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If you won’t do it now, you likely won’t do it later, either.
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Allocate time to prepare your workstation and have all things ready. This reduces unconscious resistance to dealing with stuff and incentivizes you to keep working.
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Interruptions double the time it takes to get through everything so it is recommended to do this in one fell swoop, especially when there are a lot of open loops.
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Have a dedicated workspace. Do not share workspaces with others.
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You can work virtually everywhere if you have a clean, compact system and know how to process your stuff rapidly and portably.
But you’ll still need a “home base” with a well-grooved set of tools and sufficient space for all the reference and support material that you’ll want somewhere close at hand when you “land.”
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Once you know what to process, and how to use your tools, the medium (whether paper or digital) really doesn’t matter. Just go for simplicity, speed, and fun.
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Maintain a personal on-hand filing system that lets you process items in less than a minute. This makes it subconsciously easier for us to use it. Keep in mind that by default, it takes so much work to make and organize files.
- Keep all general reference files at hand’s reach.
- Have one alpha system for general storage — one system that contains everything by topic. This lets you not have to think about where something is / goes when it’s labeled.
- If the stuff is worth keeping, then keep it and make it accessible.
- Clean and reorganize the files at least once a year to keep them from going stale.
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Gather things before you process them. The goal is get everything “in” as quickly as possible.
- Rationale:
- It is helpful to have a sense of the volume of stuff you have to deal with.
- It lets you know the end goal.
- When you do perform processing you won’t need to worry about whether you missed some items.
- You can feel good about what you’re not doing, only when you know what you’re not doing.
- Guidelines for gathering stuff:
- Look for stuff that doesn’t belong where it is, the way it is, permanently.
- Gather things that are incomplete or have some decision tied to them.
- Stuff that we aren’t sure is worth keeping goes “in”. Decide later if it is worth keeping.
- Resist the urge to leave all items in the workspace unaccounted for. Put it in.
- Gather stuff from everywhere.
- Get into the habit of adding dates to stuff that you add “in” (whether added directly or indirectly with notes).
- Gather stuff on your mind that isn’t already in the basket.
- Write each idea, thought project, or thing somewhere.
- Clear your head. Go for quantity.
- Remember when something occurs to you, write it on a piece of paper and put it “in”.
- Rationale:
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Once all items are “in”, it is time to process them.
- Some rules for processing:
- Top Item first. Everything gets processed equally. Do not process what you feel like processing in whatever order as this will leave things unprocessed.
- One at a time. Attend to every item.
- The exception to this is if you can “multitask” efficiently. However, never avoid any decision for longer than a minute.
- An item never goes back “in”.
- Ask What’s the next action.
- The next action must be a physical, visible activity.
- If you haven’t identified the next physical action required to kick-start it, there will be a psychological gap every time you think about it even vaguely.
- If the next action is to decide what to do you need more information and seeking this information is the next step.
- When in doubt keep it (if you have the space).
- Some rules for processing:
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Airtight organization is required for your focus to remain on the broader organization.
- The value of organization is found by following a strict delineation of all categories.
- For organization, all you need is a list and to properly use said list. Know what goes on the list.