This year we’re focusing on giving you quick processes to apply to various aspects of getting organised and productive. I call them ‘Quick and Dirty’ because these are basic survival strategies for people who feel buried and aren’t quite ready for all the  ‘best practices.’

So far we’ve looked at email and paper. This month our topic is To-Do lists.

To review – here’s the formula we’re applying to our high-stress, low-on-time organising projects this year:

The Quick and Dirty Organising Process:

1. Get real
2. Get some breathing space
3. Get past the guilt
4. Get new systems
5. Get a new mindset
6. Get support

Quick and Dirty To-D0 Lists

This is a great process that you can walk yourself through anytime you feel overwhelmed, and you will love it. I encourage you to do it as soon as you can!

Step 1: Get Real

You’ve heard this before, and here it is again: There is not enough time in your life for everything you want to do.

You must learn to be selective and let some things go – or let them wait until later.

Step 2: Get some breathing space

Take out several sheets of paper or open a blank Word document, and set a timer for 15 minutes. Get away from other people and the phone, put on some music you like, and relax into this exercise.

Now write down everything in your head and elsewhere (lists? sticky notes? white board?) that you want to do. Big or little, long or short term, personal or professional…get it all written down. Just keep writing until the timer rings. Give yourself room to pause and see what your mind presents to you.

Get past the guilt

You will now be looking at a huge list of obligations, unfulfilled intentions and exciting possibilities.

It doesn’t matter that some are overdue or that you never seem to make progress on others. What matters is that right now you are doing something to address the challenge.

Get new systems

1. Prioritise. Take out 3 highlighters (or highlight /sort electronically) and colour code your list according to these categories:

• Must be done before I go to sleep today
• Should be done this week
• Can wait until next week

For the (many) items that don’t fit the timeframes above, leave them un-highlighted. They are most likely planned projects or just ideas at this point.

2. Systemise. Set up 3 lists in whatever format you want to use: sheets of paper, ring notebook, electronic notes, etc.:

• To Do Today
• To Do This Week
• To Do Next Week
• Other

Write the appropriate tasks on these lists.  Put a red star beside the 3 items on the To Do Today list that matter most. This is where to focus your best energy.

3. Use your lists all day long. Develop the habit of capturing things on these lists and reviewing/reorganising them frequently.

4. Reset your lists weekly. On Friday, Saturday or Sunday, repeat as much of this exercise as you need to in order to feel ready for the week. Remember to look through the ‘Other’ list at this time and see if you want to activate anything on there.

Get a new mindset

Understand that it may be possible to do all these things, but probably not all at once – and not all perfectly. Life is about phases, and success always includes imperfections.

Get support

When you’re ready to take this to the next level, come learn how to finesse this system even further, streamline that ‘Other’ list and make more progress on your goals and projects in our course: Maximise Your Time.

Sound good? Here’s what to do:

• Check out when we’re running the course in Hong Kong next.
• Email us to book a private course for 4-5 friends or colleagues.
• Contact a program coordinator to discuss an in-house training program.
• Not in Hong Kong? Ask about virtual training options all around the world!

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You may already know that I use and recommend an electronic system for a master to-do list. It’s important to have a structured place to capture anything and everything you think you should or could do.

On any given day, however, the master to-do list is too much. It’s easy to get overwhelmed and/or distracted. That’s why I use a distinctly low-tech approach to stay focused on my top priorities each day. That’s it in the photo. Yep – it’s a yellow sticky note on my computer (horrors!). The thing is, this is not like all those random sticky notes I see in so many offices. This one has a bit of architecture to help me be productive all day long.

At the top it says ‘Today.’ Right under that I’ve listed, numbered in priority order, my 3 targets for the day. I’ve chosen these because of their deadlines and the amount of time I have today to work on them. I will do everything within my power to work on these from top to bottom, one at a time. Even for me, this is not easy – but without this plan, I would be all over the place and finish up the day feeling like I had spun my wheels but gotten nowhere.

Under the Target 3 is a list of a couple of other things I’d like to get done as/when I get through the priorities.

Will I do more than 3 things today? Of course. Is it possible that I won’t get everything on my little sticky note done? Sure. But I know it will feel great to cross off even one or two of those high priority tasks, and this is motivating.

To help myself along, I treat myself along the way to a quick coffee break, a 5-minute Facebook indulgence, a stretch, or a phone call that needs to be made – only when I have finished one high priority task. Writing this post right now is actually a little reward for finishing the first (and yuckiest) thing on my list. That task actually wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be – which is often the case once you just make up your mind to get started!

