« No buts about it | Main | Alternating parent duty »
Week 10 - Empty the head; write it down
One change each week. This week: Write it all down.
Sometimes I carry around a "to do" list in my head. Trust me; this is just about the worst thing to do.
The trouble is that the mind does not know how to sort out the list and tell me (honestly) which things are the most important and which things really need to get done right away. The unconscious mind has this list of things, and then it randomly sends them up to the conscious mind. As far as my brain can figure out, each item on the list is of equal value.
My brain fires out these random items from the list: check the movie schedule, write a thank-you to a customer, spend an hour on your tax return, pick up milk at the grocery. This brain thinks they are all equally important, equally worthy of my immediate attention.
What happens? While I'm doing taxes, the brain is talking to me about movies. In the middle of a movie the brain is reminding me about taxes.
Time management? No. Just a hodgepodge of "to do" items swirling in my brain all day long.
The solution is simple: Write them down. Do a brain dump. Clear the brain of all this clutter.
Here's how it works:
- Set aside half an hour. Use normal size paper or write with a computer.
- Make a list of everything that's on your mind. Everything. Business, personal, spiritual, health, family, friends. Everything.
- Write everything. The big things and the smallest things. Things for this week and things in the far future. The whole idea is to get these out of your brain and onto paper.
- Don't bother to put them in logical order.
- Don't bother to put them in order of importance.
- Take a break.
- Come back an hour later and spend a few minutes adding to the list.
- Do not remove anything from the list.
If you've done it right, all the "to do" items in your head are now on the paper. You don't need to think about them any more. If something new pops into you head, add it to the list.
- After each item on the list, write down the first action that needs to be taken. For example, if the item is "going to a movie," the next action will be "check movie listings." If the item is "plant a garden," the next action might be "buy seeds."
- One or two words is enough.
- Don't prepare a total action plan for each item.
Now when you are ready to plan your next day (or your next hour), everything is right there. You can pick some things based on "top priority" or based on "this will be fun."
This is what I'm doing this week, and intend to re-visit and update my list once a week.
Ross Runkel, Post Office Box 1031, Salem, Oregon
97308-1031.
Phone 503-399-8028. Fax 503-566-8844. email Ross@LawMemo.Com
