Are you the type of person that procrastinates at the start of a project and find themselves frantically working to finish at the last moment? If you are then you are in desperate need of some creative ways to get organized and stay motivated. For me the beginning is the hardest part of the whole project. With that in mind and a looming list work I needed to get done I decided to see what fun ideas my fellow netizens have concocted to make getting over the hump a much more pleasant experience.
The Printable CEO
The one that I found most fun was The Printable CEO™ Series by David Seah. Basically its a paper tracking tool that assigns points to prioritized tasks much like a game. High prioritized critical tasks like bringing in new business receive the highest points, while lower priority tasks receive fewer or no points. The points system helps you focus on what is really important to your bottom line and helps keep you from wasting too much time on resource consuming low yield activities. Another nice benefit is that at the end of the day you have a quantitative measurement of your performance and how well you stayed on task. Even though my description makes this system sounds very structured and time consuming, it isn’t. He has made it extremely flexible to use and requires very little time to maintain.
Also check out the task tracking system that David Seah has created called The Task Destruct-o-Matic. This system can be used for more specific tasks and is actually great fun. I have been using it for the last few days and love it.
The Pocketmod
For years now I have had a one page, multi column word file that works as a snap shot of what I need to get done that day. The columns list all the work I need to finish, everything that I have purchased that day, and a list of the exercises that I completed (unfortunate this column doesn’t get used much). Each night when I get home I pull out my trusty folded piece of paper and transfer the information to my checkbook, exercise log (again mostly blank) and update the word file with my new schedule to be printed out for the next morning. I like this system because it folds up easily in my pocket, I can easily add notes for the day and it’s easy to store in a binder to use as a daily journal of what I have accomplished.
While this work pretty well The PocketMod really takes things up a level. It is a small flash program that prints out all sorts of lists and prints them all out on one 8.5” x 11” sheet of paper that can be folded into a little book.
It’s a good system and they have a good selection of lists you can add to your booklet . The only thing I don’t like is that I couldn’t find an easy way to electronically transfer my lists over to the PicketMod. To be honest I didn’t check the forums or look too deeply into how to do this so must likely there is a way, I’m just too lazy at the moment to find out how.
Freemind
For those of you that like as much freedom as possible in your creative process try Freemind. Freemind is a mind mapping tool written in Java and is just wild. I have been using it for about six months to help me brainstorm business ideas. It is an excellent tool to have when trying to flush out those more intangible ideas. Instead of spending a lot of time trying to explain how it works I suggest that you just download it for yourself and give it a whirl. Good stuff.
Backpackit
My last tool is an online organizational site called Backpackit. After setting up an account Backpackit allows you to make lists and notes that are easily accessible from any computer that has an internet connection. The free account allows you to have up to 5 lists, after that they have several service tiers which cost anywhere from $5 to $19 a month.
I have been testing it the last few days and I like that I can store ideas quickly on the web instead of sending myself an email every few hours. Aside from that I don’t see myself using it much, the idea of my information hosted by an outside company never appealed to me.
EDIT: Since I first posted this article I have to take back what I originally said about the usefulness of Backpackit.com. I am now using it everyday to keep track of my todo list.
Wrapping it up
All these tools are great but I give The Printable CEO and Freemind my personal thumbs up. Both are flexible, adapt well for my style of working and best of all are FREE. The main thing is just to make things fun and lighthearted. Who knows, maybe taxes will be fun this year, NOT!
Happy organizing.
