Peace of Mind Organizing

The value of the to-do list

30 September 2008

Yesterday I blogged about how I couldn’t get anything done. The basic culprit was fatigue from attending back-to-back conferences and sleep deprivation from a needy poodle. But after a good night’s sleep and a little reflection, I identified another reason for yesterday’s lack of focus: I didn’t have a to-do list.

As I’ve blogged about before, I’m a follower of Mark Forster’s Do It Tomorrow method of time management. (Link to his book at right.) Among other things, he advocates a daily “will-do list,” one that contains only the things you actually plan to accomplish that day.

The crazy thing about time management systems and human nature is that when you need it most—that is, when you are crazy busy—you tend to ignore your time management system. That’s what happens with me. I’ve been traveling, going to conferences, and having relatively little control over my time, so I haven’t bothered with creating a daily task list. What I really needed yesterday, my first at-my-desk workday in a week and a half, was a really good, realistic to-do list. I did have a scribbled semblance of one, created at the NSGCD conference, but it related only to things that occurred to me as I listened to talks.

So today I shared some quality time with my task diary. I leave on Friday for eleven days of travel (two trips with a roughly 12-hour stint at home in between), so I really needed some time for reflection. My fear is that my lists for the next three days aren’t short enough to be realistic, but if I can keep control of my day, I have a fighting chance of getting done what needs to be done.

The key will be consult and modify the list each day. Wish me luck!

All talked out

29 September 2008

My back-to-back conference hopping in the past 10 days has plum worn me out.

The Garden Writers Association’s conference was great, as always. But I talked so much that my voice got hoarse. I came home, had the glorious wonderful day of shopping that I blogged about and then went immediately to the fantastic conference of the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization. That ended Saturday night.

I relaxed quite a bit yesterday (I had a lot of TV to catch up on!), though I did do a three-hour shift at the home of friends that was on the Compton Heights House Tour.

So today I had big plans. I had only one client, and it was a phone appointment and thought I’d spend the rest of the day catching up and being productive. But I didn’t plan on my poodle Pip keeping me up last night. (I don’t know if was because of the coming rainstorm or if something else is up.) And today I’ve been very unproductive.

So why I am posting this? I think as a reminder about the importance of self-care. This much being “on” at conferences was unavoidable. But I should have built more downtime into my calendar and given myself the day off today. Or at the very least perhaps I should have recognized earlier in the day that I needed a nap or just a break. Instead, I sat at my desk feeling uninspired and trying to work.

I’m hoping for a good night’s sleep tonight and a productive day tomorrow!

Watch that laptop!

23 September 2008

I’m typing this from the Las Vegas airport en route home to St. Louis. (Man, do I hate the Las Vegas airport…it’s hard to find any peace with all the slot machines and so forth. Plus it doesn’t appear you can even purchase a wifi connection.) Anyway, I just heard this announcement, “Attention, Marge Simpson [I changed the name], please return to security. You picked up the wrong computer.” Gulp. They made that announcement twice, then made another one asking her to pick up a white courtesy phone and call the operator.

Can you imagine? I wonder at what point the person who had Marge’s computer realized it. And what happens if she doesn’t hear the announcement? I’m sure she could be found, perhaps even before she flew away, but it would be such a bummer knowing that some stranger has your computer.

I hate having to remove my laptop from its bag and walk away from it. I have a white MacBook…there are many that look just like it. I’d like to devise some strategies for being away from my stuff as little as possible. Any suggestions?

I had to post this after returning home to St. Louis, because I couldn’t go online in Vegas. It’s lovely to be home with my little family!

Off to Portland!

18 September 2008

I’m leaving today on a 7:30 a.m. flight to Portland, Oregon, where I’ll attend the annual educational symposium of the Garden Writers Association. I’ve been going to these conferences every year since 1989 (I think I’ve missed three in 20 years) and even though I no longer make my living by writing and have never been a gardener, I continue to go. (I started attending when I worked in PR at the Missouri Botanical Garden.)

At the conferences, I see old friends and make new ones and I get an inside (sometimes VIP) look at most fabulous horticultural sites of the host city. And, of course, I have loads of fun. I confess: I’m a conference junkie.

This year, I have another role at the symposium. After 20 years of listening to talks, I’m actually giving one. It’s on organizing your writing business. I’m excited and honored to be included in the program.

I return on Tuesday night and hope to do some blogging from the road.

My last afghan squares

16 September 2008

Several weeks ago, I blogged about my sprint toward the finish line of the Knitting Olympics, where I almost achieved my goal of completing my Learn to Knit Afghan during the Summer Olympics. I did complete all the squares by the Sunday the Olympics ended, but the truth of the matter is that I had to re-knit the last two squares.

