Inbox Zero for the win!
It’s worth the effort to take a little time at the end of each work day and empty my email inbox. Here are just a few of the benefits I see.
Tagged with: email, habits, productivity
Articles tagged with productivity
Paper vs electronic task management
I made the switch from paper to electronic task management many years ago. As I blogged about last year, I created a Daily Task Management Trello board that was working really for me. But then I started creeping back toward paper and pen
Tagged with: bingo, motivation, productivity, task management, time management, trello
Dealing with task-management overwhelm
I don’t usually have a problem staying on top of my tasks and prioritizing them. Ordinarily I plow through a lot of tasks in a day and I’m generally pleased with my productivity. But right now, at this moment, I’m overwhelmed by projects and keeping track of all the tasks they entail. I feel out of control and that feeling alone is distracting. My productivity and peace of mind are suffering!
Tagged with: productivity, productivity technology, task management, to-do list, trello
My Inbox Zero challenge
I love the feeling of an empty inbox. The goal of Inbox Zero can feel elusive. For some people it may feel impossible. Not for me. I’ll admit, it’s a wagon I fall off frequently. But once I get back to Inbox Zero, it feels so good.
Tagged with: email, habits, productivity
The joy of Inbox Zero
I’ve had an on-again-off-again relationship with Inbox Zero. I’ve blogged in the past about the glory of Inbox Zero and how I’ve achieved it. Yet I invariably fall of the wagon. That usually happens when I’m stressed or busy or otherwise unfocused. But when I am in a headspace to be decisive, I can achieve the elusive empty inbox at the end of the day.
Tagged with: email, habits, productivity
Two game-changing iPhone hacks
I thought I’d share a couple of little iPhone hacks I’ve learned about that made a big difference for me. This first one works on the iPhone and iPad. You can use your iPhone’s space bar like a cursor.
Tagged with: computer, ipad, iphone, productivity, productivity technology
Worth repeating: Completing a jigsaw puzzle five pieces at a time
I originally published this post just seven months ago, but since so many people are doing jigsaw puzzles these days, I think it’s worth repeating. I’ve had several people say to me that if they start a puzzle, they can’t pull away from it and will stay up all night until it’s completed. And therefore they don’t do puzzles! Perhaps I’m just wired differently, but I love my five-piece-at-a-time method because I can sneak in small, enjoyable snippets of puzzle-solving without it taking over my day. And this method allows me to extend my enjoyment and savor the puzzle! The picture is of the puzzle I’m currently working on, Washington, DC from White Mountain Puzzles. I’m thoroughly enjoying it. (It makes me want to visit Washington, DC, where I lived for five years after college!)
Tagged with: productivity, puzzles, worth repeating
My quarantine sanity savers
In these strange times of COVID-19, gratitude feels important now more than ever. For me, the stay-at-home order means that I cannot work in clients’ homes. And I have lots of time to do the stuff I’ve been waiting to do when I have time. But actually getting myself to do that stuff is another matter.
Tagged with: coronavirus, covid-19, productivity, self care, social distancing, yarn
Slaying the email dragon
Yesterday I had an unexpected day at my desk because of a winter storm and I spent some time getting my inbox under control. It was fairly painless. I started the morning with 267 messages in my inbox, 18 of them unread. (I use my Mac’s email client—the one with the icon of a postage stamp—on my desktop.) I decided that I wanted to get my inbox down to 20 messages and I wanted to do it swiftly. Here’s what I did.
Tagged with: email, habits, productivity
Lessons learned from 2019 NaNoWriMo
On November 29, I finished writing a novel. Every five years since 2004, I’ve participated in National Novel Writing Month and each of those years I’ve succeeded in writing a 50,000-word novel in 30 days or fewer. It felt great to finish. I was very busy with client work this November, so writing my novel required me to get up an hour early to squeeze in my words and I was ready to sleep in!
Tagged with: deadlines, goals, nanowrimo, productivity, writing
Worth repeating (again): Small irritations
I originally wrote this post back in 2010 and repeated it in 2013. When I read it again today, I decided to run it again because the message rings so true. Often, little bits of friction are enough to keep us from moving forward with our goals. I had taken a bit of a hiatus from my knitting but became rejuvenated when I decluttered my knitting projects last summer. (I’ll post about that soon!) So this post resonated with me today. I hope you enjoy it.
Tagged with: knitpicks, knitting, knitting needles, productivity, worth repeating
Completing a jigsaw puzzle five pieces at a time
Last month I completed a 1000-word collage puzzle five pieces at a time and mentioned it on Episode 68 of Getting to Good Enough, the podcast I host with Shannon Wilkinson. I’m just about to finish another puzzle using this method, which I devised for myself, and I find the method so successful (and relevant to other parts of my life) that I thought I’d share.
Tagged with: productivity, puzzles
Worth repeating: Feeling busy? Take 5 minutes to create a little order
I wrote this post three years ago, in the midst of our kitchen renovation. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve implemented this since then. Five minutes on a timer and enough order can be created to restore sanity. I encourage you to give it a try!
Tagged with: decluttering, order, productivity, timer, worth repeating
Worth repeating (again): Using my early-morning time
I originally ran this post in 2016, but I wanted to run it again because just yesterday on our podcast my co-host Shannon Wilkinson and I were talking about setting yourself for success. That’s what this three-year-old blog post is all about! If you’re interested in hearing us talk about that topic, the episode will drop on Thursday, August 15. Go to the Getting to Good Enough website (or wherever you get your podcasts) that day or after to give it a listen.
Tagged with: getting to good enough, productivity, time management, worth repeating
Worth repeating: To work or not to work on airplanes?
I’m flying to the Pacific Northwest on Saturday, so this is a timely article for me. I originally wrote it five years ago (almost to the day!) and I still have the same quandary. Re-reading this post makes me want to take enjoy leisure while I fly this trip.
