It sounds counter-intuitive but it is the truth. How is it possible? I want to say philosophical things here. But the truth is, I’m lazy. I want to get the most done with the least amount of effort on my part. Being the lazy person that I am, I’ve adopted rules. Touch things only once. If I’m going to be doing it again, make it into a template. Forms and checklists are the easiest templates. They are fast to create and easy to use.
Be as specific or as general as needed. I know, very helpful. But it’s true.
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My wife and I have completely different ways of handling information. Me, I love seeing everything but without the details. I want the big picture. My wife wants each item on paper and detailed. What goes where, and when is it due. My system and hers are different; guess what, that’s ok.
Here are the basics of my current system. FYI: It changes without warning.
Tools
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GTD – This is my strategy for handling everything thrown my way. I’ve read all three books and implemented this system. Do I follow it perfectly? No. But I have come a long way since putting this system in place.
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Trello – I use this for my major projects, to gather information, and to deal with clients. Trello is my go-to for everything visual. I put clients work in here and then send the link to my clients so they can stay informed. The best part of this is that I only have to do work once. By having it available all the time my clients have access on demand.
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Todoist – This is my task manager of choice. I needed something that could connect to my phone and sync seamlessly online. This gets the job done. The only negative is that there is no client for my Mac. If they had a Mac client then I would be able to keep everything connected across my entire technology stack. Hope this is in the works. Either way, a great piece of software.
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Calendar – Anything that must get done on a specific date goes here. Recurring tasks, meetings, deadlines. All entered into here. My calendar is the holy grail. I live by it and allow it to control my life.
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Evernote – This is my online reference system. I used this for a task manager but it was not built for that. I use it as my second brain now. It holds all my memories and things that I need to know.
My recommendation to you. Find a system. Start small and go. Nothing needs to be perfect. But this will allow you to get more done and have a greater impact.
With my system in place, I have more time at home. More time to learn. And my favorite thing – read more books. I encourage you to try this out for yourself. Let me know how it goes.