Last December, I made a change that pretty much revolutionized my life, so much so that I'm a little shocked that this is the first time it's come up here.
It has to do with productivity, which is something I find myself talking about a lot. Given that nearly every single friend of mine here in Portland is self-employed, conversations over patio beers often turn to how much of "our lists" we got through that day, whether we hit that sweet spot of productivity where we're cruising through our work, or whether we're in a rut.
"The rut" to me is like the entrepreneur's version of writer's block, where you're immobilized by your own gargantuan list of what needs to get done. In this mindset, every project on the list seems daunting, and in my world, this is one of the main factors that separate the good days from the bad. And, for those who envy the autonomy of the self-employed, I'll be the first to admit that the potential distress of failing to meet your own deadlines is the downside of manning one's own schedule.
Do you know what I'm talking about, those days where your list seems so incomprehensibly long and daunting that you become paralyzed in the face of it, ironically unable to even attempt to get a single thing done because you're so overwhelmed -- and then the defeat of having been beaten by the list is even more demotivating? I used to have those days a lot, and it boggles my mind that the solution was as simple as just changing my system.
I know, I'm like ten years behind the game here.
Honestly, I never even made it past the third chapter, because by that point, I had already discovered the jumpstart that I needed -- the realization that maybe I'd outgrown some of my "systems," the lists and reminder tools that worked for me in college, and my freelancing days before Yarnia even existed.
So I took the leap that I never thought I'd take, and switched from a handwritten notebook to-do list, to an online version. In spite of how tech-centric I am -- keeping a daily journal on my computer since the age of 9, spreadsheets for my budgets dating back to high school -- I have always been die-hard about the handwritten to-do lists.
This conviction was driven by the assumption that the personality of my handwriting imparts some subconscious urgency to the things I need to get done, and with the intent of being able to reflect back on a page full of strikethroughs and heave a sigh of accomplishment.
But the main premise of GTD, and the part that struck me with its simplicity and total accuracy from the get-go, is that stress comes not from having too much to do, but from worrying that you're forgetting something, from not trusting that your lists are thorough and all-encompassing.
And it's true, I realized. Once something's on my list, it will get done. So the challenge lies in making sure that everything makes it onto the list, and that the list is manageable.
Well, when you put it that way...
The handwritten to-do list, I realized, had become unmanageable. At this point in my life, my to-do list is monumental, multi-layered, and constantly regenerating.
In a single moment (how did I not realize this before?) it occurred to me how absurd it is that all on the same page, I was trying to fit my recurring tasks as they dawned on me.
Some were monthly, like budgeting, updating advertising spots, writing newsletters, updating Ravelry. Some were weekly, like blogging, backing up email, updating Custom Yarn inventory. And some were daily, like processing online sales, responding to emails, and staying up to date on social media.
So I did some research, read some reviews, made some comparisons, and started an account on Remember The Milk. It is no exaggeration to say that it was one of the best decisions I've ever made.
Here's why I think it works: I write everything down in RTM, and I mean everything. If I'm in the middle of taking pictures of our new house blends to add to the online shop, go to the back to get new batteries for the camera, realize that I'm at the end of the pack, and while I'm making a note to get more notice that the cord from the stereo system needs to be retaped so nobody trips over it, I just dump all of those thoughts into RTM and know that they will all get taken care of, and I can just let them go, and finish taking the pictures.
This is a totally inconsequential example, but one that six months ago would have resulted in scribbled notes in four different places around my desk and office, and still a nagging feeling that I had forgotten something.
Yes, RTM is great because you can schedule things in advance, (like if I know I need to think about whether to be involved in the SE Portland Art Walk, but know I don't need to see that pop up on my list until December), and because you can set priority levels (yes, I want to be reminded to fill out my UCU sales tax forms before reorganizing the rayon boucle backstock).
Ha, and you think you have a stash problem?!
But the biggest game changer for me is my new rule: no cherry picking. It's so tempting to skip down my list and do all the "fun stuff" (i.e. easy, routine, mundane tasks), leaving the bigger projects in the dust, the ones that require creative energy, research, and breaking new ground.
But now there's no option. I go down the list, in order, and if I can't fully complete the next task on there, at the very least I realistically reschedule it, or break it down into smaller components that can be reassigned.
The point is, I interact with it to some degree, even if it's just to recognize that it's something I really don't want to do, and that it may have to be rescheduled to a time when I can work on it out in the sun, or with an iced coffee in hand, using some sort of reward leverage to bait myself into getting it done.
So anyway, I apologize that this post had absolutely nothing to do with yarn, unless you count the fact that we're about halfway through this year, and it recently occurred to me that while owning a yarn shop has always been fun, the past six months have felt so in a new way, an easier way, and it's exciting to feel so much more in control of the roller coaster of seasonal businesses that make up my life. Heck, I even started taking lunch breaks!
Have you changed up any of your systems recently? Was it scary? Did it work? I probably have another few thousand words to say about productivity in general, and Remember The Milk in specific, so don't be afraid to comment if you like geeking out about this stuff!
