Confession time. I am not naturally an organized person. I am a pile and purge person. Left to my own devices, things pile up way too long, until I feel supremely overwhelmed then I will go through in a manic frenzy and organize, purge, grade, do...until all surfaces are once again cleared. This is not a tip. This is the ugly truth of my environment. I have struggled with this for many years in my personal and professional life, but have found only one solution to this impossible habit; lists.
I love lists. I have a constant rotating list of things to do on my phone and iPad. I always have a paper list for something in my purse. Without lists I fear I would get nothing done, ever. Lists can be used for everything and are always user friendly. When you erase or check something off a list it is a wonderful positive reinforcement for me to keep working. They help me get things done on time, stay organized, think through things, and feel accomplished. Bulleted, numbered, or plain I love them all. I could tell you about how I love using composition notebooks and sticky notes and huge chart paper, but really just love them because I write lists on them. So make a list. Get organized. Get it done.
Footnote: I actually have a personal blog that is nothing but lists, sometimes prefaced sometimes not, but always a list. However because it contains writing of a personal nature I hesitate to post it here. Just making the point once again that I love lists.
Lists can be a great way to organize. And one's organization may not work for someone else, but it doesn't matter if it works for that one person! I also make a lot of lists in all sorts of places ...
ReplyDeleteI have making my way back to paper planners from years of Palms (in all its forms) and smartphones. I have never been as organized electronically as I was using a DayTimer.
ReplyDeleteThe reason being it is so much faster for me to write things down by hand than it is to enter on a small screen. Having said that, I will never give up my GCal, but I enter things on paper first.
One list I don't have that I definitely need is what to check for when leaving a hotel. My tablet charger was left a few hundred miles from here last week. It will cost more to have it shipped than to buy a new one.
I agree! I love paper lists! I have a notebook that is always near me at school. I write myself notes all day long and then at the end of the day I enjoy crossing things off!
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