Hasta La Ideas

Since late November, I’ve been writing a book. I recently turned in the manuscript to my publisher, and I have gone from working hard 14-hour days 7 days a week back to working manageable 8-hour days 5 days a week. (The book comes out November 3, and I’ll give more information about it as the publishing date gets closer. I am really excited about it.)

Unfortunately, as my responsibilities have plummeted in the last two weeks, so has my productivity. It’s now taking me three to four times longer to do routine and simple tasks. My mind is wandering, I’m in no rush to get anything done, and yesterday, for the first time in over a year, a post went up on the site 30 minutes late.

In 1957, Professor C. Northcote Parkinson wrote of this phenomenon in his book Parkinson’s Law and Other Studies in Administration. The opening sentence of his book proclaims the culmination of his research, “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” And, since I am carrying a significantly lighter load of work, it’s taking me unreasonable amounts of time to do it.

Part of this decrease in productivity is probably healthy. For six months, I was pushing myself unusually hard. However, it’s time for me to get my bum back into gear and return to a regular level of efficiency.

To do this, I’m taking the following steps:

1. Planning my new perfect day.
2. Using a timer and music to motivate me to do my work in a speedy manner.
3. Using my project management software for the smallest of tasks.
4. Giving myself permission to leave work whenever I finish at any point after 3:00 p.m.

Have you noticed that your productivity takes a dive after the completion of a large project? Is Parkinson’s Law true for you? What do you do to turn this around?

After Brian’s DIY note card task board post ran on Unclutterer, reader Cindy tipped us off to the Card Wheel by Real Simple:

Similar to a photo album, the Card Wheel has clear pockets that you can slip paper cards into and organize the cards by color tabs. Instead of using note cards, you can use business card size paper for your tasks. Simply flip open the Card Wheel and see all that you need to do.

Thank you, Cindy, for this great idea.

I want to welcome guest author Tim Chase and his “family friendly” version of WSD. His system is just as simple, just as much fun, but with a less-adult vocabulary.

Thanks to my local public library, I’ve joined the ranks of folks who have read David Allen’s Getting Things Done. However I became bogged down in the implementation details. Then I stumbled across this article on smallist.com and in a lightbulb moment I recognized it as a similar technique I’ve watched my father use for years.

Failed by GTD

Overwhelmed by GTD’s buzzwords (contexts, ubiquitous capture, tickler files, 43-folders, buckets, etc), the simplicity of WSD is appealing:

• Find something to write on.
• Find something to write with.
• Finally, and most importantly, WRITE STUFF DOWN.

GTD also seems to promote beautiful yet expensive implements — PDA/smart-phones, Moleskine® notebooks, space-pens. WSD has no such pretensions. While you can use your PDA/smart-phone, your Moleskine or your space-pen, you can certainly employ a wide varity of writing surfaces and implements.

Writing Surfaces

Write on whatever is handy — 3×5 cards (Hipster PDA-ized or otherwise), Post-It® note pads, cheap spiral-bound pocket notepads, envelopes, margins of newspapers or magazines, or even paper-towels, napkins, tissues or toilet-paper in desperation. You can carry them with you at all times or just as needed. I prefer to only carry paper when I know I may not have something on which I can write. A box of old business cards and a small whiteboard in the kitchen for grocery lists; page-a-day calendar sheets in the study for to-do lists; a small tablet by the bedside and in the car; Post-It pads at work. For other places, I simply take a little pocket-sized notepad (a four-pack at the local dollar-store).

Things on which you should not write your important brain-droppings: receipts, bills you have to pay, cheques, paper currency, contracts, library books, the Dead Sea Scrolls, or the Magna Carta. Unless you copy them off ASAP to something less transient (and in the case of library books, the Dead Sea Scrolls, or important constitutional documents, I suggest removing your writing from them first).

