When it comes to organization, does paper beat computer?
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I’ve used Google Calendar, off and on, Ta-da lists, off and on, and every other organization app, off and on.
The problem: they’re easy to forget. I’d use it faithfully for a few days, then be away from my computer one day and completely forget to use it the next. Like most things in life, productivity and organization can resemble a rollercoaster.
So I think it may be time for a little old-school practice. Thanks to both Jerry Seinfeld and Lifehacker, I’m giving the ginormous calendar on the wall approach a try. Here’s how Seinfeld said it works:
He told me to get a big wall calendar that has a whole year on one page and hang it on a prominent wall. The next step was to get a big red magic marker.
He said for each day that I do my task of writing, I get to put a big red X over that day. “After a few days you’ll have a chain. Just keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You’ll like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job next is to not break the chain.”
“Don’t break the chain.” He said again for emphasis.
Being that I have a few large projects and goals on my plate, I’ll use a different colour marker to mark of a portion of each day off for each project. Plastering this calendar inches away from my desk should help a bit too. So we’ll see how this goes.
Based on my experience, writing a task on paper and tossing it out when it’s done, or putting an X on the calendar, is much easier to stick to than receiving SMS messages or e-mail notifications when it SHOULD be done.
What do you use?
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