Tagged with: productivity, travel, worth repeating
Worth repeating: Lessons learned from writing a novel
Tagged with: deadlines, goals, nanowrimo, productivity, worth repeating, writing
Backing up Evernote
Tagged with: evernote, productivity, task management, technology
Is the iPhone X worth the high price?
I bought my first iPhone in 2012 (it was a 4S) and have upgraded every two years. Three weeks ago, I took the plunge and upgraded from my iPhone 6s to the iPhone X. So is the iPhone X worth all that money? My answer is a resounding yes!
Tagged with: apple, iphone, productivity, technology
Staying comfortable and productive
I recently shared some tips with Tommy John about staying comfortable throughout the day and was included in this infographic they produced. Tommy John is known for (among other things) their boxer briefs for men, and the infographic cleverly ties together productivity and the comfort of their product.
Tagged with: productivity
Postal rates going up next week
It might be time to stock up on Forever stamps! This week you can buy a one-ounce first-class Forever stamp for 49 cents. But come January 21, the same stamp will cost 50 cents.
Tagged with: belt-tightening, postage, productivity
Worth repeating: Using my early-morning time
I’m a morning person. I know that I’m most productive in the morning. Especially first thing in the morning. My brain is turned on and I can be pretty focused when everyone else in the house is asleep. (And by everyone else, I mean my husband and dog.)
Tagged with: productivity, time management, worth repeating
Worth repeating: Visual task management
Last week, I took an ICD tele class on Personal Kanban for people with ADHD. I was familiar with personal kanban, having tried it out myself a few times over the last seven years. I was happy to hear Jim Benson, who gave the talk, state that while there are plenty of platforms in which to do kanban digitally, he recommends that people start out with Post-It® Notes and a whiteboard, like I’ve always done.
Tagged with: personal kanban, productivity, time management, worth repeating
Do you know your prime time?
This month, my personal theme is discipline and I’ve been working hard to keep up with the 30-day challenges I set out for myself on June 1. It’s going well. I’m particularly proud of the fact that I’ve done at least 30 minutes of genealogy research daily and that I’ve blogged four times a week (twice on this blog, twice on Organize Your Family History) every week this month.
Tagged with: challenges, habits, productivity, routines, task list, time management
Five apps that have lasted five years (or more)
This morning I was thinking about the five phone that I’ve been using on daily (or almost daily) for at least five years. That’s a long time in the life of an app. Hats off to the developers who created such robust apps that have managed to stay really useful without significant changes. (They’ve all been updated, of course.)
Tagged with: apple, apps, iphone, productivity
The hallmarks of a good task list
Do you keep a task list? I’m surprised by the number of people I meet who don’t. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that my memory isn’t what it used to be, but I think I’d be lost without my task list. And certainly I’d be less productive.
Tagged with: mark forster, productivity, task management, time management, to-do list
Find a spot for your tax-related papers
This is the time of the year in the U.S. where the mail carrier starts bringing in tax-related documents, like W-2 and 1099 forms. To avoid that frantic feeling at tax time when you can’t easily put your hands on these important documents, I encourage you to do yourself a favor today.
Tagged with: order, productivity, taxes
Using the Reminders feature of Evernote
I’ve finally embraced Evernote and it’s become an indispensable part of my work and life. Every now and then I think about writing another blog post about how I use Evernote and I get overwhelmed at the thought of it. So my plan is to highlight one feature at a time, as the mood strikes me. Today I’m going to focus on the Reminders feature of Evernote, which I absolutely love.
Tagged with: evernote, productivity, task management, technology
Staying on top of your email inbox
I’m struck by how similar our email inboxes are to physical clutter. Many people deal with physical clutter, but I bet even those who manage to keep a tidy home have email inbox clutter.
Tagged with: clutter, clutter clearing, email, habits, productivity
Making my desk day productive
My client schedule is light this week and I had high hopes for getting a lot done. I dusted off my important tasks so they were front and center along the urgent stuff. Yet, the last couple of days got away from me. Part of the problem is my obsession with Hamilton and the distraction of the coming election.
Tagged with: mark forster, productivity, task list, task management
Keeping the important top of mind
It’s so easy to focus on urgent tasks, rather than important ones, isn’t it? Every day I create a list of tasks I want to accomplish that day. (When I’m on my game, I do it the night before.) I try to keep the list short so I have a fighting chance of actually accomplishing all of them.
Tagged with: productivity, task list, task management, time management
Confessions of an email hoarder
I openly admit that I have been an email hoarder. I abandoned my emails on my old Windows computer when I switched to the Mac in 2008. And since then I had a tendency to hang on to all emails that might possibly come in handy some day.
Tagged with: clutter, clutter clearing, email, habits, productivity
Worth repeating: Getting and staying on task
Effective task management is a moving target for me. I’ve come to accept that I need to switch things up in order to keep myself engaged and get stuff done. So I vary my systems according to my need and mood. This post, originally published May 22, 2013, describes a sort of emergency intervention I use when I just can’t get myself to get anything done.
Tagged with: 15 minutes, productivity, rewards, time management, worth repeating
Using my early-morning time
I’m a morning person. I know that I’m most productive in the morning. Especially first thing in the morning. My brain is turned on and I can be pretty focused when everyone else in the house is asleep. (And by everyone else, I mean my husband and dog.)
Tagged with: productivity, time management
Feeling busy? Take 5 minutes to create a little order
When I get busy my natural messiness kicks in. Our kitchen is being renovated so disorder reigns in our house and has for the last six weeks. But even in small spaces that have nothing to do with the kitchen, like my desk, everything felt out of control this morning. I’m feeling pulled in a bunch of directions and just wasn’t taking the time to put away the stuff I could. And the clutter started getting tome.
Tagged with: decluttering, order, productivity, timer
Transpose + Kanban = Great task management
For the last month or so, I’ve been using a template I created on the fabulous form-making making website, Transpose, to manage my daily tasks kanban style.
