What goes where?
August 5, 2009 2:35 PM Subscribe
What are some methods for compartmentalizing my life?
Is it GTD / Covey or something else? It feels odd to try and shove things into compartments but it seems necessary otherwise I end up kind of drifting until something urgent comes up. Are there any unique solutions out there?
Is it GTD / Covey or something else? It feels odd to try and shove things into compartments but it seems necessary otherwise I end up kind of drifting until something urgent comes up. Are there any unique solutions out there?
Response by poster: Thanks phrakture. Mainly how people deal with inputs - things like that email reminding you to pay your Discover card bill, the leaky bathroom faucet, the thoughts of getting a new job, etc.
posted by philad at 4:06 PM on August 5, 2009
posted by philad at 4:06 PM on August 5, 2009
Create an "inbox" for yourself, either virtual or real. On each sheet of paper, write one thing you need to get done, just one. And it can be anything from clean out the car to pay the cc bill to fix the faucet, or any step in getting any of those done. The more specific and finite, the better.
Put the whole stack in your inbox, and then start at the top. Do whatever the first thing is on the top, then recycle it and move on to the next thing.
You'll get things done, because once you get in the habit of doing stuff, you'll probably stay in the habit of getting things done. It feels good to accomplish things.
posted by stewiethegreat at 4:23 PM on August 5, 2009 [1 favorite]
Put the whole stack in your inbox, and then start at the top. Do whatever the first thing is on the top, then recycle it and move on to the next thing.
You'll get things done, because once you get in the habit of doing stuff, you'll probably stay in the habit of getting things done. It feels good to accomplish things.
posted by stewiethegreat at 4:23 PM on August 5, 2009 [1 favorite]
GTD IS quite nice for compartmentalizing thanks to the use of contexts. There is a single collection bin, so that capturing anything is quick and painless. Then one sets aside some time to go through that inbox.
The tasks within can then be assigned to a context, e.g. "work," "home," "local errands," etc. They can also be assigned priority.
The point is to make it much easier to decide what to do at any given time:
->"What context am I in?"
->"Home."
->"What's the highest priority task for that context?"
->"Task X."
->(Do it.)
It's still on you, though, to resist doing work at home :) GTD just gives a little direction.
posted by dualityofmind at 4:36 PM on August 5, 2009 [4 favorites]
The tasks within can then be assigned to a context, e.g. "work," "home," "local errands," etc. They can also be assigned priority.
The point is to make it much easier to decide what to do at any given time:
->"What context am I in?"
->"Home."
->"What's the highest priority task for that context?"
->"Task X."
->(Do it.)
It's still on you, though, to resist doing work at home :) GTD just gives a little direction.
posted by dualityofmind at 4:36 PM on August 5, 2009 [4 favorites]
dualityofmind has the right answer.
Along with that goes time management- schedule yourself in such a way so that wherever you are, you can focus on THAT, and not get pulled in a thousand different directions trying to do everything at once. Give yourself as much time as necessary each day to be able to quickly re-order and slot your tasks and roles according to the various demands on you.
And personal responsibility- have the tyranny of will (and self-trust) to delegate things to your future self, and know that you will take action when the time comes.
Third, take a hard look at how you work, and design your system around that. Some people need a clock to pace their day. Some people (like me) prefer to be event-based. IE, "keep working through role X tasks until Y happens, and then move on to Z tasks."
Fourth, you have to develop the necessary habits to make your system work. When you are working on X, and some interruption appears, have the knowledge and flexibility to decide what to do with that interruption immediately. I guess what I'm saying is to never ignore a new thing- always do the required categorization immediately so that you know that you will be able to deal with the task when the appropriate time comes. Metaphor: when you take your pants off at night, put them where they need to be for the next time you will need your pants. In the hamper, or on the hook. If you drop them on the floor, you are creating another job for yourself in the future that's going to interrupt whatever you are working on.
(Or, teach yourself to be your own administrative assistant.)
posted by gjc at 5:38 PM on August 5, 2009 [2 favorites]
Along with that goes time management- schedule yourself in such a way so that wherever you are, you can focus on THAT, and not get pulled in a thousand different directions trying to do everything at once. Give yourself as much time as necessary each day to be able to quickly re-order and slot your tasks and roles according to the various demands on you.
And personal responsibility- have the tyranny of will (and self-trust) to delegate things to your future self, and know that you will take action when the time comes.
Third, take a hard look at how you work, and design your system around that. Some people need a clock to pace their day. Some people (like me) prefer to be event-based. IE, "keep working through role X tasks until Y happens, and then move on to Z tasks."
Fourth, you have to develop the necessary habits to make your system work. When you are working on X, and some interruption appears, have the knowledge and flexibility to decide what to do with that interruption immediately. I guess what I'm saying is to never ignore a new thing- always do the required categorization immediately so that you know that you will be able to deal with the task when the appropriate time comes. Metaphor: when you take your pants off at night, put them where they need to be for the next time you will need your pants. In the hamper, or on the hook. If you drop them on the floor, you are creating another job for yourself in the future that's going to interrupt whatever you are working on.
(Or, teach yourself to be your own administrative assistant.)
posted by gjc at 5:38 PM on August 5, 2009 [2 favorites]
GTD goes a long way in helping with this due to the idea of inboxes and contexts. You can have a letter tray to act as an inbox for mail, for example, and you already have an inbox for email. The trick is to then work through them all regularly, but not in a haphazard fashion. I work through my letter tray twice a week, going through everything that's in it, for instance.
Another rule is, "A place for everything and everything in its place". It's a bit cheesy but very true. I've helped several people to de-clutter their homes and it really helps. To compartmentalize your life you first need to be clear and organized otherwise stuff gets lost in the mix. That's where inboxes help, because you then know where to put stuff that requires action rather than dumping it in a corner or on a table somewhere.
Thirdly, another GTD tip is to get stuff off your head. I designed a master list to track stuff that needs my attention. Every time I think of something to do I'll jot it on there, so I'm not carrying the weight of it on my mind. So, for instance, when you get that email reminding you about your Discover card bill, you'd write that down so you won't forget, it's regularly in front of you and you're motivated to act on it so you can tick it off as complete.
Other than that I could go on and on about how to get more organized/productive, but I think gjc above made several good points so I'll leave it there.
posted by jmspikers at 1:47 AM on September 4, 2009
Another rule is, "A place for everything and everything in its place". It's a bit cheesy but very true. I've helped several people to de-clutter their homes and it really helps. To compartmentalize your life you first need to be clear and organized otherwise stuff gets lost in the mix. That's where inboxes help, because you then know where to put stuff that requires action rather than dumping it in a corner or on a table somewhere.
Thirdly, another GTD tip is to get stuff off your head. I designed a master list to track stuff that needs my attention. Every time I think of something to do I'll jot it on there, so I'm not carrying the weight of it on my mind. So, for instance, when you get that email reminding you about your Discover card bill, you'd write that down so you won't forget, it's regularly in front of you and you're motivated to act on it so you can tick it off as complete.
Other than that I could go on and on about how to get more organized/productive, but I think gjc above made several good points so I'll leave it there.
posted by jmspikers at 1:47 AM on September 4, 2009
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posted by phrakture at 3:53 PM on August 5, 2009