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background image of woman writing in notebook. Text on top says "Making 'writing it down' work for you"

Making “writing it down” work for you

Last time we talked about my number one tip for keeping track of everything is to write it down AND how there are some things to have in place to make that work.

Today, I’m going into more detail on making writing it down work for you.

Last week, I referenced having a limited number of “capture locations.” They’re exactly what they sound like. They’re the places where you capture the information, ideas, tasks, etc. And from there, they get moved to where they need to live to take the next step.

You want a minimum number of “capture locations” to avoid the “where did I put that” scenario. If you know you write things down in one of three spots, finding what you wrote gets a lot easier.

That’s one habit to develop, deciding which capture locations work for you. I’ve had clients use phone notes, a small notebook in their purse, a notebook on their desk, Evernote, OneNote, and many other locations. It’s all about noticing what works, or would work, for you and doing it.

Another habit to develop is regularly reviewing those capture locations to move the information to where it needs to go to be done or filed. This might be something you do daily or weekly. It can also be after a meeting or tied to another event that occasionally happens.

Here’s the real secret to getting writing it down to work for you: try things until you find what works for you right now and in the immediate future.

Chances are, the first thing you try won’t work 100% for you. And that’s okay!

Notice what part of it does work for you and adjust from there.

background image of woman writing in notebook. Text on top says "My number one tip for keeping track of it all"

My number one tip for keeping track of it all

My number one tip for keeping track of it all…

Is to write it down.

It’s like that document you put in a safe place. It’s SO safe, even YOU can’t find it.

So, there are some caveats or tips to writing it down.

In David Allen’s book Getting Things Done, he talks about having a limited number of “capture locations.” Capture locations are the places you “capture” information, ideas, tasks, etc. From there, they get moved to the place they need to live so you can take whatever the next step is with them.

So, if it’s a to-do list item, it moves to your Weekly or Everything list (more on that here).

If it’s an item you’re keeping for reference, you file it with other reference items.

There are a lot of habits hiding in this workflow that need to work together.

I will go more into this next week when I talk about making “writing it down” work for you.

If you prefer listening/watching, you can catch this on YouTube. Or join the conversation in my free FB group here.

Image of a shoe with the text "What if there wasn't an 'other shoe'?"

What if there wasn’t an “other shoe”?

I remember being on a Q&A group call with my coach at the time (probably 8 years ago). Someone was sharing what was happening in her business (sharing the back story before her question), and the coach said, “It sounds like you’re waiting for the other shoe to drop. What if there’s not one?”

My coach wasn’t saying that you shouldn’t take steps to avoid mistakes or problems. She was saying that you don’t have to live with a sense of impending doom.

I’ve thought about this often in the years since this happened.

What if there wasn’t an “other shoe”?

What if you plan for what you know is coming and trust that you’ll handle it if something unexpected comes up (this might include asking for help).

As you know, I love planning. And yes, I can’t plan for everything that might happen. But I know that I have my plans and priorities laid out, and that does a lot toward handling the unexpected.

What does this look like for you and your business? What plans and priorities do you need to be clear about so you don’t get caught up waiting for the other shoe to drop?

Reach out if you want help with this!

Picture of Evie in her office with the text "The best thing you can do to achieve your goals"

The best thing you can do to achieve your goals

Have you ever set a big goal for yourself and then run out of time to get everything done over and over and over again?

We’ve all experienced this at some point. It’s so frustrating! And you might blame yourself, call yourself lazy or wonder why you can’t just get the things done you need and want to get done.

Or the flip side of this happens: you don’t set that big goal because you’ve been burned by not having enough time, and you don’t want to experience that again.

One way to prevent this from happening is to be clear on the daily, weekly, and monthly tasks that you do in your business. It will help you know how much time you have to dedicate to your bigger goals or which tasks you can delegate.

The best thing you can do to achieve your goals is to set up containers for your tasks. This means having a place to organize all the goals, projects, and tasks you have for your business. It can be on paper or digital, and it doesn’t matter as long as it works for you.

When you have a container, you’re clear on what needs to happen when and what you have time for.

I was working with someone on this last year. We were going through her week and everything that needed to be done when she had a realization. She realized that unless something came off of her plate, she couldn’t offer a class she had planned on. This came as a relief to her. It wasn’t that she was wasting a bunch of time; it was that her plate was already full and there was no room for anything else.

She decided instead of shifting things or letting something go so she could offer the class; she would focus on the things she was already doing in her business and promote her current offers. There was no need to make things more complicated.

This allowed her to keep more of her personal time for other things, which is very important!

So, set up your containers so you can keep track of all the moving pieces of your business!

Reach out if you want to chat about your situation.

PS. You’re NOT lazy. You just haven’t found a way to keep track of things that works for you!

If you prefer listening/watching, you can catch this on Facebook or YouTube.

Picture of planner/journal with text over it "'Tis the season of new planners"

‘Tis the season of new planners!

Planners for next year EVERYWHERE and there are so many to choose from.

There isn’t one planner that’s perfect for everyone (that’s why there are so many out there). 

To pick one that’s right for you, you need to know how you work best.

I don’t use a planner because how I plan my day tends to change based on what’s going on.

My more personal reason is I feel like I’m wasting the planner if I don’t use it EVERY day… But that’s an Evie quirk. Know your quirks and work with them!

Also, I love the idea of planners, but I know I work better with a spiral-bound 6.5×9.5 narrow-ruled notebook (or slightly smaller) on my desk. I like spiral bound because I can leave it open on my desk without it trying to close itself.

In the past, I’ve taken the ideas I liked from other planners and created my own. Or I used some of those ideas in my notebook.

When I was creating the first version of my system, I went to a couple of stores and just looked at all their planners. I made mental notes of the things I didn’t like and took pictures of the features I really liked.

When deciding how you’re going to manage your daily todo list, here are three things to consider:

  1. Do you want your list to be open next to you or closed?
  2. What are some of your favorite planner features?
  3. What are some planner features that you don’t like/want?

Also, trial and error are to be expected. You learn about what works and doesn’t work for you in every iteration.

If you’d like some help with this, reach out, and we can talk about your situation.

If you prefer listening/watching, you can catch this on Facebook or YouTube.