Tagged with: personal kanban, productivity, task list, task management, time management, transpose
Stop thinking about it: Do it!
Do you have little organizing projects around your house that are constantly taunting you? Do you walk through a room, see a pile and say to yourself, “I need to file.” Then just keep walking?
Tagged with: decisions, empowerment, obstacles, procrastination, productivity
Transpose helps you create forms easily
I love creating forms and have been making them for years. I used to use Word, then I moved to Excel. But now I have a much easier way to create forms: Transpose.
Tagged with: forms, productivity, systems, task management, time management, transpose
Worth repeating: Inbox Zero is achievable!
As I wrote two weeks ago, I’ve fallen behind on a number of things, including my Inbox Zero habit. But last Wednesday I got my inbox down to zero messages once again. It felt so great—like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. It’s been a huge boon to my productivity and I’ve emptied each day since. I was going to write a new post about Inbox Zero and then realized that I’d have a hard time improving on the one I wrote this past November. So here it is.
Tagged with: aby garvey, accountability, email, habits, productivity
Worth repeating: Chipping away at a project
I wrote this post a couple of years ago, but I really needed it today. I’m once again a bit behind on my Quickbooks data entry and have entered a recurring daily task in my task-manager app to spend 15 minutes working on the backlog. This post is strengthening my resolve to get caught up a little at a time.
Sometimes projects, big or small, feel too overwhelming to even start. Sometimes tasks are ongoing or recurring and we have a tendency to let them build up before starting to tackle them.
Tagged with: 15 minutes, habits, productivity, time management, worth repeating
How I use Evernote
A year ago, Springpad, the online digital organizing system I’d been using, went belly up. Fortunately, all the notes and notebooks I’d created in Springpad were transferred to Evernote, a similar, less graphical product. But I was sad.
Tagged with: evernote, productivity, task management, technology
Worth repeating: Bingo anniversary
Back in 2011, I created a Bingo board to hep me get non-urgent tasks done on a regular basis. I blogged about it four or five times and today have selected one of the most useful of those posts to repeat to spread the word about the value of building fun into your task list.
Tagged with: bingo, jacquelyn kittredge, motivation, productivity, task management, worth repeating
Your memory is a terrible thing to rely on
When I was in my twenties, I had a mind like a steel trap. Oh, the things I could keep in there and recall in a nanosecond! It made me a valuable employee; my ability to keep details straight and handle logistics well allowed me to work on some great projects. (For example, I organized—and attended—small conference in Africa with participants from all over the world. I put it together from my office in Washington, D.C., and this was before the internet.)
Now that I’m in my fifties, my memory is a shadow of its former self. But I’m lucky: in the intervening three decades, technology has emerged that helps me compensate. There’s no need to store things in my brain. I can write everything down and access it instantly using the app of my choice. That frees my brain for more important things.
Tagged with: apps, calendars, lifehacker, memory, productivity, task list, task management, technology
Lessons learned from writing a novel in a month
Yesterday, I completed the novel I was writing for National Novel Writing Month. I had 30 days to write a 50,000 word novel. I had no doubt I would finish the novel in time—this is the 3rd one I’ve written over the last ten years, so I knew I had it in me. (I do it in five-year increments.) But it still feels really good.
Tagged with: deadlines, goals, nanowrimo, productivity, writing
Inbox Zero is achievable!
Yesterday I had a lovely Thanksgiving. It’s my favorite holiday and I think it’s just wonderful that we take time off as a nation to celebrate gratitude. It got me thinking about how grateful I am for a habit I developed in January of 2011. For almost four years, I’ve been clearing out my email inbox, taking it to zero (or near zero) virtually every weekday.
Tagged with: aby garvey, accountability, email, habits, productivity
Revisiting personal kanban
Back in 2010, I discovered personal kanban , a system of visual task management that I used for awhile. In a nutshell, I divided a large whiteboard into three sections, Backlog, Doing, and Done. Then I’d use Post-It® notes to write down individual tasks and move them through the process.
Tagged with: habits, personal kanban, productivity, routines, task management, time management
Worth repeating: Getting started
I love this trick from Mark Forster about tricking your reactive mind into doing things that you have trouble starting. I shared it first in 2008 (!) and thought it was worth repeating today.
Do you ever have items on your to-do list that just loom there? You know you need to do them, you think about doing them, but you just can’t get going on them?
Tagged with: 15 minutes, mark forster, procrastination, productivity, time management, worth repeating
Springpad launches Notebook Store
I’ve been using the free website and app Springpad for a few months now and if you’ve been reading my blog you know that I’m quite a fan. It’s helped me eliminate random notes and scraps of paper and, for the first time, I’m using an electronic task list successfully.
Tagged with: aby garvey, productivity, springpad, task management
Traveling light, thanks to my iPad
I bought an iPad Air on December 26. If you’ve been reading this blog a long time, you might remember that I was an early adopter of the iPad. I bought the original version in 2010 and fell head over heels in love with it.
Tagged with: ipad, productivity, springpad, travel
Worth repeating: Small irritations
I wrote this blog post in 2011 and when I re-read it today, I really liked the message, so thought I’d share it again. The bag is finished (that’s a picture of it), but I’ve experienced the same thing (inside and outside of knitting) on more than one occasion since!
Sometimes the tiniest things keep us from doing things we want to do or think we should be doing. If we can identify those things and modify them, we can get more done.
Tagged with: knitpicks, knitting, knitting needles, productivity, worth repeating
Getting past the barrier to getting started
I’m always amazed at how powerful it can be to start on a project I’ve been putting off. Even the tiniest bit of effort is like a dam breaking; the resistance vanishes and then I can get going on it.
Tagged with: procrastination, productivity, time management
More wisdom from Mark Forster
Over the years, I’ve written 47(!) blog posts that mention Mark Forster, my favorite time-management guy. Mark really enjoys thinking about things like time management and productivity. I’ve been a fan ever since I read his book Do It Tomorrow and Other Secrets of Time Management seven years ago.
