Evan White

Organization is one of those things that you usually can’t escape (unless you are leaving a mess for someone else).  For most involved projects either you get organized up front or you delay and organize when the pain of the chaos is too painful to bear.

When Jay Gatsby’s parents found a To-do list from Jays youth with an exercise regimen and plans for self improvement they remarked with pride that, even though they had lost touch, they knew from clues like this that Jay would one day do great things.  I have a similar respect for organization.  A lot of us believe that “Plans are worthless, but planning is everything”, have To-do list apps and reminders, and post-It notes, calendars.  Few people that I know have a comprehensive organizational plan…its more ad hoc. Organization, like so many worthwhile habits, everyone knows they should do it but few practice it seriously.

After graduating college I took my first crack at organizing myself by incorporating my ideas into visual maps and hierarchies of values and principles.  I took notice when Joshua Bauman of Caffeinated Toothpaste, a college classmate of mine, blogged about his implementation of David Allen’s Getting Things Done and enthusiasm for PocketMod, the DIY PDA.

More recently I wrote a 10-year plan as part of an MBA course at Elmira College.  And I’ve read what some of the internet has to say about organization from Zen Habits to Scott Hanselman.  Kaizen, Covey, Chronofile…there is a lot to draw from.

In my own system I am able to plan events, keep track of projects, and keep a record of what I have done.  I didn’t try to adopt any polished system because I think ones organizational system should be personal and there is too much marketing pushing stuff that no one probably needs.  The system has evolved quite a bit. .

There are three things I try to do to stay organized.  1) Capture my ideas, 2) Plan my activity, and 3) reflect on my work and the results.

My main criteria are that the system be:

1. Simple so there is no gadgets to run or special materials to buy,
2. not so involved as to become a burden and
3. structured so that it covers all levels of planning

Sunday is the day for weekly scheduling and reviewing my To-do list. The items from the previous week that remain unfinished get transferred over to the next weeks outline in what I’ll call “The Transcription of Shame” until I come up with a better name.

Next steps from my list of active projects find their way to this week’s To-do list. Upcoming events from my calendar go to my weekly schedule so I don’t lose track of them.  So, for example, if I am going on a trip then I will add to my To-do list the task to pack a suitcase.  Visually, I can see where I can schedule these To-do items and I prefer to use paper to a digital planner by far.  I can always schedule a reminder with Siri in a snap as a backup reminder.

During the week I take a few minutes each day to schedule errands and figure out what To-do items to tackle as well as record what I did on the previous day.

Sunday’s planning session is also a chance to review the past week and record the highlights in a monthly log. I can look across the previous years in the monthly log to see what I was up to years past.

Around this time last year I bought a kayak, launched a Windows 8 application at work, and went to Ocean City. Which reminds me–I should take my kayak out to Coyler Lake and plan a trip down to Virginia this summer.  If I neglect this log, then I am sure to miss events that I really enjoyed in years past.  Recently the Mud Sweat & Tears obstacle race and the free PSU Movin’ On concert slipped by unnoticed (until just after they were over!)  Looking at the Monthly Log is a timely reminder of birthdays and anniversaries too.

Another benefit to the monthly log is a high level view of my activity so that I can gauge whether I am slacking in certain areas (think running) or spending a lot of time doing something (think beer).

The Weekly Outline and Monthly Log are the most helpful tools for the tactical day-to-day work and ultimately what gets things done.  My longer term goals and general reflections find their way into my quarterly and annual review, which is a subject for another day.

Below is a link to the template for the Monthly Log sized to fit four years to one page and be printed on both sides of the paper (duplex).

Flashback Calendar.xls