A Quest
Further explorations in my search for a cure for my disorder disorder
I didn’t write very much at all through January. A few little things and no Quadrants.
Why?
I tell myself I’ve been busy. I’ve been thinking, sorting, and trying to figure things out.
I’ve realized that I have a lot of things I’d like to do and not forever to do them. I need to get more stuff done, I think. And I need to be better organized.
The Quest for Order
I’ve been trying to “get organized” since, well, forever.
I think I might have been fairly neat and tidy as a child. If that was so, it was probably because I didn’t have a lot of “stuff” to get out of order.
During my school days, do not remember ever keeping careful track of classes and homework in any way. I just relied on memory and notes here and there.
It took until the 1980s for me to realize that I needed a system.
I bought a “class” on audiocassettes titled “Your Time and Your Life.”
This system, devised by Charles Hobbs, helped with prioritizing and getting tasks in order. It was built around the used of Day-Timer diaries. There was a way to use the calendar, and keep daily records, and lots of shortcuts and tips to help the user keep everything he needed to do in order.
Well, I tried. I bought Day-Timers for years, and kept the calendar mostly up to date.
But all that weekly review and monthly review, and reprioritizing and everything—it didn’t really happen. I just ended up with a lot of barely used Day-Timer diaries (and plastic boxes to keep them in))
Electronic Systems
The arrival of computers heralded a host to “to do” programs. I was always looking for the one that was going to help me get my act together.
The one I remember best—it has the coolest name—was Sidekick. It had appointments, and contacts and dialers and notes and other fancy stuff, all integrated. It was cool!
All you had to do was keep adding data and updating it, and my act would, officially, be “together.”
No, I never got my act together on Sidekick.
Nor did the arrival of the first generation of PDAs (you remember them—the Palm Pilot for example—your personal digital assistant.)
I spent time working with the David Allen GTD system (Get Things done). It’s a really good system. It encourages you to organize things in a way that there are no loose ends, scattered around to distract. It focuses on focus.
It didn’t really help me get things done.
In recent years, I have become pretty good about maintaining my computer calendar. And I use it to send myself reminders, so even if I don’t look at the calendar screen, I am getting nudges via e-mail (which I notice and use).
Once More into the Breach Dear Friends, Once More
Throughout the month of January, I kept making notes, gathering ideas, and generally trying to document all the “stuff” that was up in the air.
I have had an old stack of 3x5 cards that I made during my Day-Timer period. They were the result of an exercise Hobbs recommended.
The first three cards in the little deck are titled “Create Order.”
Well, there you are. It’s true. I really, really want me some of that.
Over the month, I think I found an approach that might just work for me. It might be useful. It may be something I can maintain. It may have long-term value. And here’s the twist to the story: It might even be a little bit of fun.
Stay tuned. I’ll tell you about it.
Anon.
Ridge