How do you keep track of all your 'stuff'? (Looking for ideas and a buddy)

[alexanderwhyte]

Does anyone have suggestions, or would like to share, what they use to keep track of all of your goals, things-to-do, lists, ideas, contacts, brainstorms, progress, importance etc of what you have going on in your life?

I have lots of ideas and sometimes get overwhelmed by it all when I'm thnking of what to do next. I end up feeling like I can only focus on one thing for a particular time period and everything else gets forgot.

Please, suggestions at how you guys are able to successfully keep track of everything going on at once would be greatly welcomed.

[aniinl]

Very nice question, Alexander! I'm curious to see the replies from everyone here. Here is mine:

Goals
If you are a visual person, stick them somewhere where you can see them at least once a day.
So... mine are on the inside of my toilet door      I'm not joking...

You need to change them every now and then, though, I think, otherwise you get used to them and don't "see" them anymore. Update them, take old (achieved) ones off. Or just move them around. At least that's what I think *I* should do because amongst my notes there is also one that says "clean the house" but for some reason it doesn't seem to register in my brain...  Maybe I'll change it to "Get a cleaner" and see what happens...

I also like the idea of a "vision board" as described in The Secret. Plus, last week I put up an A4 card board sign on the ceiling above my bed that says "I have 300.000 Euro". You can tell by now I live alone... I didn't do so well in the 90 day money challenge here, so... well, I thought I'd try the easy way It must have some effect if it's the first thing I see in the morning when I open my eyes, right?

It might also be good to put a date on them I have noticed. I have one note on my door that says "Read 20 coaching books this year!" I'm at 5 and I can't remember what year I made that note...

things-to-do
I put them in my mobile phone as reminders. When the alarm goes off, I snooze them.

ideas, brainstorm
Little notebook. (Serious now) Supersmall, fits in any woman's handbag. Never leave the house without this and a pen. This comes from the days when I was still writing regularly. Thought's and ideas are very slippery and if you don't catch them right away, they are gone.
 
contacts
mobile phone

progress, importance etc of what you have going on in your life
journal (every day)

Anja

[alexanderwhyte]

"Read 20 coaching books this year!" I'm at 5 and I can't remember what year I made that note...

That really made me smile.thank you.

[Tim]

Yellow post-it notes.

You can actually paper a whole room with them once you get going!!   

Take care,

Tim.

[Michelle Young]

I have a path, along my path is flowers, bushes, shrubs and trees... Now my path is lined with roses, they are my children and they will always be on my path, even when its raining i take time to smell the roses. I know that i can see my goal which is down the path, and i know along the path i will come across thing i dont know, which the answers will either be there hiding with them or will be further along the way, kind of like a new flower thats in bud, bit not in bloom, and i know as i travel further along the way i will see the flower bloom...... I have to plant things, nurture them etc, i know exactly what i want and all the preparing i need to get the desired results. Sometimes it rains, sometimes there is snow or hail, but i enjoy the smell of fresh rain, the sound of thunder and how soothing being snowed in can feel. It make you appreciate the smell of the flowers...

I work in mind maps, a bit like a atlas, the different towns along a route, some you can visit some you dont, but i have one clear road... When people talk of mind maps, they sound very much like a atlas to me, clean, percise, maybe even boring to look at, so in my head i turned mine into a garden, adding in smell, feeling, sounds and feelings... I know what feels right in my garden and what i need to weed out and compost...

I rarley take notes, i keep most things in my head, it actually frustrates people around me that i dont write things down, its not that i need to for me, its a case of sometimes they need it 

Hoped that all made sense

Hugs
Michelle

[Diva Eve]

What a great question!
Let's get organized!

I keep a coaching folder on computer and hard copy where I keep all my notes.

there are goal lists in there as well and scheduled review times.

vision board- I love it..it's over my bed, so I see it first and last thing and it makes me smile!!

contacts: phone, computer, excel sheets and I use professional mailing program for people who want to stay in the loop with what I do, receive coaching tips and free tickets to events etc.


task lists are great

I use a little booklet that I review and write in and replace when all is done


BUT the real thing is in your mind and heart. if it's not in there, no organizational system will help.
And it has to work for YOU. i.e when would you love to review stuff, do you like lots of lists or does it actually turn you off from doing it?
Do you like writing a journal- why do it if you don't, there are so many other ways...etc.

