Organized or Scattered?
So, are you busy and organized or just mostly busy and a little scattered?
I recently read a book that I should have read 40 or more years ago.
Many people might consider me as organized but this book would have helped me be more efficient and less stressed out, had I read it.
The book is called “Zen to Done, the Ultimate Simple Productivity System”.
There’s another book called “Getting Things Done” which is good but it’s more heavily into organizing rather than actually getting it done. This one simplifies things to help you effectively get it done. The author combined points from other productivity approaches including David Allen’s Getting Things Done and Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Successful People.
I have also been using an excellent app on my phone called Obsidian to keep track of my lists and information.
You can also do it on paper if you prefer.
The book includes probably a dozen points but to simplify and give you a basic understanding you could start by doing the following:
- Take two sheets of paper, one labeled “Inbox” and one labeled “To Do”.
- Anytime you think of something that needs to be done, right it on your Inbox sheet.
- Then at the beginning of every day, write out one to three items from the inbox onto the todo sheet (if you use the Obidian app on your phone, no rewriting required, just move from inbox to todo).
- Then, be focused on doing the to-do list for the day; DON’T get distracted trying to multitask. The human brain is not made for multitasking. If you try you will take more time overall and not do as good a job as if you stay focused. Yes, of coarse, you can put a load of laundry in while you are doing something else. I’m talking about not trying to do more than one thing at once that both require mental thought.
- Relax and be less stressed knowing that you are taking care of the important items and won’t forget about all the other things because they have been written down for another day.