Friday, January 09, 2009

The Power of Three


No, not any of these power of three, or the picted PoT amulet from Charmed.  (Full disclosure--we own many seasons of Charmed.  Ahem.)

I read somewhere (alas, my poor short term memory) that it's a good idea to give yourself a list of three things to do every day.  No more, no less.  Whatever else you do or don't do, get those three things done.  This sounds like a great idea to me.  For one thing, there's less weasel room.  For another, with three things rather than one, you're less likely to pick a thing, much less three things, that will (or you think will) take all day long, which will run the risk of burning you out before you get done.  Keep it simple.  Keep it achievable.  And don't squirm your way out of it or blow it off.  Give it a try.  

Post it notes where you tend to waste time help.  I put them on my computer.  TV works too.  Just don't put your list where you've put lots of other lists.  Chances are you've taught yourself to ignore them.  Is there a big pile of lists and notes and all kinds of other stuff already there?  I thought so.  Other places that have worked for me--the main door I use in and out of the house, bathroom mirror (post its work great on mirrors,) stove top (ha, you thought you could cook something before doing your list, didn't you!) microwave, and on the book I'm currently obsessed with.

I'm also giving one of my Mac features a try.  iCal is working for me.  I worked as a receptionist for a while, and got used to having a calender for a desktop.  I checked it several times a day, each time I cleared my desk of a particular task.  iCal is working the same way, and I love it.  I had no idea how much I missed my desk calendar until I started using this one.  I finish something, then look at my iCal.  I already know if I have something on it or not that I have to deal with today.  Doesn't matter.  The constant reminder helps me keep track of my week, and how I spend my hours overall, better, and I'm less likely to, say, have the INK meeting sneak up on me tonight, or forget that dental appt I made.

Man, I feel all weird and organized.  I wonder how long this will last.

2 comments:

The Moody Minstrel said...

Considering I've had a terrible habit recently of making a huge list of things to do and then not doing them, maybe I should give that PoT thing a try.

Kami said...

I hope it helps!

I'm finding all these comments I didn't know about for. I think my spam filter started eating my notifications. Skrrrr!