Clear the chaos with step-by-step instructions on getting organized
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By Catie Smith
School bus, school lunch, after school activities- meetings,brbills, events and dare I say, “Date night,” we all tackle hundreds of dailybractivities from just as many roles from parent to employee and volunteer andbrfriend. With so much to do it is easy tobrbecome overwhelmed with a flood of post-it notes, task lists and emailbrreminders. As you enter the New Year with a fresh, blank calendar on your desk,bryou say to yourself, “I'm going to be more organized!” With visions of a clear desktop and completedbrto-do list dancing in your head, you pick up your pen. But, where do you start?
For those who don't have a clear idea of what they arebrworking toward, it can be difficult to decide what tools are best to get youbrfrom overloaded to organized. Creating project lists allows you to capture allbrof the information related to your many different roles and their projects,brwhether those projects are urgent, ongoing, or aspirational. Here's how you can keep yourself productivebrin each of your life's roles.
First, Recognize yourbrRoles
Make a list of every Role that you fill. You undoubtedly wear many different hats, andbra project list is a great way to get an overview of your responsibilities. Roles can range from well-definedbrprofessional titles (Vice President of Sales) to more abstract family functionsbr(Mom, Dad, Coach).
Don't forget your personal Roles. If you want to achieve balance, you will needbrto give your personal development the same kind of conscious attention that youbrgive to your other roles. Examples of personal Roles are: Aspiring Gardener,brReader, and Friend.
Profile Your Projects
Next, list the Projects that fall under each Role. Projects can be specific events, ongoingbrresponsibilities, or goals. Don't worrybrif one Role seems to have more Projects than the others. Over time, your Project Lists will help youbrto see where you spend your time, and the lists will evolve with you as you balancebryour time.
Arrange Your Action
Finally, add Action Items to each of your Projects. Action Items are the tangible to-dos thatbrwill carry you to the finish line of your goals. Categorizing your Action Items at the Projectbrlevel allows you to clearly define the steps ahead for each Project and Role. Project Lists allow you to focus on thebrefforts that are most important to you at this time without losing track ofbryour other endeavors while they are on the back burner. For more information, consider reading Getting Things Done by David Allen.
Prioritize Your To-DobrList
Action Items gleaned from your Project Lists are thebrfoundation for a well-prioritized to-do list. brWithout Project Lists, a typical to-do list might look like this:
• Taxes!
• Classbrpicture May 16
• Learn tobrgrow roses
But, where should you start? brWhat actions do you need to take?
Tackle Your To-Dos
Take out your current to-do list and transfer every item tobrits appropriate place on your Project Lists. brFor this example, add a new project to the Role: Aspiring Gardenerbrcalled Project: Learn to Grow Roses with the Action Item: Buy book about roses.brFollow a similar pattern with “Taxes!”
Next, separate the Action Items from the calendarbritems. A to-do list is not a calendarbrand a calendar is not a to-do list. Markbr“Class Picture” on the May 16 date on your calendar, and remove it from thebrto-do list. If there is an Action Itembrassociated with a calendar item, add it to your Project Lists. For example, you might need to help Jennybrfind the perfect outfit for her 6th grade photo.
Review Your Routine
Now that your Project Lists are complete, review and updatebrthem at least weekly. This only takesbrten minutes, and it is the key strategy to stay ahead of your yourself at everybrstep.
Every evening, review your calendar for the next day andbrdecide on one or two priority Action Items for the following day. Move those items from your Project Lists tobryour daily to-do list.
Accomplish YourbrAction Items
But you may say, “What, just two tasks? Don't you know howbrmuch I have to do?!” Yes, there is a lotbrto do, but expecting to get every Action Item on all of your Project Lists donebrtomorrow is unrealistic. Your day may notbrgo according to plan. You may do a fewbrlow-priority items first, expecting to get to your highest priority items inbrthe afternoon. Then, Jenny's schoolbrcalls. She is ill, and you spend thebrrest of the afternoon caring for her. Bybr9:00 PM, after a busy evening, you realize that you didn't get your highestbrpriority Action Item accomplished, and you stay up until midnight trying tobrfinish it.
