I heard this quote from David Allen two years ago and still think about it.
“Your mind is for having ideas, not for holding them.”
We all live full and crazy lives. Between working, mothering, grocery store going and just plain living, my brain can’t hold any more information.
If I don’t write it down, it’s forgotten.
If it’s not on my calendar, it won’t happen.
If an idea exists only in my head, it’s gone.
Here’s how I keep track on my life:
My work Outlook calendar syncs to my phone, where activities like conference calls, meetings and webinars coincide with soccer practice, orthodontist appointments and parent/teacher conferences.
A big paper calendar hangs in the kitchen. This is where we keep the “whose turn is it to do dishes schedule” (why we still need to keep that schedule for teenage boys, I don’t know), soccer games, orthodontist, dentist and eye doctor appoints and other random things. These are also on my Outlook calendar.
What I need is for our TV in the kitchen to display my Outlook calendar when the TV is not in use – so I don’t have to double up on calendars. Somebody please tell me how I can make that happen.
My to-do lists exist in my paper weekly planner. I keep ideas and other information in Evernote.
I create reminders. Which remind me on my desktop, my phone and my watch. It’s a bit much sometimes.
My team at work is in three different locations. We use Airtable to keep track of our projects, and Slack to keep up to date on everything within the department. We share Google docs and sheets for brainstorming ideas to ensure there’s not 47 versions of the same file floating around.
How do you keep track of your life?
One Kansas Girl 