YAOS

[slightlymadmom]

Trying Yet Another Organizing Scheme. If this one doesn't work, it will crash and burn bigtime. I was feeling optimistic, now I am not -- but that could be apprehension at having to deal with everything. Also there is a bigger start up cost to this...It is David Allen's Getting Things Done, and it has several recommendations. I think that even

Comments

[qrssama]

You can do it. You are wonderful and amazing and brilliant.

[arkaycee]

Ain't she just?

[slightlymadmom]

Gee, thanks guys! Back atcha both!

[arkaycee]

I picked that up and started reading it myself. I'd like to convert to his system from my (highly-modified Franklin Planner Software) system; I think his way is much more efficient than mine.

[slightlymadmom]

Well, I'm in the middle...I still need to get through enough of the ideas to figure out how to make the right "system". But I have already gotten some things cleared out, including in my brain, by setting up for this.

I was trying to use the Franklin on line system, but the new release has more bugs than the old one (at least on my Dell laptop it does). But I haven't had time, excuse me, taken the time to deal with those issues...they are on my list, though ;-)

[slightlymadmom]

Found my $100 pair of headphones; hadn't seen them since I left my last job, I think. The material on the ear pads was falling apart (well, they are probably almost 20 years old...). With it was a bunch of pictures from 1994, including my 30th birthday party, where a lot of people are dressed in black. I wonder whose idea that was! Plus qrssama's old boyfriend and current husband (and my old boyfriend and current husband too! That's amusing!)

Moved a bunch of containers so like things are together, even if they do not have a "correct" place to be. Plus the containers I bought a week or two ago are all filled, and seem to be helping. Now to get all the excess stuff for Work out of here...not sure it's possible, but there is not room to keep it around without way more shuffling.

[mechaieh]

I like Brown's book, which I borrowed from the BYM -- haven't adopted much of what's in it yet, but am slowly converting my filing system into alpha-only, which makes sense.

I started using a Franklin Planner again last year. It makes the BYM wince, because I'm strictly a paper calendar/list girl -- none of this digital assistant stuff for me -- but given that I actually pay the bills on time, remember tickets, etc., he's not nudging me to get with the 21st century *too* loudly. ;-) (Plus, mine doubles as a super-swanky purse, and you wouldn't believe the compliments I get on it...)

The biggest issue for me isn't system (or lack thereof), it's just sheer amount of things to do vs. not done. Hence the piles on every horizontal surface of the house at the moment, other than the dog and the bed.... but saying "no" more often is definitely helping, as well as getting realistic about the fact I'm never going to read all those old annual reports, etc., so I might as well recycle them already. ;-)

*cheers you on* Good luck!

[slightlymadmom]

Thanks...and good luck to you getting fewer things to do. Glad to hear Franklin is working for you. I prefer the on line because I hate re-copying to-dos, but I suspect it wouldn't happen as much if I were better about what things go on each day vs. what things go in a global to-do list, etc.

Getting realistic about what to recycle is a *big* help! I am getting better, but that still leaves lots of paper around...

Crash and Burn

[he_who_wanders]

One of the things I realized is that when I try some kind of organizational change and it does crash and burn that does NOT mean it won't work for me. It means as a human I am going to f*ck up. Then I need to decide if that actually means the system doesn't work for me or if I should keep trying, possibly with modifications. If you've spent any time trying to change something about yourself; (diet,exercise,organization) it is easy to get caught in the trap of thinking just because you have a moment of weakness or a meltdown that it means you need to try something new and you "failed" again. YMMV

Re: Crash and Burn

[slightlymadmom]

Yes, this is true! However, sometimes I set myself up for crash and burn so I can say "look, it doesn't work/I can't do this". I haven't managed to stick with any overall planning system (vs calendar) productively for any length of time, although I do have more Franklin planners than any other kind, and I am able to use them somewhat usefully.

It's easy for me to see these days that diet issues are *not* that the diet won't work -- it's that I have stopped having whatever motivation that allows me to use it. I think I can see the same thing with Franklin -- it is definitely a tool that is better for me than some others, I just need to use it.

Back to digging out the office -- e-mail is down at the moment, so while I thought that was one less distraction, instead I am checking every few minutes to see if it is back up...silly.