Tagged with: books, mark forster, productivity, task management, time management
Worth repeating: Inbox Zero - how I do it
I’ll be celebrating three years of routinely clearing out my email inbox come January. I wrote this nuts-and-bolts post about how I do it in January 2012, after I’d been practicing this habit for a year. Now, more than a year and a half later, nothing’s changed. I use the same procedures and I’m still in love with this habit, which make my life unequivocally better.
Tagged with: aby garvey, accountability, email, habits, productivity, worth repeating
Chipping away at a project
Sometimes projects, big or small, feel too overwhelming to even start. Sometimes tasks are ongoing or recurring and we have a tendency to let them build up before starting to tackle them.
For either of those types of projects, one solution is to do a little. Just do something. Because a little effort on a regular basis will get the job done, eventually.
Tagged with: 15 minutes, habits, productivity, time management
A program for getting a handle on your email
Several weeks ago, I subscribed to Revive Your Inbox a free, 21-day program to help you get a handle on your email.
Tagged with: email, habits, productivity
Getting and staying on task
For the last two days, I have had such a difficult staying focused and productive at my desk! My day yesterday was completely unstructured, which is sometimes a recipe for disaster for me. Without an appointment looming, it can be really hard for me to get started.
Tagged with: 15 minutes, productivity, rewards, time management
My iPhone-versary
Okay, this anniversary might not seem noteworthy. But it’s very special to me. I’m still truly, madly, deeply in love with my iPhone 4S.
It’s been one year and four days since I bought my iPhone. How do I know? I marked it on my calendar, that’s how important it was to me.
Tagged with: iphone, productivity, technology
Coffitivity brings the ambient noise of a coffee shop to your computer
If you’re like many people, you love to work at coffee shops. It gets you out of the house and the noise and hubbub allows you to focus. But what if you could get the noise without the hubbub—and without leaving the house? Now you can.
Tagged with: coffitivity, lifehacker, productivity
Rededicating myself to the clean desk
On January 5, 2008, I cleared off my desk. And I kept it cleared off, on a daily basis, for about four years. I’ve blogged about the effort and the rewards of maintaining a clean desk. I’m a huge advocate.
Tagged with: clean desk, habits, motivation, productivity
Turning temptations into rewards
It’s 4:46 pm and I’m just now writing today’s blog post. I meant to do it earlier in the day, but other things (like lunch with a friend and a haircut) took precedence. I also had promised to get answer reader questions for Rubbermaid by the end of the week and all of a sudden I was staring down that deadline.
Tagged with: productivity, rewards, the glee project, time management
Bingo anniversary!
A year ago today, I first blogged about To-Do List Bingo. I created a bingo board after reading a blog post about social media bingo from my friend, Jacquelyn Kittredge of e-bakery.
Tagged with: bingo, jacquelyn kittredge, motivation, productivity, task management
Two apps to help you get things done
I was perusing one of my favorite blogs, Unclutterer and saw my colleague Deb Lee’s recent post about two new-to-me productivity apps, Wonderful Day and iDone This
Tagged with: apps, don't break the chain, productivity, task list, time management
Lifehacker's list of best iPhone apps
For three years in a row, the wonderful website Lifehacker has presented its Lifehacker Pack for iPhone list of iPhone apps that help you stay productive, connected, informed and entertained.
Tagged with: apps, iphone, lifehacker, productivity
Going with the flow - part 2
On May 2, life through me a little loop when I fell and sprained my ankle quite badly. That day I blogged about how such experiences make you go with the flow. I was out of commission for quite a few days and was just getting back to enjoying having natural-looking feet. (The foot swelled badly and turned purple.)
Tagged with: flexibility, health, productivity
Bingo update
Last year, I created a bingo board that turned out to be a powerful motivator for me to accomplish tasks that are important to do regularly, but aren’t urgent (so weren’t getting done regularly). For me, that’s stuff like social media posts, blogging, following up with clients, past and present, tending to my website, stuff like that. You might have an entirely different set of tasks you want to accomplish regularly.
Tagged with: bingo, motivation, productivity
App of the week: Siri
I love Siri, the intelligent voice-recognition software on my iPhone 4S, but I understand that not everyone does. It gets frustrating when Siri doesn’t understand you and you to repeat yourself. Luckily for me, I don’t often have that problem. Siri understands me better than most people do.
Tagged with: app of the week, iphone, productivity, technology
Worth repeating: my role model in persistence
I just came across this blog post, which I originally wrote in August of 2009, and it tickled me. I think it’s as true today as it was then, so I offer it up again today for those of you who haven’t read it.
I adore my orange tabby cat, Joe, of course. But he does a great job of annoying me on a regular basis. But when I pause to reflect on it, he’s also teaching me stuff.
Tagged with: cats, joe, persistence, productivity, worth repeating
Going with the flow
Today was the one day this week I had to work at my desk. Desk days are really important for me as a small-business owner. I have to spend a certain amount of time at my desk, taking care of business, working on volunteer tasks and so forth.
Tagged with: flexibility, health, productivity
I'm in love with my iPhone 4S
Seriously, what took me so long to buy an iPhone? I bought a MacBook in 2007. An iPod Touch in 2008. (It was my third iPod.) An iPad in 2010. I loved them all dearly. Why did it take me so long to buy an iPhone?
Tagged with: ipad, iphone, ipod, productivity, technology
Bingo works for me!
I wouldn’t be writing this (or any) blog post today if it weren’t for To-Do List Bingo. At the end of the day today, I took a look at my bingo board and covered the tasks that I had already done.
Tagged with: bingo, jacquelyn kittredge, productivity
Today's time saver: using email to send a text message
I’m not a big text messaging person. I don’t have kids, so I haven’t been forced to text. I finally bought a smart phone last year (a cheapish Android, the LG Optimus T) and I find texting annoying at best. But certain people (like my husband) like to receive communications via text message.