Writing Implements

Writing implements also abound — while you can use your space-pen, that $180 gold-encrusted beast engraved with your name and business, or your favorite Hello Kitty® glittery gel pen with the glow-in-the-dark purple ink, I lean toward the cheap and abundant options. You’re not illuminating monastic manuscripts, you’re getting an idea out of your head and onto paper. Out and about, I usually carry a Papermate® medium-point point pen because they write well and come in 12-packs for under $2 (USD). Occasionally, I augment with a #2 automatic-pencil, also obtained in multi-packs under $2 (USD). I’ve found that the long narrow “tool pockets” in carpenter jeans/shorts hold my writing implements so they don’t jab my thighs like a regular front pocket can. And they make for a snazzy quick-draw holster effect when you whip out a pen on demand.

Depending on your location, you may find you don’t need to carry a writing implement. We keep stashes of implements around the house — in the nightstands, in the desk, in the catch-all drawer, in the bill drawer, in the cars, etc. If you’re the type who steals pens from coworkers and banks, cut that out. Or, at least give them back. At conferences, many companies hand out business-branded pens for free. In addition to the craft-boxes, parents likely find crayons under foot, in couch cushions, up noses, and on the floor under little Johnny’s wall-art. For those who do their best thinking in the shower, you can find shower/tub crayons to scrawl on the shower wall.

Conclusion

Get something to write on. Get something to write with. Write stuff down.

I’m a list keeper. I used to keep lists on stray pieces of paper around my office. Whatever was within reach would get a list on it — backs of envelopes, stray receipts, post-it notes. After I got the iPhone, my random paper list-making decreased significantly. The Notes application and I become fast friends.

However, I’ve once again found myself looking to good ol’ pen and paper to write down some of my ideas. Instead of turning to scraps of paper that will eventually clutter up my desk, I’ve decided to buy a notebook.

In my pursuit of finding the perfect notebook, I have discovered that there is a gigantic market of luxury notebooks out there. I honestly had no concept of how large it is. So, if you’re in the market for a good notebook to keep your ideas in one organized location, these are the brands to explore:

• Awagami
• Alwych
• Apica
• Bienfang
• Canteo
• Cartesio
• Cavallini
• Ciak
• Clairefontaine
• Derwent
• Doane
• Eccolo
• Exacompa
• Fabriano
• Field Notes
• G. Lalo
• Guildhall
• HandBook
• Kunst and Papier
• Markings
• Maruman Hongasen
• Miquelrius
• Moleskine/Kikkerland
• Myndology
• Nomad
• Pen and Ink
• Pentalic
• Piccadilly
• Quo Vadis
• Rag and Bone
• Rite in the Rain
• Rhodia
• Smythson
• Whitelines
• Xonex Ru

I made my decision about which to buy based on reviews I came across on a couple of notebook blogs. The blog Black Cover has pictures and reviews of some of the little black notebooks. And the website Notebook Stories has reviewed 19 different brands.

Are you a traditional notebook aficionado? Is there a brand or style that didn’t make my list? Please let us know about it in the comments!

I quote lines from the movie Office Space at least once a week. I saw the movie almost 10 years ago, and it’s still running through my head. It’s a good bet that at some point today, I’ll tell someone they have a “case of the Mondays” in a high-pitched, super grating tone.

Researchers in Britain have found, however, that it’s not Mondays we should dread, but Tuesday mornings at 11:45. This is the most stressful time of the work week. We zoom through Monday still on weekend mode and don’t really get down to business until Tuesday.

Graham Waters, whose firm polled 3,000 adults for the study, explains in The Telegraph:

“Traditionally people associate Monday as the worst day of the week, but this doesn’t seem to be the case – coasting through Monday means we’re worse off on Tuesday – both in terms of workloads and stress levels.

“We lead such fast-paced lives that stress naturally runs side by side with this – especially when it comes to work.

“Tuesday at 11:45am seems to be the time in the day when the real workload for the week hits employees and as a result stress levels rise.

“The study also revealed Tuesday as the day when workers are most likely to work through their lunch break due to the realisation they have a busy week ahead.”

The best way to avoid the 11:45 Tuesday stress pile up is to get down to business on Monday. Regular routines can help you be productive even when you’d rather be surfing Facebook.

Do you agree or disagree with the poll’s findings? Will knowing this information change your behavior? Do you have an established routine? Tell us what you think in the comments.

Image from the movie Office Space.