Good question to ask is:
how do you get the most important stuff into your head- how do you filter it from the "would be nice but isn't the first",
when do you do what, what's your stratey...

that's where a Good Coach comes in!!! I love all the seminars and events etc. but there is nothing like actually working on your own stuff....relating to you.

I highly recommend working with a coach. Yes of course that's because I am a coach ( hoooray! and I help people with exactly those questions...you see they say German people are known to be very organzied and efficient)
and also because that's the most certain way to grow- well, I love it. I work with Michael ( yippieeee)
 

[martinh]

Hi,

I used to have lots of lists, but found a nice program on the computer for it - iGTD for the Mac, based on the "Getting Things Done" system - basically nestable todo lists, by context (oh, the compartments of life...) and by project (which can span contexts) with a dates attached. I've dumped all my todo lists into it (it turned out I had over 150 things to do, which explained the nagging feeling that I ought to be getting on with *something*) and it's a huge relief.

I also use it to store useful bits of random information, gift ideas, all sorts of things. And it has a view that shows me all the things I've ticked off and done, which is very nice. It's free too.

I also use Nova-Mind for mindmapping subjects and projects when I've got a rough idea of how they work.

I usually sketch or list or plan stuff on paper first (I have an A4 pad that lasts me about 3 months) and move it to the computer when I know what shape it'll be.

Contacts are on the computer. Recently re-organised to make actual use of our filing cabinets instead of just randomly piling things (we have two companies, so ignoring stuff normally leads to getting fined) - which is working pretty well.

Cheers,

Martin.

[alexanderwhyte]

I like the sound of iGTD, any idea if there is a PC version?

I've tried out a lot of different time management systems, I can see how they work for the creators of them, but I haven't found anything I've truly clicked with yet. The same is true for a coach, I've had a few but haven't really felt like we were on the same page.

The one thing, and probably my saving grace, is that the things that are absolute musts always get done. So I don't have to worry too much about those.

What I'm really experimenting with is trying to find ways of keeping track of all those little ideas and thoughts that jump through your head each day that don't need to be acted on now but might be worth reminding yourself of at a later date. Also, keeping track and reminding myself of my daily and weekly experiments.

I have a master list on my computer, but i daren't open it to read as it just makes me feel 

[alexanderwhyte]

Right, my above post is really vague, which is more than likely a reflection of my goals and direction at the moment.

Situation:

my overall ability to keep track of, and prioritise, what I do with my time needs some adjustment.


Desired Outcome

to make balanced progress in the different areas of my life, without spending heaps of time in micro-planning and enjoying each day.


Does anyone fancy playing around with this with me? We can buddy up, bounce ideas and hold one another accountable for implementing what we each choose to test out.

[aniinl]

You mean like a quid pro quo kind of thing?
I help you with yours, you help me with mine?
We will coach each other/be each others action buddies?

Hm... Tell me more!

Anja

[alexanderwhyte]

HEy Anja, sorry about late reply.

Yes, a kinda mutual-coaching friendship. Where we'd help one another out to get more of whatever it is you want. Give one another ideas and give a new perspective on things.

What do you think?

[aniinl]

Sounds good. I need practice in coaching!
And I need a coach too...

I'll pm you.

[Donstar]

Hi Alexander

Re the goals, I don't need to keep track of my life goals, because I know what they all are.  My 'goals' are how I would love my life, business, relationships and bank account to be, and that's something I create day by day and enjoy living it before I get it.  Smaller 'focuses' like getting 12 new clients or something, I tend to only be working on one or two things in each area of life at a time (after 3 years of 'goal overwhelm', this made a lot of sense!) so again, I always know what they are.

And as for the ideas and random things that come up, I have notebooks and folders all over the place for a lot of them...and I remind myself regularly that a really great idea will inspire me to do something with it instantly.  A great idea won't get missed.  If there is something I 'must' do, I'll remember it.  If I don't, maybe someone else will pick it up from the ideas pool and run with it!

Love

Donna.x