Tagged with: communication, productivity, text message
Inbox Zero - how I do it
It’s been over a year since I started my Inbox Zero habit. On January 2, 2011 I cleared out my email inbox. And, for the most part, it’s been empty at the end of each workday since.
Tagged with: aby garvey, accountability, email, habits, productivity
Overcoming inertia
On Friday, I blogged about how I was going to work hard on Saturday so that I could relax on Sunday. That was my plan, rather than relaxing first or trying and failing to work on Saturday and then never getting to relax.
Tagged with: inertia, productivity, relaxation, shannon wilkinson
Planning to relax
This weekend I have no client appointments. That’s pretty unusual these days, since I tend to have one client appointment each weekend. (I try not to have appointments both Saturday and Sunday.)
Tagged with: productivity, relaxation
Inbox zero: My email sanity saver
On January 2, I cleared my inbox down to zero email messages. And since then i’ve done it every work day except two, when I was out of town without my computer. That’s nearly five months of inbox zero at least five days a week. (I usually do it on the weekends as well.)
Tagged with: aby garvey, accountability, blogging, don't break the chain, email, habits, productivity
Give yourself a power hour
I had a client cancellation on Monday and found myself with about six hours of desk time that I hadn’t been expecting. Bliss.
Thanks to Mark Forster’s Superfocus task-management system (of which I’m an unabashed fan), I didn’t have to try to remember all the stuff I needed to do.
Tagged with: mark forster, productivity, superfocus, time management
Treat yourself to a creative work session
Maybe you have a germ of an idea you want to develop. Perhaps you have a problem you haven’t figured out how to find the solution for. Maybe you’ve planned out a project but haven’t found the time to actually work on it. Perhaps you just want to figure out which way is up.
Tagged with: creative people, maryann devine, productivity, society of the secret playdate
The amazing power of the chain
I’ve written here before about Don’t Break the Chain as a tool for helping create daily habits. The concept is that once you do something a few days in a row (which can be aided by marking a calendar), you psychologically don’t want to break the chain and you’re motivated to do the activity again.
Tagged with: blogging, don't break the chain, email, habits, productivity
Mark Forster does it again
Every now and then I write here that my time management guru, Mark Forster has created a new task-management system and that it’s awesome. In fact, last April I wrote a love letter to DWM, which at the time was his latest system. And then just two months ago, I wrote about a new tweak to Autofocus, which has been my favorite of his systems.
Tagged with: autofocus, mark forster, productivity, task management, time management
The promise of a snow day
Like much of the country this winter, St. Louis experienced a big snow storm. Over a 24-hour period, it snowed nine inches, which is a lot for us. St. Louis sort of grinds to a halt when snow is falling, and all my obligations for were canceled.
Tagged with: productivity, snow, time management
Nine things I love about the iPad
My three-year-old cell phone came to the end of its life recently, so I bought an iPad. I realize that doesn’t make a lot of sense on the surface, since the iPad isn’t a phone. But when it came time to contemplate a new phone, I realized I wanted the productivity of smart phone (that is, I wanted to be able to access the internet when I’m out and about without relying on a wireless connection), but I didn’t want to sign a contract with AT&T and I also craved a larger screen for my middle-aged eyes.
Tagged with: ipad, iphone, ipod, productivity, purse, technology
Visual task management
As I blogged last month, I’ve been experimenting with personal kanban for task management. It’s based on a Japanese model of project management, adapted to personal tasks.
Tagged with: personal kanban, productivity, time management
Playing catch up
As I mentioned last week I went on vacation last month. I was gone for eight days and though I know better, I didn’t really allow a day or two to catch up before jumping right back into work obligations.
Tagged with: 15 minutes, backlog, paper piles, pockets of time, productivity
Small irritations
Sometimes the tiniest things keep us from doing things we want to do or think we should be doing. If we can identify those things and modify them, we can get more done.
Tagged with: knitpicks, knitting, knitting needles, productivity
Fear of the unknown
I’ve had to learn a new skill set. And I didn’t make it easy on myself.
I decided to sell downloadable products of my own creation on my website. By the end of the month, I hope, I’ll have organizing guides and an e-course for sale in a new Products section of this website. (And I’ll be offering a new coaching program.)
Tagged with: declutter happy hour, fear, organizing products, procrastination, productivity, wendy cholbi
Personal Kanban for task management
For several years I’ve been using the various task management techniques created by Mark Forster. The most recent has been DWM. But life and work got sort of crazy and I spent a few weeks doing nothing but putting out fires. I ignored my task list in my DWM planner. These task lists are calendar based, so I needed to figure out how best to get back in the saddle.
Tagged with: mark forster, personal kanban, productivity, task management, time management
That stuck feeling
I’ve had a difficult time coming up with insightful blog posts lately. I think about what to write and nothing comes to me.
Tagged with: 15 minutes, disorder, home office, priorities, productivity
DWM: My latest task-management passion
If you’ve been reading my blog awhile (or if you’ve heard me speak), you know I’m crazy about Mark Forster and his time-management principles. One thing I love about him (besides that he thinks in unorthodox ways) is that he’s always dreaming up new ways to do things. It’s not that he’s just improving upon systems he’s invented in the past (though he does do that). Sometimes he just comes up with something completely different.
Tagged with: dwm, mark forster, planners, productivity, time management
I'm digging the desktop writeboard
At the Container Store the other day, I discovered the Cocoa Desktop Writeboard a rewritable surface that sits on your desk, allowing you to jot notes. I was intrigued. I balked at the $24.99 price tag, but went ahead and purchased it. (It helped that I used the 10 percent discount I’m offered as a NAPO member.) I’ve since discovered it’s available via Amazon
Tagged with: container store, organizing products, productivity, time management, to-do list
Yet another new task-management system from Mark Forster
Mark Forster is my time management guru. As I’ve blogged about before, I loved his book, Do It Tomorrow and Other Secrets of Time Management
Tagged with: autofocus, balance, control, desk, empowerment, focus, goals, mark forster, priorities, productivity, task management, time management, to-do list
Salvaging the day
My standard poodle, Pip, is out of sorts today. She keeps coming up to me to ask for something. I feed her and she doesn’t eat. I let her out and she doesn’t want to come in (which is unusual, since it’s a very blustery day). It appears she wants something, but doesn’t know what. And she’s having a little trouble getting comfortable.
