#BeYourOwnOrganizer
The first of the year brings thoughts to New Year’s resolutions, goal setting, and planning. It can be overwhelming, especially with hopes of getting back to normal after restrictions around the global pandemic.
In alignment with our #OwnIt theme for 2022, I encourage you to sit down and write a comprehensive list of “tasks”.
This month we are taking ownership of our skill around being your own organizer. One of my favorite planning tools is to bullet journal – How to Bullet Journal
Although this method refers to a written plan (which many people still use), you can adapt the technique to any application such as Google KeepNotes, Microsoft OneNote, or EverNote. The idea is to start with a comprehensive list and then create segments by category or timeframe to keep you on task.
Once you have this list, organize it by segments (i.e. home, work, personal, fitness, family, calls, emails, finances). You will find natural trends.
Next, under each segment put your task list in order of priority. Have you ever heard of the “Urgent-Important Matrix” developed by Steven Covey and named after Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th President of the United States, known for his high output and organization. It’s a quadrant that has you organize your list in the following: Urgent-Important; Urgent-Not Important; Not Urgent-Important; Not Urgent-Not Important. I still use this format when my list is extensive or I have a lot to tackle because it’s easy to get caught up in the Urgent-Not Important category.
Developing your comprehensive list can foster stress. However, know you are only committing to the tasks by documenting them and organizing them to get a clear picture of what needs to happen first. There are always goals/tasks that are dependent upon one another, are dependent on someone else, or require the expertise of an outside party. I typically note these with symbols (for example – $ requires funding, ^ requires completion of another task, + requires outside expertise).
I hope these tips help you #BeYourOwnOrganizer. Look for a follow-up blog post on how this theme can affect your health and wellness journey.
With love and admiration!
Ann