I listened to a great podcast about organising yourself: Note to Self, A Neuroscientist’s Guide to Getting Organized. It’s only 16 minutes long and it’s a must-listen for any busy person.
I have tried many ways of staying organised, many efforts not to drown, to cope, to manage, to keep everything going, to meet all my targets/requirements, to not go insane etc. There is no foolproof method, and each human being needs their own tailored system. I’ve tried Evernote, I’ve tried Pomodoro, I’ve tried pen and paper, the “4 hour workweek” and quite a few other ‘systems’ that people wrote books about but I’ve forgotten what they were called.
My current system is using the full power of Outlook and Outlook tasks. It’s been working pretty well for the last 3 years, but I still get side-tracked, overwhelmed, distracted, snowed-under etc. I’ll keep on plugging on though, and will slowly try to get better.
Things I do in Outlook:
- I have my timetable in Outlook
- As soon as I get an email with a due date, a meeting time or some other time in it, I make it into a meeting and put it in my diary.
- I use categories for Calendar appointments and Emails
- I use email rules, great tool.
- I use Outlook tasks and prioritise by using those little flags (today, tomorrow etc etc)
Below are the key take-aways from the Note to Self, A Neuroscientist’s Guide to Getting Organized podcast website:
1. Write down everything you need to do. Everything! Then prioritize what really needs to be first. Basically: brain dump with bullet points, then go through and number in order of importance. a Continue reading “Coping or staying organised”
- http://www.wnyc.org/story/neuroscientists-guide-getting-organized-plus-survey/ (back)
