Organization System Part 5 - Maintaining

I am spending this blog week on my first-ever series of articles on the same topic.  I implemented a new personal productivity and organization system using Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen.  I have never had more going on in my life, and at the same time I have never been more organized to deal with life.  I couldn’t find a way to limit my description of this time management system so I’ve broken it up into 5 smaller posts.  This post is Part 5 - Maintaining Your Organization.  Read Part 1 - Organization System Benefits and Part 2 - Organization System Setup and Part 3- Organization System Collecting Your Life and Part 4 - Organization System Processing.

If you’re reading this you either made it through the organization journey and blog entries, or this is still on the home page inversely ordered.  I am hopeful you made the journey to personal organization with me.  Maintaining your organization system is easy and it keeps you in present awareness of your life.  The feeling of being overwhelmed from too much to do or track will be removed.  Everything is kept out of your head and in the system, don’t forget this!

When something appears on your radar, it is time to start the process.  What actions and outcomes do you want from this “thing” that has presented itself in your life?   David Allen says it comes down to 3 questions-

1. What something means to you?
2. What you want to do about it?
3. What is the next action required to make it happen?

Take the action that is determined and if it can’t be done in 2 minutes, plug it into the appropriate place in the system.  If it can be done in 2 minutes, by all means get it done now!  Proactively managing tasks as they enter your life is extremely liberating and empowering.

Regular weekly review will help build confidence in the organization system.  Anything that has started floating around in the ether known as your life needs to be captured and classified.   Make sure your inbox is fully processed, your tickle folder system is up to date, and your priorities match your passions and goals.

David Allen’s personal organization system is truly life-changing.  I feel more active and engaged with all of my commitments and priorities.  I am choosing them instead of being sucked into the swirls of uninspired life action.  It sounds extremely type-A to be a fanatical list maker and maybe it is. I just know the organization system has freed up my creativity and given me greater peace of mind.  I don’t know many people that don’t need more of that.