Tagged with: productivity, time management
I wrote a novel!
I finished my novel on Friday, November 27, three days early. I wrote a few hundred words past the 50,000-word goal. And my book had an actual plot that came to a graceful conclusion.
Tagged with: goals, nanowrimo, productivity, time management
I've hung up the car phone
I got into a minor traffic accident on Interstate 44 at the end of September. I had passed someone on the left just as another person passed that car on the right, and we merged into the center lane, in front of the slow-moving car, at the same time. There were no injuries and my car wasn’t even damaged (though the other driver’s car was, slightly).
Tagged with: ipod, productivity
Getting back on task
Over the past ten months I’ve written here about my love of the task-management system Autofocus a lot. I do love it. I’ll let you click on the links and learn about it, but, in a nutshell, it involves one long, bound to-do list upon which you dump all your tasks, in no order, and work through it in a particular fashion. There’s no prioritizing, no rewriting the list.
Tagged with: autofocus, mark forster, productivity, time management, to-do list
Baby Steps: The Best-Kept Secret to Accomplishing Anything
The true secret to getting anything done — particularly something that can feel overwhelming like decluttering — is to break it down into small bites and to keep working on it. When I received this article from performer, songwriter, and creativity consultant Christine Kane in my email yesterday, I knew I had to share it with you. It comes from her newsletter, Live Creative, and I’m reprinting it with permission.
Tagged with: christine kane, decluttering, productivity
Getting things done with Autofocus
I’ve written quite a bit about Autofocus, the task-management system invented by my favorite time-management guru, Mark Forster. The original Autofocus debuted on January 5, 2009. I was an eager beta tester and became an enthusiastic user.
Tagged with: autofocus, mark forster, productivity, task management, time management
The down side to international travel
I’ve been home from Australia for six days now. Apart from the very first night home, when I slept long and hard after 24 consecutive hours of travel, I haven’t been sleeping properly. I’m a good sleeper (my mom’s narcoleptic…it’s in my genes) but I’ve experienced what it must be like to be an insomniac. Most nights, I’ve just not been getting sleepy at bedtime.
Tagged with: margaret lukens, productivity, routines, travel, wendy davie
My role model in persistence
I adore my orange tabby cat, Joe, of course. But he does a great job of annoying me on a regular basis. But when I pause to reflect on it, he’s also teaching me stuff.
Tagged with: cats, joe, persistence, productivity
Great advice on having it all
This fabulous blog post from Unclutterer really resonated with me. Its writer, Unclutterer Editor-in-Chief Erin Doland, is one of those folks who really seems to have it together. It shines through in her writing. And it feels very apparent when you spend time with her in person.
Tagged with: control, erin doland, order, productivity
Another 30-minute miracle
Okay, “miracle” is completely overstating it. But I was amazed at my office’s transformation the other day when I set my timer and got to work for 30 minutes
Tagged with: declutter happy hour, decluttering, productivity
Paper or plastic?
No, this isn’t a post about green organizing (though I am doing a free talk on that topic next month…you might consider coming if you live in St. Louis). Today I’m thinking about keeping track of things using a paper planner/notebook versus an electronic device.
Tagged with: autofocus, balance, nick cernis, productivity, simplicty, time management, to-do list, todoodlist
It should be easy
In working with my life coach, Shannon Wilkinson, I’ve discovered that my driving force is ease. I like things to be easy. That’s why I love living in St. Louis, where the living is easy (recent highway closures notwithstanding) and didn’t like living in New York City, where the hassle factor is high. Ease trumps excitement in my book.
Tagged with: declutter happy hour, michael neill, productivity, shannon wilkinson
The vanishing day
I’m writing this at 6 p.m. Six flippin’ p.m! I usually blog in the morning and when I mess up my routine, things tend to fall through the cracks.
Tagged with: declutter happy hour, exercise, productivity, shannon wilkinson
Computer back ups: Just do it
Every now and then I read a message on a forum or somewhere from someone who’s lost all their data in a computer crash. That person is kindly reminding people to back up their computers, to avoid the heartbreak of everything vanishing into thin air.
I’m happy to say this isn’t one of those messages. I haven’t suffered a computer crash. In fact, I’ve had no computer problems to speak of since I bought my MacBook in July of 2007.
Tagged with: decisions, empowerment, obstacles, procrastination, productivity
The weekend work/rest balance
On Friday I wrote that I was overwhelmed with tasks and clutter and that I really wanted to put my feet up this weekend, but had so much to do that I feared that wouldn’t be prudent. So I decided to create short task lists for each weekend day and relax only after I’d completed all the tasks on them.
Tagged with: clutter, empowerment, priorities, productivity, relaxation, self-care, time management
Excited about my to-do list
Last week was one of those weeks I wasn’t at my desk much and when I was I had to be focused on urgent items. I’m not sure I actually looked at my to-do list all week, except to add to it.
Tagged with: autofocus, mark forster, procrastination, productivity, task management, time management
9 Simple Solutions for Procrastinators
This is a guest post of sorts, from the fabulous Christine Kane, who helps people achieve their dreams. I’m reprinting it, with permission, from her newsletter. It arrived in my mailbox today and I thought it was so great I’d share it immediately. Incidentally, I wish I’d thought of the acronym CRAP for Clutter Removal Action Process!
Tagged with: christine kane, goals, procrastination, productivity
Little and often
We organizers like to talk about breaking big projects down into small steps in order to make them feel less overwhelming. That’s solid advice.