This afghan is comprised of 63 squares, each a different stitch pattern. They build on each other and the squares get more difficult, in general, as you knit through the book. So it should have come as no surprise to me that the last two squares were hard. But somehow it did, maybe because they didn’t look so difficult in the picture.

Square 62, the penultimate square, is called Decreasing Seamless Square. It’s knit on circular needles from the outside in, in stockinette stitch. By the time I knit this for the last time, I had considerable experience at it, since I’d started it (and gotten fairly far…all the way through once, in fact) at least six times. So without the time pressure of the Olympics, I fairly breezed through it, finishing it on August 29. Here it is:

Square 62: Decreasing Seamless Square

When I took a look at Square 63, called Increasing Seamless Square, the one I finished on August 24 right after the Olympics, I knew it just wasn’t good enough. I’m not sure how I messed it up, but it wasn’t symmetrical. It sort of reminded me of something my young poodle, Kirby, might knit (if he had thumbs). So I did it again. I finished it on August 31.

This one is also knit in the round, but you start from the inside and increase symmetrically as you go. It’s also knit in garter stitch, which means that you have to purl every other row, since it’s knit in the round. (Knitters will understand what I mean; if you’re not a knitter, just take my word for it that having to purl when you’re knitting in the round is a PITA.) It was very tricky starting with eight stitches on double-pointed needles and increasing from there. Anyway, that’s my excuse for the square not being gorgeous. But trust me, it looks way better than it did the first time I knit it.

Here it is:

Square 63 (the final square!): Increasing Seamless Square

Now that all the squares are finished, I have to figure out how many of them I want to use in the finished blanket (which I believe I’ll hang on the wall in our guest room). Then I have to arrange them. Then I have to sew them together (with yarn), then knit a border around the whole thing. It’s probably good that I didn’t really look past completing the squares when I started this project two-and-a-half years ago, because finishing it is going to be a bear. But I’m really looking forward to that achievement!

Regaining control

15 September 2008

I wrote on Friday about how my house had become cluttered and messy over the past couple of weeks of whirlwind activity and how I had feet of lead when I thought about doing anything about it. I ended that post with “I hope to report on Monday that my life and business are back in order and that I’m feeling clutter-free and empowered!”

I’m here to report that indeed the mess has been taken care and, better still, it was way less work than I expected. I’d built it up into this Big Project, which is what frequently happens when I’m feeling overwhelmed. (I see this in my clients too.)

On Saturday morning, I used “timed bursts,” a concept from my favorite time-management book, Do It Tomorrow and Other Secrets of Time Management, by Mark Forster (link at right). I set my timer for 10 minutes, stopped what I was doing when the timer went off and took a five- minute break, then set it for 15 minutes, followed by a five-minute break, then 20 minutes. By then I was finished with the picking up and putting away. I had hoped to work on my presentation to the Garden Writers Association (which I’m giving on the 20th), on Saturday but chose to knit instead. And that was okay.

On Sunday, I used timed bursts of 15 minutes to work on my presentation, alternating writing with doing laundry, and that worked very well. It’s not quite finished, but it will be today.

I still have quite a few things to accomplish before I leave town early Thursday morning, but they’re scheduled and, while I’ll be busy, I’m not feeling overwhelmed. I’m just going to have to be super efficient over the course of the next few days and I’m up to the task! That’s so much better than feeling overwhelmed and paralyzed like I was on Friday.

The power of clutter

12 September 2008

As I posted on Monday I had a crazy-busy week last week, leading a team of five other organizers to help a client get his house cleared out. This week, I’ve been doing follow up on that job. There’s been a certain amount of paperwork associated with it. And I had a NAPO St. Louis chapter meeting this week, which always generates paper.

The result is that I haven’t been home much, my work has produced lots of paper, and I’ve been tired. And you know what spells in my house? M-E-S-S.

August was a slow month for me, client-wise, so I had plenty of time at home to tend to my business and to put stuff away when I took it out. I felt in control. It’s amazing how quickly my house (and my offices) degenerated into cluttered messes in just a couple of weeks. And what’s also amazing is how debilitating that is. Looking at the mess just makes me want to take a nap. Knowing that I should be putting away, rather than reading political news, isn’t making me do it. I feel like I have lead in my feet.

I leave town next week for five days to attend the annual symposium of the Garden Writers Association (where I’m giving a talk on organizing your writing business) and as soon as I get back I hit the ground running with the annual conference of the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization. With that wacky schedule I know how important it is for me to regain control before I leave town. And I also know that I have a to-do list as long as my arm of things to accomplish before I leave on Thursday. So why haven’t I turned into a white tornado?

I’m actually grateful for times like this because they do such a good job of reminding me how my clients feel. I think the empathy I have for my clients is one of my strong suits, and boy am I feeling it this week. I hope to report on Monday that my life and business are back in order and that I’m feeling clutter-free and empowered!