Organization

Well, 2013 is now in full swing and if you haven't done so yet... It is a good time to GET ORGANIZED! Look at your task list for the day, week, month, and/or year.  I often get complimented for being so organized and successfully juggling MANY responsibilities at "one time," and yet, I feel like I am one of the most scatterbrained UN-organized people I know! Its true that I have achieved a lot of my goals, get a lot done in relatively short periods of time, and am now attempting to do so with an 8 month old in my arms...but I often feel overwhelmed by the amount of clutter-in-my-brain. I was feeling out of control when I thought about how many things were on my "have to do" list. I am now trying to pair down the "have to" list and figure out what I need on my immediate "do" list. Having a baby helps one set their priorities straight, but menial tasks, ingenious ideas, and BIG dreams shouldn't always be put on the back burner...

So, on New Years Eve, 12/31/12, a family friend of mine and I were discussing our resolutions and I had mentioned that last year my resolution was to "get more organized." I wasn't planning on it being my 2013 resolution as well, even though it will always be an ongoing goal of mine (and for most humans I presume?). However, after she introduced me to the following matrix (see diagram bellow) which she had learned about in a workshop she had attended, I took a stab at using it. And so it was on January 1st, 2013 I was hooked back into sticking with my 2012 resolution, Get Organized!

I opened up my laptop, clicked on my "to do" file (yes I already had one about a million miles long = at least a Terabyte ;)P), and then added in all of the voice recorded notes stored on my "smart" phone that I take while driving... The best train-of-thought and creative thinking happens for me while driving in my car. Driving, cars, love them, hate them, pollution, freedom, money suckers...can't win, why don't we have better public transportation, maybe we should move to Japan, no, the Japanese have been said to have the lowest "happiness" rates lately...do you see how my brain works?!. Anyhow, I now have my priorities set straight for the moment (or at least a moment). I am going to try to revisit them once a week (but I will be happy with once a month) to see if they need revising.

To tie this all up in a nice package, I now have 4 folders saved on my desk top that are placed in the following order:

1. Important/Urgent
2. Urgent/Unimportant
3. Important/Not Urgent
4. Not Important/Not Urgent (essentially a garbage can to collect my thoughts!)

Good Luck with organizing your boxes...let me know if you have any success using this tool! :)