By selecting just one or two high priority tasks, you canbrfeel confident that, by the time your day speeds off track, you will havebralready gotten your important items completed. Selecting your Action Items in thebrevening allows you to make decisions in a relaxed, purposeful frame of mind,brrather than trying to formulate a plan while frantically making breakfast and drivingbrthe kids to school. You can have yourbrnecessary materials ready to go, allowing you to get straight to productivity.brIf, after successfully completing your priority tasks, you find that you havebrfree time, not to worry! Just go back tobryour project lists to find a well-organized selection of Action Items justbrwaiting to be done. Or, maybe, just gobrsip a cup of coffee or enjoy some well deserve “me time.”
Keep Track of YourbrChildren's Activities
Your children are just as busy as you are, if not busier! Keepingbrtrack of your own calendar and to-do list can be challenging enough, but tryingbrto manage your entire family's schedule can be downright daunting.
Calendar Collaboration
If your kids are old enough to have some control over theirbrown schedule, an online, sharable calendar like iCal or Google Calendar can bebra useful tool. Sharing calendars electronically allows every family member tobrsee how their personal activities fit into the schedule of the family as abrwhole. Calendar sharing can also help tobreliminate the “But I told you that I needed 6 dozen donuts this morning!” Whenbrthe class party is listed on the calendar, everyone knows the definite donutbrdeadline. The notes fields of thebrcalendars should be used to share information such as required donuts, ridebrarrangements, and clothing needs.
Remember that a calendar, especially a shared one, is abrcalendar, not a to-do list. When Mombrsees the class party on the calendar with donuts in the notes, she can add thebritem to her own task management system, such as in a Project List under Role:brMom to Jenny, Project: Survive 6th Grade, Action Item: Buy donuts for party onbrJanuary 23.
Mom and Dad can create un-shared calendars to note theirbrprofessional or private events. Anbradditional “Tentative” calendar can be used to mark possible events in a lightbrcolor. It can be helpful to use a programbrlike Week Calendar for iPhone to get a week-at-a-time view, which is the mostbruseful format.
Mom's Management
If your children are younger and you control theirbrschedules, a paper planner can be a more efficient tool, because there is nobrneed to sync, and writing on paper is much faster than typing on a tinybrscreen. Again, a weekly format is thebrmost useful. A “Mom” planner withbrseparate space for Mom's activities, plus a section for each child, is ideal.brThere are many layouts available, but most importantly, the page should allow youbrto see the activities of each child separately and get an overview of thebrfamily's schedule as a whole.
When noting activities, make sure to include informationbrabout rides, snacks, and uniforms. Thisbrwill help you plan your schedule to accommodate your responsibilities, whilebrfeeling confident that you know that Alice's mother will pick Jenny up frombrdance class. A highlighter can be abruseful tool to draw special attention to rides and snacks that will be yourbrresponsibility.
Use Technology TobrBack Up Your Brain
Often, important information, dates, or to-dos come up asbryou are running around town. Writingbrthat information on a sticky-note, the back of an envelope, or the top of yourbrchild's homework is not the best strategy to make sure that it will make it waybrto its proper place on your to-do list.
Email to the rescue! brWhen a scrap of information, a quick request, or a tentative date comesbrup in conversation while you are away from your planner or calendar, use yourbrsmart phone to email the item to yourself. brMake a note in the subject line: “Buy donuts for Jenny's class partybrJanuary 23,” and press send.
Make a habit of only processing your email when you havebryour calendar and Project Lists at hand so that you can file the emailed itembrin the proper place, rather than leaving it to linger in your email's inbox,brwhich is not the most effective place to keep your to-do list.
If you use the Evernote program and app to manage yourbrProject Lists, you can email an item directly to Evernote, where it will bebrtagged automatically and placed in the correct notebook. Search the Evernote help for morebrinformation.
Applaud YourbrAccomplishment
With the help of Project Lists, a prioritized to-do list,brand a unified family calendar, all supported by the appropriate technology, youbrcan be sure to stay organized and productive in 2013. Productivity and organization are not endsbrunto themselves, however. Use your newlybrdiscovered free time to focus on your personal goals and spend time with familybrand friends. By the time 2014 rollsbraround, you should have a lot to celebrate!
Catie Smith is thebrcreator of Plan My Planner, where you can build personalized and customizedbrplanning systems. Catie lives inbrWestlake with her husband, Adam, and their two dogs. Thoroughly organized, she happily spends muchbrof her free time in Southlake, browsing the delicious aisles of Central Market.