Mind Management Angela May

The List Binder (part 1 of 3)

Never Let Anything Slip Through the Cracks Again!

Do you ever get the feeling that there's something important that you're NOT doing? There's something... ARGH- it was right on the tip of your brain!

Isn't it infuriating to have a spare moment to think and you KNOW you could be maximizing it to its full potential if you JUST. KNEW. WHAT. TO. DO!

Then the moment passes, and you find something else to occupy the time.

Weeks later you're reminded of a project you were assigned to and - DRAT, the deadline is coming up and now you're snowed under with tasks!

At work and in my life I have a LOT going on. A lot of different projects and responsibilities, all with different tasks, different priority levels, different timelines, different consequences and rewards. It's a lot to keep on top of, and I certainly couldn't do it on my own.

Recently I started using a system I've nicknamed the "One Note Binder" (because I designed it when I was frustrated that I couldn't use Microsoft OneNote at work) or the "List Binder". I thought I'd share my process with you all...

How to Build a List Binder

THE BIG PICTURE

First, write a list of all of your responsibilities and major projects; the large headers under which all your daily tasks fall.

At work it might be "Project X", "Project Y" and "Z Committee". In your personal life it may be "Renovation", "Wedding", "Blog Y".

Include in your list your major goals or things you "wish you had time" to do. You need to build "projects" around these goals and ideas in order for them to come to fruition!

PRIORITIZE

Now that you have a complete picture (as complete as you can manage!) of your job, prioritize these different tasks.

You were hired to do Project Y, and you just sort of got roped into Z Committee.

If you're having trouble prioritizing, bring in your boss and ask for his or her guidance on prioritizing all your different responsibilities. In the future, when assignments come up, ask your boss how it will fit into the larger framework of your priorities, so when work gets displaced, you all know exactly why, and that it was worth it.

You might also read some of our other articles on Prioritzing. (We have a whole tag for it!)

BUILD LISTS

For each project/responsibility, brainstorm tasks that you need to do to move things forward. If your next steps aren't clear - just make something up! Something you can DO.

Maybe it's researching. Maybe it's talking to someone for guidance. Maybe it's scheduling a brainstorming session.

Just write down all the possible tasks that come to mind. Prioritize these tasks, and then try to get everything down to "next steps" (the very next thing you need to do in a series of tasks).

For my career, I like to organize each major responsibility into its own tab. The tabs are ordered by priority. I keep the list for each project in front, and I keep supporting documents behind it. My organization isn't very paper-centric, so I can get away with this. If you have more big projects/responsibilities than tabs in the binder(8ish), you are probably stretching yourself too thin. It will be harder to react to emergencies or opportunities.

Consider simplifying, focusing on a few projects at a time. Keep the other lists in the back as "brainstorm" or "future project" lists.

Remember, there are times when you have ideas, and times when you have time-- there isn't necessarily overlap!  Keep those lists so you will be READY to take advantage of spare moments.

ADD TIMING

For each task, estimate how much "focused time" you will need to finish that task. Take a wild guess! You will get better at estimating the more you practice doing it. I like to break everything into hour increments, or sometimes half-hour for short tasks like phone calls, or emails.

*****

Now you have your "brain on paper", you know everything you need to do next, for every single project. It's waaaaay too much to remember, isn't it! It's also too much to focus on, there are so many tasks and it's overwhelming.

But what do you do NOW??

Next week we will go over the weekly review process which will help you lay out your workdays so you are getting your most important tasks DONE!