Collecting your thoughts helps you stay focused on your goals. Let’s set up a Simplification Binder to collect your thoughts. The current series of articles in this newsletter includes information that may trigger ideas and solutions for your situation. Organizing these discoveries and thoughts in a simplification binder creates a toolbox to support you on your simplification journey

1. Start with a three-ring binder. Separate sections with dividers. (Try Post-its on a blank page. This simple method makes it easy to make new sections on the fly.)
2. You may want sections for:
-blank paper to explore thoughts in a journal writing style
-articles, tools and/or tips that particularly speak to you
-worksheets
3. Label the spine of your binder with a descriptive title such as “Simplify!”

Make sure you keep your binder nearby, so it’s handy when you need it to be. (Like when reading The Simplifier.)

Tracking. Not talking about racetrack afficionados. I’m referring to a type of information that may have been living in your head that would be much better suited for a page in your reference binder. Take an example of a general contractor who has continuing education requirements to maintain certifications.

Fred is a green builder so in addition to the regular contractor certifications to stay up on, he has green building ones as well. He recently received an annual renewal notice with the dreaded request for continuing education credits reporting. Why dreaded? The year flew by and he didn’t sign up for and take enough courses.

How can this process be easier next year? We create a simple form that includes:

• name of the licensing body, for ex. Green Builders,
• number of credits required,
• sources of classes offered,
• space to list the classes signed up for & dates completed

A file with the named “Green Builders - certification” would be the storage place for class documentation.

Repeat for each licensing organization.

And finally, drop a note in the Take Action folder to check in on his class sign up situation at the beginning of each quarter.

The business Stacks and Stacks [sellers of organizing and storing galore] has recently launched a blog called Clutter Control Freaks. What I like about the blog is that almost every post has a photo–most of which are either rather artistic or funny. They clearly have an image editor who takes their job seriously. Check out the newt(?) on the Green Cleaning post–Cool!

The posts are mostly of the home variety–closets, moving, tips for kids going back to school etc. They have a variety of organizers posting so it’s a very active blog. Worth checking out though you might want to go through a category (listed in the right sidebar) to find something you’ll find useful.

Merlin Mann of 43 Folders gave a talk at Google on July 23, 2007 about his Inbox Zero. The super abbreviated slideshow version can be found here at SlideShare.net. The whole filmed presentation is here at Google Video.

I wrote a short summary of the Inbox Zero concept here a little over a year ago–good stuff. The primary difference for me in approaching my email inbox this way is opening it with intention. Never check email without processing it = the moral of the story.

Instead of going to your email inbox whenever you hear the ding or feel indecisive, take action. You’ll delete, delegate, respond, defer, or do. Schedule a time, 2-3 times a day, once an hour, every 20 minutes–as appropriate for your job or profession. BUT whenever you do, process what is there. Think of your inbox as a receptacle, not a reference storage unit or a “don’t know what to do with it” toxic dump. Decide. It feels fantastic!

If you’d like to hear him talk about it, you can watch his presentation at Google. The whole video is an hour, about 20 minutes of which is Q&A.

What makes a place feel spacious? Key word here is feel. There is no absolute room measurement that determines whether a room is spacious or not. For example, my office is in a room that used to be a tenant’s bedroom. With a double bed, clothes all over the place, a small desk and chair and a dresser, the room felt cramped! Now, same room, setup differently feels spacious.

A small space, be it for office or no, is still a small space. But it doesn’t need to feel cramped. What makes a space feel spacious? Here are some of my thoughts on the subject. Additions?

• Seeing things have a place and are in place.
• Stuff not piled on the floor.
• You can see the floor and quite a bit of the baseboards (perhaps using wire shelves instead of solid wood).
• Plenty of light illuminating the space.
• More light colors than dark colors in furniture, especially the large objects.
• You don’t have a fear of bumping into something or knocking something over if you aren’t really careful.
• There aren’t large items looming overhead.
• There are a few aesthetic items for comfort. This keeps you in the mindset of spacious and not sparse.
• Every shelf isn’t crammed to the max.
• Big patterns of organized things-Yes (file trays each holding a different kind of paper).
• Lots of small pieces-No (little scraps of paper/business cards all over the wall).

What else?

This tip originally appeared in The Simplifier #36.

How to add some whistle to your work

When your brain isn’t clear about what, when, how, or for how long it should be doing something, your attention scatters. This lack of clarity triggers frazzled and frantic feelings. Here are some strategies for keeping calm while doing your work.

Mono-tasking gives your mind big relief—plus, the activity at hand benefits from concentrated attention. Focusing on one task at a time provides the opportunity to be present with whatever you are doing. It allows you to relax into an activity once the goal and parameters are set: “Why am I doing this?” and “How will I know when I’m done?” (For more on mono-tasking, see “Multi-tasking: the Cost” and “Mono-tasking tips”.)

Separating planning from doing acknowledges that multi-tasking is a necessity at times. It also acknowledges that planning and doing activities utilize different brain functions and that jumping back and forth between the two is practically inviting your brain to short-circuit. When you catch yourself not knowing what to do for an activity, stop! Take a few minutes to define the goal, and only then switch to doing mode. (For more on planning vs. doing, see “Planning Time vs. Doing Time”.)

Routinely using a work flow productivity system, like David Allen’s Getting Things Done, provides huge relief for your head. This clears your mind from trying to keep track of unfinished and unscheduled tasks and projects. Not to be underestimated!! I say routinely because it does take discipline to maintain.

Doing the important stuff first prevents frantic scrambling at the end of the day. We also enjoy more fulfillment from making progress on what’s important.

Scheduling make-up time in your busy weeks allows you to keep up with your high-priority ToDos while being flexible with unexpected demands. You decide when this would work best for you. One client dedicates one hour Wednesday afternoon as well as three hours Friday afternoon just for catch-up.

Working with your biorhythms encourages you to align activities with the time of day that works best for you. Match peak brain time with mentally challenging projects and slower brain time with repetitive or auto-pilot activities. (For more on biorhythms, see “Scheduling with Biorhythms”.)

This tip originally appeared in The Simplifier #8.

If you frequently start your day off with a bang, jumping into all the things you need to do, and end the day frazzled and wondering “what just happened?”, then review your daily schedule the night before.

The key here is separating Planning Time from Doing Time. Reviewing your schedule is a Planning Time activity. You review your goals for the week, identify priorities, and considering your scheduled appointments, develop a sense of when you will work on your goals.Then you jump into your day with direction. You aren’t just doing, you are Doing activities that support your goals. At the end of the day, you get the satisfaction of having made progress on your goals.