(N/A) Organizing your life?

Brian Austin

Brian Austin

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Brian Austin
How do you do it? Is it effective for you?

As more and more "stuff" and activities accumulates in my life, I find myself forgetting things or doing things more than once by accident. I've come to the conclusion that my previous style of organizing myself (ie keep it in my head) is simply lacking for my busier lifestyle.

I've tried the Franklin-Covey system. Interesting concept and works for a while until stuff starts to build up. Ineffective for me.

I've read a few books on the subject but found all of them lacking in some way. Some don't fit my style, others simply ignore technology trends today that can help with this stuff.

And it must be technology centered. I'm a geek at heart and have the geektoys to go with it. PocketPC phone (Sprint PPC6700 with all the trimmings), a few laptops and Internet access pretty much wherever I can get a cell signal (which is surprisingly better than I've heard). I use Outlook regularly and am rather Microsoft-centric, primarily due to my workplace. One laptop is a Linux (Fedora) OS but isn't useful with my PDA or work stuff.

I'm looking for recommendations on books, seminars, systems, whatever, that you've used or seen others use effectively. The key word is EFFECTIVE here, though. Please post your recommendation, along with why it works for you (or someone you know) and what types of things you do with it. Systems aren't specifically software oriented or have a name associated with them. Even paper lists in a wallet is a system, provided it's used effectively.

Thank you in advance for any input.

(Now if I can just remember to come back here to look at the responses....) ;)
 
I've had the same problem. Outlook keeps me pretty organized at work, but I don't have access to it at home or on the road. Someone here posted a link to the new Google Calendar. I started using it, and I LOVE this thing. It's kept me way more organized than Outlook ever did. I have it set to email me a daily agenda every morning (at 5am) so it's waiting on me when I get up in the morning (as well as email and phone text message alerts for special events). I tend to check email first thing anyway, and with the agenda I know what I'm supposed to do today..both for work and personal life. You just have to remember to add the events in the first place, which so far I've been pretty good at doing.

I like Google Calendar better than Outlook for several reasons. The first and foremost is the ability to have several different calendars that I can overlap and color code. I can have them visible or not, when ever I chose by just clicking the label. I also can share any one of those caledars with someone else if I choose, and I can control if they just see the schedule or can edit it and add others. There is also a function where you can leave notes for each other on each scheduled item. Best of all, you don't have to own a MS product to use it.

I used to carry around a PDA, but mine kept re-booting for some unknown reason and loosing all it's data, so I stopped. I just haven't bought another one. I really don't miss carrying it around though.
 
I use a blackberry sync'd to my outlook. I keep a desktop at work running all the time and it forwards specified e-mail addresses to the handheld. I use a laptop for all actual "work". I enter all appointments and tasks into the berry while away from my desk. This system has served me very well, without it I'm lost.


James Dean
 
You know, I can't help but notice that you are posting that thread - in addition to the freezer one - at a time that your wife is gone. Is there a connection here too? :p

This isn't perfectly on point, but my personal system is: unless there is a legal (taxes) or extremely sentimental (photos, collectables) reason not to do so, everything that sits without being touched for more than 12 months is automatically thrown away, or sold if it is worth anything.. It has worked well at keeping my house, and especially my basement, relatively uncluttered.

At work I use a more stringent standard of six months, unless policy says otherwise (or it is "seasonal" equipment.)
 
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work - outlook to remind me of meetings, and an open Franklin Covey daily planner, propped up, on my desk. (you can buy those bookstand thingies for them). I write a master list of all projects to work on and check them off as completed. I don't go into detail at all - just a list of what I'm working on. I also don't re-write the list daily, usually just weekly (which I know, wastes all that paper in between but mostly the outlook is to remind me of meetings and other details).

I also keep open projects in my inbox IF I haven't started them yet or replied to that specific email. and file all emails immediately in their own project folders once I do start them.

home - mostly just write lists as I think of things I gotta do. for instance, my library project. I'm making one of my rooms into a "library" so I've got a number of things to accomplish to do so. painting walls, buying furniture, etc etc.

otherwise it's in the ol' noggin. but the lists really make a difference. especially if I write them up on Saturday morning before I head out to do errands.
 
I have tried a lot of things but now I live on M$ Outlook (mandated b work) and I synchronize it with my Motorola Razor phone calendar. It works fine and it is easier than carrying a palm pilot.
 
alaskaflyer said:
You know, I can't help but notice that you are posting that thread - in addition to the freezer one - at a time that your wife is gone. Is there a connection here too? :p
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Hmmmm....just cleaning up the old stuff in my life? Did I mention my wife is seven years older than I am? :D

(just kidding and if the wonderful yet delightfully web-phobic woman ever sees this, my login was hijacked. Just ask me) :goofy:
 
Hey Brian, is yours a Smartphone or a Pocket PC phone? My 8125 PPC with Windows Mobile is having obvious CPU umph/MS software bug problems, to the the point the volume control sometimes won't work during a call. Mine has the mere 190MHz CPU. Do ya think they ever tested it?