Tagged with: autofocus, mark forster, productivity, time management
Autofocus
As I mentioned last month, time-management guru Mark Forster has developed a brand-new task management system. It’s called Autofocus.
Tagged with: autofocus, mark forster, productivity
Why I love my iPod Touch
I bought an iPod Touch (second generation) in October, as I’ve mentioned before. I thought today I’d share nine ways it’s enhanced my life in less than two months:
Tagged with: iphone, ipod, productivity, technology
Taking a day for myself
Yesterday I had what we call around our a home a Lazy Day. We had that extra hour, due to the end of Daylight Saving Time and, as I said I would on Friday, I used that time to knit and watch TV. It sure didn’t stop at an hour, though. I knit so much yesterday that my shoulders started hurting by the evening (so I stopped)
Tagged with: knitting, productivity, relaxation, self-care
Declare a backlog
One of the many strategies offered by Mark Forster in his time-management book Do It Tomorrow and Other Secrets of Time Management (link at right) is the concept of declaring a backlog. (I wrote about some of his other strategies last June in the blog posts, Getting started and Keeping going.)
Tagged with: backlog, mark forster, productivity, time management
The R word
Sometimes I feel like a broken record when I write here (or in my newsletter) about the importance of routines. It’s just that I’m reminded very frequently about how much of an impact they can have on order, productivity and overall peace of mind.
Tagged with: don't break the chain, joe's goals, jott, productivity, routines, travel
My latest toy
I know that new technology is supposed to enhance productivity. That’s usually why I buy it. But if you’ve ever purchased a new computer, you know that setting up and getting used to the new technology can really eat up time.
Tagged with: apple, ipod, productivity, technology, time management
Fluent Self: Blog of the Week
This week’s blog of the week can help you get unstuck. I first learned about habits guru Havi Brooks from my friend and life coach, Shannon Wilkinson, who is taking the Self Promotion for Wimps course taught by Havi and Naomi Dunford.
Tagged with: blog of the week, habits, havi brooks, productivity
The value of the to-do list
Yesterday I blogged about how I couldn’t get anything done. The basic culprit was fatigue from attending back-to-back conferences and sleep deprivation from a needy poodle. But after a good night’s sleep and a little reflection, I identified another reason for yesterday’s lack of focus: I didn’t have a to-do list.
Tagged with: mark forster, productivity, time management, to-do list
All talked out
My back-to-back conference hopping in the past 10 days has plum worn me out.
Tagged with: gwa, nsgcd, productivity, self-care
Check out these productivity tips
This morning I read this interview with Gina Trapani, the lead editor of Lifehacker on Zen Habits. It’s an interesting interview. In addition to the many posts a day Trapani writes for Lifehacker, she’s the author of a paper version. Her book, which is now in a second edition called Upgrade Your Life: The Lifehacker Guide to Working Smarter, Faster, Better is a compendium from the best hacks from Lifehacker.com. I haven’t read it yet, but I do believe I’ll be purchasing it.
Tagged with: email, lifehacker, mark forster, productivity, time management, zen habits
Regaining control
I wrote on Friday about how my house had become cluttered and messy over the past couple of weeks of whirlwind activity and how I had feet of lead when I thought about doing anything about it. I ended that post with “I hope to report on Monday that my life and business are back in order and that I’m feeling clutter-free and empowered!”
Tagged with: clutter, disorder, empowerment, gwa, mark forster, productivity
Jott: Free no more
One of my favorite free services, Jott, is now out of beta and is no longer available as is free of charge. Jott allows you to dictate messages via your cell phone that are then emailed to you. I first blogged about it last January and posted a somewhat amusing cautionary note in March.
Tagged with: jott, productivity, time management
What's stopping you?
Most of my clients have a to-do list for organizing tasks. (Some clients can’t figure out where to start, but we take care of that in the first session.) At the end of a hands-on organizing session, we talk about what they plan to do between sessions to further their goals.
Tagged with: goals, mark forster, obstacles, productivity
Lace knitting: Not unlike organizing
Last night, as I worked on the Estonian Garden Wrap, a seemingly complicated and sort of overwhelming (for this novice lace knitter) knitting pattern, I realized that broken down to its simplest elements, it’s really pretty easy. And that’s not unlike any overwhelming project, like getting organized. Let me explain.
Tagged with: decluttering, empowerment, knitting, lace, motivation, perfectionism, productivity
Just a few minutes
Some days I look around my home or office and say to myself, “I really need to xxxxx” and it’s a general task like, “get organized” or “reorganize my closet.” Sometimes it’s just “create some order around here” when things have gotten out of hand.
Tagged with: 15 minutes, order, procrastination, productivity, time management, unclutterer
Creating a vision
Whenever I start working with a client, we talk about the vision they have for the space. I’m not talking about specifics like furniture placement. I want to know what the client is hoping to experience in the room, the feeling that she wants to get from the space. I ask the client to close her eyes and really feel it.
Tagged with: decluttering, focus, motivation, productivity
You know it's time to focus on organizing...
...when you can’t find stuff. The universe is putting me squarely in the shoes of my clients today. I’ve spend much of the day trying to find things. And so far, I’m having no luck!
Tagged with: clutter, decluttering, productivity
Here's quite a list of blogs
If you’re a blogophile and love reading about productivity and organizing, have I got a list for you. It’s The Top 100 Productivity and Lifehack Blogs from College Degree.com which offers online college degrees.
Tagged with: blogs, productivity
Lifehacker: Blog of the Week
This week I have to extoll the virtues of Lifehacker. It’s a fabulous combination of high- and low-tech tips on enhancing productivity and customizing things to make them a little more to your liking.
Tagged with: blog of the week, blogs, lifehacker, productivity
Keeping going
Yesterday I blogged about overcoming the reluctance to get started on a task, citing Mark Forster’s tip on fooling your reactive mind. Today, I’d like to share some of Forster’s advice about keeping going on tasks once you’ve started.
