LaxMom Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 I need to figure out a new way of getting things done. Between house, educating the kids, job1, job2 and various "pleasure projects" (think knitting projects), things keep sliding off the daily list. Slide a couple times and they fall off the page completely, and then I'm scrambling to catch up. So I'll do what I always do when I need a quick multi-mind map: ask the hive. (Hive mapping is so much more efficient than trying to figure it out myself.) What are your favorite apps/software/methods/books that help you get it all done?? :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaxMom Posted October 18, 2011 Author Share Posted October 18, 2011 You people cannot ALL be so naturally on-task that you don't have any tools that you find helpful! I'm not buying that. :001_tt2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 OK, I am going to come on in as a giant hypocrite and give you this fabulous link to some very convincing testimony about using eRoutines with HabitHacker. I totally intended to use it and signed up for the HabitHacker e-mails about a month ago. I've been dutifully moving them to my HabitHacker e-mail folder for about a month now. When I get a rainy day, I plan on putting them on the iPhone app and becoming magically perfect overnight. :tongue_smilie: Wish me luck with that! :lol: Anyway, something to peruse and a bump for you. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momma aimee Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaxMom Posted October 18, 2011 Author Share Posted October 18, 2011 OK, I am going to come on in as a giant hypocrite and give you this fabulous link to some very convincing testimony about using eRoutines with HabitHacker. I totally intended to use it and signed up for the HabitHacker e-mails about a month ago. I've been dutifully moving them to my HabitHacker e-mail folder for about a month now. When I get a rainy day, I plan on putting them on the iPhone app and becoming magically perfect overnight. :tongue_smilie: Wish me luck with that! :lol: Anyway, something to peruse and a bump for you. :D Thank you for crawling out from behind that hedge and sharing something! I actually looked at that in the app store. I'll have to eyeball it some more. I'm not actually looking for inspiration or direction for cleaning the house, though. Here's what I have on deck: Educating the kids - normally, we have school from 8-12 M-F (this could vary based on any particular day's lesson plans, motivation of the students, etc.). They also have PE 30 minutes away on M/F afternoons. Husband's work - he works every 4th day, for 24 hours, so he left for work at 5 this morning, will get home at 9 or so tomorrow morning, and then will do it again Saturday My work - I work a few days a week, early in the morning, plus I have personal training clients, wellness consultations (basically one time PT), calls/emails to make for both of those. Field trips - I also direct an umbrella group. We provide HS reviews instead of the county, and our reviews are done on field trips. Household recurring tasks - feeding, cleaning, etc. I have (literally) done 7 loads of laundry today. The last one just dinged. I've been up since 5 and the only time the washer and/or dryer wasn't running was when we went to work so I could meet with a training client this afternoon. Finish cutting down a damaged tree in the back yard. It's a 30' Bartlett pear with main limbs separating from the trunk, which was (of course) made worse by the hurricane. It's more stable now, with 2 of the main branches down, but it's always windy here and we've been on a rain bender, so that's waiting for completion. Install new flue liners and two new wood stoves, which we intend to heat the majority of the house this year instead of $4/gal oil. 'Nuf said finish remodeling the one full bath we have - because a dripping faucet has become rip it down to studs, undo the scary, criminally stupid work the previous owners did and put it right, but that means we will first have to stack the washer and dryer and install a knock-down shower in the laundry room so we're not all showering at the Y. The problem is that some things take me 30 minutes away in one direction (fetching the stacking kit I ordered for delivery to the nearest Sears store... that's more like 40 minutes), some take me 30 minutes in the other, like PE, picking up our food order, etc. Somehow, I need to put all of this, location/route inclusive, into a <fill in the blank> so I can get it all done without losing hours and hours driving back and forth past my house, dropping the ball on my appointments, etc. Something that will smash all the crap together and plot it out, that I can take any given thing and say "that's not important/urgent, reschedule it". Oh, and if there's an app for that, well, I might plotz. You know, like HST+, but for my life? Am I tilting at windmills here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erica in OR Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 A book that changed how I deal with life tasks is David Allen's "Getting Things Done". I think there was a discussion about it on the boards awhile ago. His ideas about planning what to do next by evaluating time available, energy available, and priority were helpful for me. I use the Mac program iGTD to keep track of my "next action" lists. Another book that gave me good insight is Leo Babauta's "The Power of Less". My library system had both of these books, so I was able to take a look beforehand, but ended purchasing them both. Erica in OR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaxMom Posted October 19, 2011 Author Share Posted October 19, 2011 Thanks, Erica! I love Leo, and subscribe to his blog, actually. I just looked up Getting Things Done in our library's catalog. Bonus: they have the audiobook on CD!! So I can listen while I do stuff! I think I looked at the GTD iphone app, too. I should really just look at these things online, so I can get better info while not going blind. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delighted3 Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 I can't even believe I am going to give advice about time/task management, but here goes. When I have a lot to get done, I print off calendar pages with each day on one page and the hours of the day listed for say a week at a time. I put all the things that are set in stone like appts/due dates in pen. I then make a list of all the things that I want to get done and if it includes multiple steps like remodeling, then I list out the steps with approximately how much time each thing will take. I also add errands and meal planning to the list. After I have made my list, I use a pencil and start scheduling things in starting with the priorities. I look where I need to go for appts and see if any of my errands will coincide with that. I don't do this all the time because it does take time and I am just not that organized, but when I do have a lot to get done, this system really helps me to make the most of my time. HTH, Joy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 I use a combo of David Allen's Getting Things Done, Julie Morgenstern's Time Management from the Inside Out, and FranklinCovey principles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plink Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 Have you seen the 2Do app? I love it. You can input all of your lists, attach locations, phone numbers, etc. and let it organize everything for you. One of the best features is the little button at the bottom labeled "nearby." It will tell you what else you can/should accomplish from your current location. I also love that you are able organize your to do list by either date or priority level. Sometimes I have things that are okay to sit at the bottom of the list forever and I don't want to be pinged every day saying that it is overdue, but by listing it without a due date and putting it at a low level of priority, it stays on the list. I can simply search for low level priorities the next time I have a free minute (ahem... yeah... or when I am procrastinating on another task) and it is still there waiting for me. I use it to store lists for grocery shopping, books I want to purchase, ideas for birthday parties, and a lot more. Okay, one more handy feature is the ability to set up repeat events. Say you want to have it remind you every Tuesday that your child has piano lessons, it can give you a reminder in-app, an audio alert, send you an e-mail, or all three. :D HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kiwi-commons Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 I have never read this myself, but I've had a few people tell me that the pomodoro technique has worked wonders for them: http://www.pomodorotechnique.com/ (no affiliation) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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