A Toast to the Perfect Organizing System

A good organizing system is like a perfect piece of toast. You have to set the right compulsion level for your system, just as you have to set the right heat for your toast.

Perhaps another word for “compulsion level” would be “stress.” We’re always trying to reduce stress, but the goal should never be NO stress. Otherwise, we’d never get out of bed in the morning. We’d never get through the traffic to the relaxing beach. So any organizing system that is actually going to help us get our to-do’s to done, has to include some carefully chosen stress points. It has to be compelling.

I bring this up, because of the two extremes, so many of my clients find themselves struggling with. On the one extreme, is the desire to have completely clear surfaces with no ugly to-do’s showing. On the other extreme is the need to have EVERY project out as a reminder.

If you’ve ever found yourself making the following statement, you’re in very good company. “I’m a very visual person. If I don’t see it, I’ll forget it.” The trouble with this approach is, it’s burnt toast. Nobody want’s to eat it. Put another way, if everything’s important, nothing’s important.

So how do you strike the right balance between the two extremes? How do you make the perfect toast? Here’s three tips.

1. Improve filing system. So much of what litters our desk surfaces simply need to be found reliably, but we don’t trust our files. By creating a user-friendly filing system, you will be able to trust that you can find whatever you want, whenever you want it, within seconds.

2. Separate projects from tasks. Just as newspapers compel you with a headline on the front page and connect with a full story inside, your to-do system needs an isolated list of tasks that compel you to connect with larger projects, off your desk surface.

3. Adjust to priority. Events tend to be less flexible, but tasks must be flexible.  A perfectly toasted organizing system has this flexibility built in. Piles of half finished to-do lists would be a good example of burnt toast.

The right to-do system, allows you to easily return to one manageable collection of easily-adjustable priorities. Every action requires at least a little effort, but a system with these components, gives you the best odds of taking action. No one wants a burnt piece of toast or a flabby cold piece of bread with their bacon and eggs, but a golden brown piece of toast– you know you’ll eat that.

Does this make sense or is it just making you hungry?