So, here we are again. After another job change, another move, numerous large expected and unexpected expenses, I’m finding myself in a state of disorganization. Life has certainly been hectic over the past few months. I’ve found a fantastic young lady and remarried and also upgraded my employment to a job that suits my lifestyle and career goals much better than the last one. On top of this, we’ve moved to a new place, not far from the last one, but moving is one of those disruptive events that has the potential for disrupting routines and budgets and, worst of all, starting bad habits of spending and non-productivity.

I’m not writing to express my sense of self-pity, but to take the first step in dealing with the issue at hand: Yes, I admit it: I’m completely disorganized right now. I know that I need to take a few steps to get out of the rut I’m falling into. Based on past experiences, here is what I’ve come up:

1) Just admit it, you’re a mess! OK, we’re done with this step. My budget is in the red and my house is full of boxes. Too much eating out and not enough unpacking are the main culprits. Sure, I can use the excuse that my wife and I both work full time and we have kids to take care of, etc, etc, but those are the realities of most people’s lives these days.

2) Get the clutter of your head first. This is all about one of David Allen’s most powerful techniques. If you haven’t heard of Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, then you must have been living under a rock. Go check it out now. This is the idea of getting all of those little (and big) things that are cluttering your mind, out of your head and into some place where they can be organized, acted on, or filed away as necessary.

This can take the form of just opening up a text file on your pc and typing line by line all of the things that are worrying you, writing it all down on paper, or even just gathering up all those bills, receipts, and notes to self and putting them in one box or pile to be gone through. When you think of or come across something else that should go in this list or pile, get it there as soon as possible. There’s no need to be handicapped by carrying all of those anxieties around with you.

3) Make a plan. This is another important step. Now that you have all these things in a pile of some sort, figure out what you have to do with each thing. Obviously, I can’t put all of the boxes in my house into one big pile, but I know I have to do something about it. How about my wife and I commit to clearing out one room today. This is, in fact, what we have talked about. Today is Sunday and we’re both off of work and the kids are out of the house until tomorrow. Our goal is to clear out our family room first.

I’m making this a much more concrete goal by committing to it to writing and publishing it on my blog, so I’ll have to keep that in mind as I work through the day.

We’ve also taken steps to reign in our nasty little habit of dining out. We’ve purchased the makings of cheap lunches and taken them to our jobs so that we always have a quick, inexpensive option that we can take advantage of right in the office rather than having to leave work and spend money. We’re also working on doing the same thing at home. After working all day, no one wants to come home and spend an hour cooking a meal. We’re going to shop for some quick and cheap meals for home, too.

4) Execute. This is the tough part. We’ve already started working on some of the things that we need to do to reign in our budget and our clutter, but this is definitely a mountain to climb. It’s really difficult to stick with a plan that involves climbing a mountain every day, though. The solution to this dilemma is to break up these tasks into small pieces. For instance, if we can commit to unpacking one box each night, we will continually be making progress towards our goal of having a clutter-free home. This is a doable task, even after working all day and fighting through traffic for an hour to get home.

Also, we can allow ourselves to have a lunch out once a week instead of every day. We can do the same with dinners, too, but on a more limited basis since those can easily get way too expensive. If we can commit to eating out only once or twice a month instead of two or three times a week, then we can make some real progress.

In the end, it’s necessary to start taking some action in a positive way in order to overcome the stresses induced by too much clutter, whether it be a box-filled home, piles of unpaid bills, or a mind filled with anxieties about all of the above and more. Feel free to leave a comment and share your ideas.

Even if it’s a daily to do list scribbled on a scrap of paper, it can help us to focus on what is most important for us to get done today. Sometimes, though, it’s hard to get going on some of these tasks that must be accomplished. Often it’s because they are bigger or more complex tasks and we’re not sure where to start. The answer to dealing with this sort of issue is to break the task down into even smaller microtasks.

Steve Pavlina recently wrote an article about microtasks and describes them this way:

A solution I’ve found more effective is to break a large project down into a lengthy list of “microtasks,” planning it all the way from beginning to end if possible. A microtask is a very basic action item, so small that you’d be hard pressed to break it down any further without it being ridiculous to do so. An example of a microtask is to make a 5-minute phone call. If you have to break it down into dialing the phone number, you’re going too far.

I can see where it might be easy to get carried away with this idea, but for many of us it’s useful to reduce complex tasks down into the smallest possible pieces. For a complicated and unfamiliar project, this can be a great way to really understand what it will take to get it done. Some people in the programming business will create design documents before beginning a project and these documents often describe the tiniest of steps required to create the finished product.

The great thing about this is that it creates a blueprint or roadmap for completing the project. All the programmer has to do is follow it step by step and put it into code. The same can be done for many other parts of our lives.

I’m not suggesting that everyone sit down and write out endless lists of what they have to do in every facet of their lives, but I definitely know that this can be helpful in getting past stumbling blocks or when we are feeling completely overwhelmed by the crush of many responsibilities. All of the obligations in our lives can feel like a terrible weight and sometimes we can lift some of that weight just by thinking about our goals and tasks and beginning to accomplish them, one tiny piece at a time. Any perception of progress helps make your outlook more positive and to motivate you on to further progress.

He makes a good point about making too many folders to put stuff into. Namely, that things get even more disorganized through an overeager attempt at organizing. I’ve run into the same problem myself in my email program at work. I’m sure many of us have.

Another point he makes is also good to remember even if you are not yet a GTD proselyte: “Bottom line: ensure that all the folders, buckets, nets, and boxes in your life exist to support action above all else.” What use is organizing all this stuff if you never do anything with it? Check out the whole article.

Tags: GTD Getting Things Done productivity organize