“No way, I love my planner!” exclaimed my friend Lauren. This is a quote from a conversation I had recently with 3 friends. We were discussing how we each stay organized. Lauren was defending her datebook, but we couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought of using one, since it is 2010. In this era of iPhones, iPads, Outlook and Google Calendar, we felt it was such an expired, old way to keep track of your personal schedule. Lauren proudly defended her planner, and it occurred to me that I was guilty myself of staying organized through a varied set of systems and techniques. And many of my own processes don’t involve the latest software or newest technology.

I believe whatever it takes for you to stay organized, do that. Just because there is a new digital calendar app on your iPad or BlackBerry, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best thing for you to use. Filofax 6-ring binder inserts can work just as well as the fancy touchscreen iCal app on your iPhone. Pick your discipline of choice. Do what works for you.

Personally, I like to switch-up my organization systems once every two months, just to keep things fresh. Sometimes just having a new organization system, makes it fun to actually stay organized (yes, i’m that pathetic, it is fun for me). So what do I do to stay organized? Listed below, are a few systems I like to follow. Some of these I made-up, some of them I learned. Hopefully sharing these with you helps you.

The Post-it Note System
This organization technique is visual and interactive. There is one requirement though: a large desk. Here is how it works: grab a pack of Post-it notes. When you think of 1 task that you need to complete, write it down on a Post-it. Then organize them into 3 rows, which will serve as categories:

“Must Do Today”
“Can Wait”
“Not Time-Sensitive”

When you sit down at your desk, scan your Post-its and decide which you’d like to tackle. When you pick one, grab it- and place it in front of you. Do nothing else but this one thing in front of you. I like to put the Post-it note, with the current task, on my computer monitor or laptop. This way if I get distracted, what I should be completing, is right in front of me. Then, when you’re done, comes the fun part. Take the Post-it and toss it in the trash. There is this ‘small warm-fuzzy feeling’ of accomplishment and gratification when you throw it in the trashcan. And it’s really addicting when you get on a roll.

The Day-by-Day Notebook Checklist System
My friend Neal taught me this technique. It’s a good way to scan and plan your current week’s tasks. It’s best if you start this system on Sunday nights or first thing Monday morning. Here is how it works: open your notebook to a clean page. Write down headings for everyday of the week (“Monday, Tuesday, etc”). Under each day, write down the “must do” tasks just for that day. Your tasks for any given day shouldn’t exceed more than 6 tasks. And some tasks are allowed to be “start X” or “begin Y”. Often, there are times when you need to start and make progress that day, but not finish actually the task. I find the Day-by-Day Notebook system is really helpful when you want to see in a given week the things you’ll be working on and when.

Moleskine Journals
Many people swear by their Moleskine journals. They can be used in many ways. I have a very specific function for why I carry mine around. There are several things that are classified as “living lists” or on-going “running” lists. For example, I keep a list of blog post ideas and topics. This is something I will keep adding to time after time. I also keep a running list of video blog ideas, music/songs I want to download, and personal at-home tasks or errands to run. I don’t neceissarily open my Moleskine everyday, but it’s a great for my reference and when I “time quilt” (described below).

Time Quilting
This phrase and technique was created by Chris Brogan. It’s about accepting that you will rarely get long periods or blocks of time to sit down and do what you need to do. However, when you have ten minutes here and there, “time quilting” is when you take small steps forward when you can sneak the time-in where you can. When you start re-thinking about the little scraps of time, 5-minutes you get here and there, it can often be enough time to write a blog post, reply to an email or move a side-project along. What are the best places to time quilt? For me, they are at the airport, in-between meetings, doctor office waiting rooms, coffee shops, after lunch or while waiting for your food, subways and taxi’s. Often, I find that things I put in my Moleskine are the things I will start and stop with the time quilts that open-up for me.

The Beginning, Middle and the End System
This organization system is designed to control your focus, and allows you to avoid interruptions and distractions (depending on your job, this system may not be possible for you to follow). Here is how it works: when you get into work, spend the beginning part of your day doing all the small, little, 1-off tasks you need to complete. Meaning, all the emails you can rapid-fire respond to, forward, or delete …take care of that. Call and leave phone messages right away, and do that quickly. Send the meeting invites, and take care of just the tasks that take less than 10-minutes to complete. Then during the hours after “the beginning” (usually around 10AM), tackle the long-form tasks that you need to do. Turn-off all notifications and alerts, don’t check Twitter or Facebook or your cell phone. Then, when you reach the middle of the day, turn-on and activate all the notification systems and programs on your computer again and resume the smaller 10-minute tasks you need to complete. After that, early afternoon should be the time you focus again on the long-form tasks you need to do. Finally, the end of your day brings you back to the short, snippet, quick tasks you need to complete.

Close It, Exit It, Hide It, Turn It
Sometimes you just absolutely have to get that 1 thing done. There are many temptations that can get in the way since your computer allows you to do many other things than what you need to do. When this happens, one technique is to just shut-it-all-down. Meaning, turn over your cell phone so you can’t see the screen, close Facebook, turn-off Twitter, minimize the Outlook “inbox” and just have in front of you a window a blank email draft (or close Outlook all together), exit out of AIM, close gMail and iTunes. This ensures NO notifications or alerts are distracting you from completing your task. You then will have your undivided attention on the 1 thing you need to get done.

What do you think about my systems and techniques? What do *you* do to stay organized? Everyone has their methods to their madness. Share it with me in the comments.
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