder and to recycle folders in a jiffy since we don’t bother with hanging folders (though there are some here and there to keep things up upright).  There’s a folder for each different item or related documents.  It was SO hard at first to make a folder for one piece of paper, but it is much easier to find things when they are not grouped and headed and sub-foldered, if that’s a word.  The whole system is A-Z and folder are labeled by topic, person, project, or company with no more than one subcategory (for example Garden:Ideas and Garden: Catelogues; not Free Time:Janet:Garden:Ideas).  I don’t have to get up from my chair to reach the materials for making a folder and at first I had the “topic, person, project or company” reminder with the materials as well since my conservationist tendency is to save materials by grouping things together.  Stephan and I use the same file system and since it’s purely alphabetical without many sub-categories it doesn’t take us long to find the other’s stuff even if it’s not exactly how we’d do it ourselves.  Currently it’s not the prettiest, but it’s very functional, so we’re happy.  Another important thing to remember is that NO ACTIONABLE ITEMS get FILED!  It is a reference system.  Things that have actions attached to them should not get buried here.
2. My Personal Diary (Calendar).  My wallet also has a calendar in it so I have it with me at all times.  I used to have a Palm, but I prefer paper now.  The calendar is used in the obvious ways, but I also use it for my nightly planning.  I write down those essential tasks for the next day with a box next to each item so I can check them off as I go.  This leaves quite a cluttered look, but only for the past.  Future events are clear.
3. The Tickler: A box of 43 “manila” folders labeled for each day of the month and each month of the year that sits on my desk immediately handy and visible.  There is then always a separate folder for day 30 days from now and each month 12 months from now, which for me is plenty for filing any date-specific papers that come in.  I’m a stickler about the Tickler.  Except for some things in the coming week I ONLY use it for DATE-SPECIFIC events.  I do not want my tickler getting filled with “hope to get to” items and nasty “you have to do this day” surprises that would make me not want to check it religiously.  It doesn’t work if you don’t check it every day, so I didn’t want to set myself up for failure.  I check the tickler every evening for the next day.  I have a paperclip on the following Monday so I can easily see the days of the week for the next week.  On good days I take care of each piece of paper, on bad days the planning consists of dumping the tickler contents into my inbox and heading off to bed. Examples of good tickler items are:

1)      Invitations to events that include directions or other information that I’ll need on the day but not before.  The date is in my calendar so I know it’s coming up, but the relevant papers are making a mess of my desk asking to be lost before I need them.  When the date approaches there’s what I need neat and ready.

2)      Bills. Stephan uses his tickler to collect all the incoming bills because he always pays them on a certain day.  He doesn’t waste time logging into e-banking every time a bill comes in and he doesn’t miss bills because the tickler reminds him of his “bill day” with a stack of bills that are easy to enter in all at once.

3)      Photos and other “pick-me-ups”.  I have photos of loved ones that I haven’t framed but I don’t want to get rid of.  Stephan had the brilliant idea of dropping them randomly in my tickler for happy reminders in the future.  They brighten my day but don’t add to the “to do” list.

4)      “This about this later.”  This can be dangerous, but there are some things that are not appropriate for now but that might become relevant later.  Information about theater productions in Luzern might be better filed in the general reference system so I can get to it whenever it strikes me, even though I don’t think I’ll have a chance for a while because of children, but a gardening catalogue might be a good thing to put in the tickler a few months before spring to remind me to order seeds and plan the garden.  BE CAREFUL!  The tickler has 43 places for papers to get lost, so don’t put anything in a random spot that you might want to reference at some other time – it’s awfully difficult to find something in all of those papers!

5)      I do use the tickler for some “hope to” items when planning a week in advance.  I have recurring cards for laundry and vacuuming, phone calls and prayer requests that aren’t exactly date-dependent, but I want to get to with some frequency.  For example, I have a card called “Joseph Swim” and after each swim I record the date on the back of the card so I have an easy record and then toss it in the next few days when I think I’ll be able to take him again.  I like the sense of accomplishment making check marks gives me, so I love writing the date as a sort of “check” and seeing at a glance how often we’ve swum.  If I had a log on the computer it would be another thing to procrastinate on.

(Part III explains Action Lists and Project Folders and sums things up)

Photos