Part three of my four part “get your life in order” series focuses on organizing your mind. No, it’s not 2 am and I’m not throwing in the “Graty” at the end of this article. The suggestions that follow aren’t gimmicks or “quick fixes”. It will take time for you to develop a routine around one or more of the systems described below.
In order to better organize all the thoughts bouncing around in your head, you have to get them out of there first. Please put down the power drill – you won’t need it and it makes too much of a mess. Why don’t you grab a pen and a notebook instead?
Notebooks
Remember when I said you should try to go paperless? It’s OK to incorporate a little paper into your life if you’re using a notebook to capture your thoughts.
One of the key concepts in David Allen’s Getting Things Done is getting your ruminations and actionable items (to-dos) from your brain to some other place. If you’re not at your computer, or you’re not in a position to be carrying one at that moment, there are only so many places you can transfer your thoughts.
A notebook is cheap, it comes in different sizes and can be taken almost anywhere. Notebooks are also very reliable; you don’t have to worry about crashing hard drives or dead batteries. Sure, they can run out fairly quickly if you tend to record every concern and feeling, but you can walk into a Staples and pick up a new one for less than a buck.
The idea is simple: as you think of things (“pick up milk, did I turn the coffee maker off? I should by a French press so I don’t have to keep worrying about the coffee maker…”), you write them down. Once they’re on paper, you don’t have to worry about them anymore until you’re ready to act on them.
You should always keep a small notebook and a pen in your bag or purse, as well as a larger notebook (or legal pad) on your desk. Avoid looseleaf papers, as they can easily get lost – and NEVER use sticky notes for jotting down thoughts. That’s not a suggestion, that’s a direct order, soldier. Sticky notes can become more of a burden than a solution, so I rarely use them.
Digital Notetaking
Almost every computer, whether it’s an Apple or Windows-based machine, come with a text editing program. On the Mac, the default is TextEdit. On Windows, it’s Notepad. Both applications are solid and offer more than enough features to capture simple thoughts.
But, what if you wanted just a little bit more? What if you want your notes to be with you wherever you go, no matter which program you used to write them in? There are two big players in this field, Evernote and Simplenote (I know everyone has their own special app, but I’m focusing on these two).
Evernote: Evernote doesn’t just capture text, you can turn pictures, audio and video into taggable, searchable notes, as well. Their are Evernote apps available for all sorts of devices, from Androids to iPhones and Macs to PCs. If you don’t have a phone or computer to run the Evernote clients, there’s a Web app, too.
Coolest thing about Evernote?: OCR (Optical Character Recognition). Take a picture of a sign or anything else with letters and/or numbers in it and as long as the image is clear, Evernote will recognize the words in the image and make them searchable.
Free accounts are available up to 40MB per month. After that, you’ll need to sign up for a premium account.
Simplenote: If all you want to capture is text, Simplenote may be a better option. The Web based application truly lives up to its name by providing the user with nothing more than a simple text field. There are no tags, no styles and no categories. You just create text files to store your notes.
Like Evernote, Simplenote is able to sync across a variety of clients on many different devices. However, unlike Evernote, Simplenote’s free mobile app is only available on the iPhone. On the desktop, Simplenote can also sync with certain clients, but as of right now, those are Mac-only (see NotationalVelocity).
Keep it Simple
Don’t go crazy trying to create a whole new system using everything described above – find what works for your workflow. If your paper notetaking is causing a mess on your desk, try moving things to your computer or phone. On the other hand, if you’re forgetting things because you’re forgetting to use your notepad app, maybe it’s time to invest in Mead.
Regardless, one thing is for certain – your to-do list is useless if you’re the only one who can see it.
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I absolutely hate taking notes especially when it comes to school, that is why I definitely need to get the iPad
Simplenote and Evernote offer solid apps on the iPad, so you won’t be disappointed. Just make sure you get either the keyboard dock or Bluetooth keyboard with it – I’ve heard typing on the virtual keyboard can be frustrating for long-form writing.