I sent back the Symbian Nokia I had for the same reason. Why don't the carriers test to see if it WORKS AS A PHONE?
 
mikea said:
Hey Brian, is yours a Smartphone or a Pocket PC phone? My 8125 PPC with Windows Mobile is having obvious CPU umph/MS software bug problems, to the the point the volume control sometimes won't work during a call. Mine has the mere 190MHz CPU. Do ya think they ever tested it?

I sent back the Symbian Nokia I had for the same reason. Why don't the carriers test to see if it WORKS AS A PHONE?
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Mine is a Pocket PC phone. I've had occasional lockups (maybe once every two to three weeks) but other than that, it's been pretty good. I'm still stuck with some basics (like Pocket Outlook, Calendar, Tasks) because my favorite PIM (Pocket Informant) has issues with Mobile 5 phones when I last checked.

The phone is an Audiovox (since sold to UTStarcom) PPC6700 branded by Sprint. I was a little irritated about the lack of accessories for charging until I realized that the thing will charge off of a USB port, too. No issues with charging now.

I love the Bluetooth and EVDO access on it. I was in a doctor's office waiting for my wife and set the phone up beside me, connected my laptop to it via Bluetooth and was surfing the web at 400Kbps. Slick!
 
Probably not enough to meet your "technology based" requirement but I keep business and personal "appointments" in my pocket size, 2 page per day Day Timer. The Day Timer has served me well for more than a dozen years.

At the office, the company uses the calendar function within Lotus Notes to schedule meetings and such. I religiously enter meetings when I accept them into my Day Timer.

At home, the master schedule for Cub Scouts, gymnastics, swimming and the rest of the family things is on a Month at a Glance Day Timer sheet. Karen (wife) keeps that up to date. I keep my Day Timer in sync with the family calendar for non recurring "appointments".

I use a simple Excel spreadsheet to track my at work to do list (columns for priority, due date, task name, sub task name, status, general notes and a mark that indicates an update for a task since the last time I printed the "report"). The entries are free form as I'm the only one that uses the output and I enter what makes sense to me. I type faster than I write and I can resort the list as required. Typically I make notes on a printed version, periodically update the file, saving to a new version to keep a track record of progress and reprint.

Len
 
At work - outlook linked to a BlackBerry

At home/weekends/vacations/etc. - wife, model #2:D
 
Brian,

I only just saw your thread. FWIW, I am told by many people that I'm the most organized person I know. I know there must be some truth to it because I manage to do my job in fewer hours than my peers do. Keeps peace at home.

But before I start throwing out advice, I point out something you said that is critical. It has to fit your style. When you find something that works for YOU, you'll know it.

OK, so for me, it's really pretty simple:
(1) Mail and email: I deal with it immediately, including trashing mail and emails that I don't need to keep, and not even being tempted to read further if it's nothing I need to know, and I set a very high standard for that. I'm ruthless. If it does require action, I take that action immediately. Why? Because there's a tendency to set stuff aside and then keep going back over it again and again until you finally do something about it. I have a special folder for email, which I rarely use, for things I can't act on immediately but must act on eventually. I check it about once a week and when I do, if it can be acted on, I do it right then. I can't stress this enough. Going through piles of email and stuff is a HUGE time waster. This was the only bit of outside advice I ever got that I glommed onto and it has been huge. I also file stuff away in email folders immediately so I can find it again, and everything on a topic is together.
(2) I use a Palm Pilot. I use the calendar and to do lists religiously.
(3) I make quick decisions about what I can ignore, and then file (or throw) those things away never to darken my door again.
(4) For my schedule, which involves a lot of meetings, I have a file drawer with one folder for each day of the month. When something comes in that I need for a meeting I print it out immediately and file it under the right day. Then that morning, I can just pull out what I need for the day.
(5) I keep a notebook for meetings that aren't regular meetings and binders for stuff generated by the regular meetings.
(6) Above all, and this is where it helps that I'm in a managerial position, I control the technology--I don't let it control me. Email, phones, cell phones, etc., are there for MY convenience, not the convenience of others. I can and will turn off my phone and cell phone and close my door.

Beyond that, probably what helps me is that I was apparently born with awesome powers of concentration. I can concentrate so hard that I won't hear people talking to me. It really helps, and I don't know if that can be learned.

Judy
 
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