Would something like this work for you? Give it a try today!

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So what does it really take to be organised day-to-day? It’s not as much work as you may fear. Once you get your systems set up, it comes down to 3 simple maintenance routines.

You say you don’t have time for maintenance? Think of it like taking care of your teeth. Just a few minutes of brushing and flossing a couple of times a day will keep you on the right track. Occasionally you need to get to the dentist for a deeper cleaning and check-up.

If you don’t look after your teeth regularly, you’ll wind up with pain, decay, and even surgery. If you don’t look after your personal organisation, the results are stress, health problems, missed opportunities, and a breakdown in work/life balance.

To avoid all that, establish these 3 essential organising routines:

PROCESSING

What is it?

A sorting process similar to triage. Your goal is to process and prioritise everything, getting all collection points to empty.

Why do it?

To make sure your time and effort go to the true priorities – not whatever has come in most recently or is shouting the loudest.

What does it look like?

• You look at each email and make a decision about your next action, which you capture on your lists. Then you move the email out of the Inbox.
• You look through that notebook (or piece of paper, maybe?) where you have been scribbling notes all day. You capture ideas and follow-up actions on your lists.
• You look through your in-tray and capture ideas and actions on your lists. Then you discard or file the papers.
• You empty your brain of all the bits and bobs it has been trying to remember for you all day. You write this stuff down somewhere safe.

How often should I do it?

1-3 times a day

How long does it take?

15-30 minutes each time, assuming you have learned how to do it right.

DAILY PLANNING

What is it?

A housekeeping and prioritisation process. Your goal is to reorganise any outstanding tasks from today and build a clear plan for tomorrow.

Why do it?

To ensure your day will be spent in a focused and proactive way, instead of working randomly and reactively.

What does it look like?

• You look at your to-do list from today and decide what to do with any outstanding tasks. Usually you’ll re-schedule them for tomorrow or a later date if tomorrow looks too full.
• You have a look at your scheduled appointments for tomorrow and the amount of time you’ll have to yourself.
• You plan your to-do list for tomorrow – keeping it realistic!

How often should I do it?

Once a day – before the day begins. That means you do it the night before or very early in the morning before checking email for the first time.

How long does it take?

5-10 minutes, assuming you have good lists in place to support this process.

WEEKLY PLANNING

What is it?

A time management process. Your goal is to balance your week between appointments and work blocks to move your projects forward.

Why do it?

To get your priorities scheduled into your week before other people’s requests for your time take over.

What does it look like?

• You look at your to-do list from today and decide what to do with any outstanding tasks. Usually you’ll re-schedule them for a day next week or de-prioritise them if the week looks too full.
• You review your long-range project and idea lists and decide when you’ll take the next action for each.
• You confirm appointments for next week and schedule the necessary work blocks for yourself.
• You plan your to-do list for Monday – keeping it realistic!

How often should I do it?

Once a week – before the week begins. Monday morning is really too late. Most people prefer to do this at some point in the weekend when they’re more relaxed and removed from work pressures (hard to believe, I know – but try it before dismissing the idea). Some folks find Friday afternoon to be a good time for this process.

How long does it take?

20-30 minutes, assuming you have good systems for managing time and projects.

SETTING UP THE SYSTEMS

If you want to learn how to set up your systems for managing lists, email and paper, check out this course or this one.

Filed under: Flow, Productive Routines, Tasks, Time Management | 1 Comment »

This article reminds me of that essay we had to write when we were kids: “How I Spent my Spring Vacation” by Kristin Lowe.

There are 4 extra bodies in the house this week, and they all want to be wherever I am, drawing me into whatever they’re doing. I am genuinely interested, but I keep wondering, “Does anybody else see the computer in front of me, or the phone I’m holding up to my ear?”

Our clients are all working this week – kicking off 2nd Quarter with much more optimism than Q1 – so nothing is slowing down on the work front. I could go into the office, but I sort of like staying in my jammies all day with everyone else.