Tagged with: 15 minutes, mark forster, productivity, time management
Getting started
Do you ever have items on your to-do list that just loom there? You know you need to do them, you think about doing them, but you just can’t get going on it?
Sometimes, you just need to get started and once you overcome the resistance and do the task, it turns out that it’s not so bad. This happens to me all the time. I build up tasks in my mind, thinking they’re going to take forever, then they take no time at all.
Tagged with: 15 minutes, mark forster, procrastination, productivity, time management
A couple more free services for your cell phone
I love David Pogue, the technology columnist for the New York Times. Sometimes what he writes is over my head, but often I get great nuggets of information. I share his love of the MacBook, so I feel warm and fuzzy toward him.
Tagged with: david pogue, jott, productivity, technology, time management
Just fifteen minutes
I’m constantly amazed at what can be accomplished in just 15 minutes. I often advise my clients (and I do this myself) to set a timer for 15 minutes and focus on one task: decluttering, filing, sorting, etc. As long as they keep going until that timer dings, they’ll get a good amount done. It’s astounding what can get done in such a small amount of time. (As an aside, that’s one of the ways I use my beloved Time Timer.)
Tagged with: 15 minutes, big picture, focus, mark forster, productivity, time management, time timer
How are those New Year's resolutions coming?
Back at the beginning of 2008, I blogged about my constant craving for order as reflected in my January 1 journal entries year after year
Tagged with: clean desk, don't break the chain, goals, habits, new year, productivity
Don't forget -- postage rates go up today
It’s come: The day for which I’ve been stockpiling Forever stamps. First-class postage goes up to 42 cents today. The rate for an additional ounce stays the same at 17 cents, so a two-ounce letter will cost 59 cents to mail. In addition, the rate for a postcard goes up by a penny, to 27 cent
Tagged with: belt-tightening, postage, productivity
The Time Timer
Are you familiar with the Time Timer? It’s a tool, often recommended for people with ADD, that gives a visual representation of the passage of time.
Tagged with: geralin thomas, productivity, time management, time timer, tools
How do you eat an elephant?
I’m going through one of those periods again where I completely empathize with my clients. I had a very busy March and April (I was out of town half the month of April) and now that I have a little time to breathe, I look around my house and think, “I need a professional organizer!” There are no shortage of wonderful organizers here in St. Louis I could hire for help, but I’m going to try to economize and do the work myself.
Tagged with: 15 minutes, accountability, backsliding, decluttering, productivity, time management
Back to reality
After a glorious time at the NAPO conference in Reno (best part: interacting with fabulous organizers, worst part: staying in a hotel and casino full of smoke!), I’m home. I arrived home about midnight on Saturday night.
Tagged with: napo, productivity, time management
Meet Joe, the biggest challenge to my morning productivity
Each morning when I’m writing my blog post one of the biggest impediments to my actually accomplishing that task is Joe, my orange tabby cat.
Tagged with: cats, joe, productivity
Oldies but goodies
I like sharing new websites and shortcuts for making life a little easier. But there are some older sites that you may not know about that I’d like to share. These are sites I use regularly to make my life easier and more enjoyable. I hope you will too.
Tagged with: knitting, productivity, ravelry, time management, websites
Beware Jott playing cupid!
As I’ve written here before, I’m a big fan of Jott.com. It’s a service that allows you to send emails from your telephone while you’re on the go. You register on the Jott site, give them your cell-phone number, input a list of people you’d want to email via Jott (including yourself). Then you program Jott’s phone number into your cell-phone autodial.
Tagged with: jott, productivity, time management
A habit is born
As I’ve endlessly documented in this blog, I vowed this year to form the habit of clearing my desk at the end of each work day. The idea was that I would start work each morning with a clear desk, a clear mind, and major productivity. It’s something that I’ve strived for for decades and never been able to achieve.
Tagged with: accountability, clean desk, desk, don't break the chain, motivation, productivity
Have you tried Hulu yet?
The world of online entertainment took a giant step forward, in my opinion, when Hulu.com launched a couple of weeks ago.
Tagged with: productivity, rewards, television
My must-read blogs
In 2008, as part of my new dedication to getting a handle on my time, I’ve been trying to read more blogs. That may sound counterintuitive…blog reading can be a huge time suck.
Tagged with: blogs, productivity
Priority management
Time management isn’t about managing time. It’s about managing priorities. We all have the same amount of time in a day to deal with. How we use it is an indication of our priorities.
Tagged with: balance, mark forster, michael neill, priorities, productivity, time management
Do It Tomorrow really works
As I’ve written here before, I decided on January 1 that 2008 would be the year that I take control of my time-management issues. That day, I selected probably a half dozen time management books from my shelf, each one espousing a different philosophy. I thought I’d make a commitment to a single system and really try to adhere to it for a month or so.
Tagged with: balance, control, desk, empowerment, focus, goals, mark forster, priorities, productivity, time management
A couple of time (and money) savers
This year I’m a quest to save time and be more productive. It’s going well. Thanks to the techniques found in Mark Forster book, Do It Tomorrow (link in the Links section at right) and Don’t Break the Chain I’m more productive than I’ve been in a long time.
Tagged with: don't break the chain, jott, mark forster, productivity, time management
The amazing power of a clean desktop
The habit I’ve been trying to instill with the Don’t Break the Chain method that I wrote about in a recent post is clearing my desktop at the end of the workday.
Tagged with: accountability, clean desk, decluttering, desk, don't break the chain, goals, habits, motivation, productivity, time management, workspace
Clutter can be such a barrier
It’s amazing to me what a barrier to productivity, to progress, to peace of mind clutter can be. I see it in my clients all the time. And I know from personal experience.
Tagged with: clutter, decluttering, empowerment, feng shui, focus, priorities, procrastination, productivity