Here’s how I’m staying focused in the midst of piano practice, Play-doh, PBJ sandwiches and paint being applied to the walls of the study where I (try to) work:

1. Hard stuff first - Whatever requires the most intense concentration is the first task of the day, before kids and clients start looking for me.
2. Clear priorities - I start my day with a gorgeously organised RTM task list – and I don’t go to bed until it’s ready for tomorrow.
3. One thing at a time - I write on a piece of paper next to me the ONE thing I am working on right now. I cross it off when I’m done. Under these circumstances it seems to take a superhuman effort to stay focused on one thing at a time, but by day’s end, the list of completed items is nice and long.
4. Batching tasks – Processing email, making calls, writing proposals, replying to email…these are all distinctly separate chunks of the day, interspersed with family stuff like cleaning the guinea pig cage, getting dinner together and watching a movie. There’s a rhythm to it; my brain likes the variety.
5. Change of scenery - I move my laptop around the house whenever I switch activities. Depending on what I’m working on and how deeply I need to concentrate, I might sit at my desk, on the sofa, or on the balcony.
6. White noise – If I sit at the kitchen island, the rain on the window drowns out the noise of the playdates and renovations. When the rain stops, sometimes I put in headphones and listen to recorded ambient noise: the sounds of a waterfall, ocean waves, or a thunderstorm. (By the way, this is a great trick for when you have to work in a coffee shop or airport lounge).
7. Support - My husband is on holiday too, and he’s great about throwing the kids in the car and making errands feel like a special outing. This is when I can call people without letting on I’m at home. I guess now my secret’s out.

Is it a picture of perfect familial and entrepreneurial bliss? Nah – I’ve shouted at everyone plenty of times…but this is what I wanted, right? Freedom, fulfillment and family. It works – as long as I stay focused!

How do you stay focused in the midst of distractions when you’re working from home?  How about in an open-plan office?

Filed under: Flow, Focus, Productive Routines, Tasks, Work/Life Balance | 2 Comments »

Less than 2 weeks after my first test run of Remember the Milk, my mobile world has been changed forever.

Since Milk wouldn’t run on my trusty Treo, it has now been retired and – at long last – there’s an iPhone in my bag. Seems the folks at RTM should have gotten commission on the sale.

I’ve weaned myself from desktop-driven Outlook Tasks and am now living 100% on Milk – no matter where I am.

I used to make fun of my husband for the amount of time he spends ‘playing with his phone.’ I’ve  just spent the weekend doing the same thing, and I am one happy – and productive – camper. Now he and I are sharing tasks through Milk and talking about standardising our tags so our smartlists will play nicely with each other. Our poor children have such geeks for parents.

Besides Remember the Milk, here were my other must-haves on the Home screen: Outlook calendar sync, Zoho and Google Docs for omni-access to our company info, Plaxo for personal contacts, Kodak Gallery for the pix and a nifty Hong Kong Weather app for typhoon season.

I’ve only had one hiccup with my new set-up: My kids selected the ringtone (a very loud ‘old phone’) and SMS alert (an equally loud old car horn), and I hadn’t worked out how to set the phone to silent before going into my first meeting today – during which I received 2 calls and 3 text messages. I do know how to switch it off now – ahem.

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After months of listening to my iPhone-enabled hubby rave about Remember the Milk, I finally got around to giving it a try today. I invited some of my advanced clients along for the fun, and we are in collective awe.

For years I have said that any good task manager must be portable. This has posed a real challenge for our clients who love using Outlook Tasks but carry handheld devices which are not as Task-savvy as Outlook. (Note – all my praise for Outlook Tasks is reserved for the OL 2003 Task Pad. 2007’s To-do Bar has taken us backwards.)

But I digress…back to the problem with Outlook and portable tasks. All the time and energy people spent configuring the Task Pad at the desktop was completely lost in a sea of All Tasks on the handhelds. The Palm OS used to do a pretty good job of acting like Outlook, but that’s all over now.

The other problem arises when Outlook users are out and about, wanting to put a Task on the list but limited by the weak or non-existent task creation capabilities of their particular handheld devices.

Thus it would seem that to get our tasks to behave consistently between the desktop and handheld, we’re going to have to look for organised-task-sync solutions in the cloud.

The good news is that the folks at Remember the Milk are doing a great job of exactly this…and the Pro version with Milk Sync plays nicely with Blackberry and Windows Mobile devices so that we can stay organised and focused on the road. Naturally,  iPhone users get their own app, and Milk’s integration with Gmail and Google Calendar is heading in the right direction for Firefox users.  Google Gears means we can use Milk even when we’re offline.

Good googley golly – this could actually be the full package, at long last.

I could go on forever about email and SMS reminders, locations (spooky), tags, notes, smartlists, and all the other workflow-friendly features of Remember the Milk, but we’ll save that for another time and place.

As usual, my better half was right; Milk does indeed look like Task Nirvana. Watch this space.

Filed under: Focus, Tasks | 2 Comments »