I said I wouldn't write about life hacks 😊
But here's everything I use to stay organized 🗂️
So, I mentioned recently I don’t write much about DIY stuff or life hacks, but here I am with something different this week that verges on exactly that. 🤭
Recently I was thinking about how a big part of navigating through life is the process of adding tools to our toolbelt, whether it’s for emotional support and our own well-being, to make life easier, and/or work towards goals or good habits. We might also remove tools that no longer serve us. This applies to all aspects of life, but for this issue of Field Notes I want to focus on the tools and tricks I use to stay organized.
Sounds fun, right? 🙃
Some context: I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that without a considerable level of organization, I couldn’t keep up with the responsibilities of being a human-mother-of-two-wife-three-time-business-owner-entrepreneur-author-creative-coach-and-more. I’m sure you have your own version of this, and I bet you’ve got your own strategies. I wanted to share a bit about the tools I use that keep me sane, reduce overwhelm, and assure me that I’m not missing something important.
These tools help to reduce clutter (of all kinds) and free up my mental bandwidth so that I can live with more ease. I’m not going to talk about the KonMari Method of keeping your house tidy (a worthwhile endeavour — godspeed!). Instead, this information is geared towards the tidying of various tasks, projects, and responsibilities.
Before I dive in, these are the systems I’ve been honing the past few years after much trial and error. This “system” is not meant to encourage hyperproductivity. What makes my list first goes through a fine sieve (a post about that another time). Most tools are used interchangeably between my work and personal life, and that suits me. Of course, everyone needs to design their own systems but perhaps this will give you some ideas.
If you get a chance, I think it’s worth setting time aside to make an inventory of how you are keeping yourself organized. Look for redundancy and where the “leaks” are in your system. Is there anything that causes ongoing frustration or overwhelm? What tools might help you overcome this?
This very exercise provided me with the perfect opportunity to do that inventory, and here’s what’s made the cut.
"Clutter isn’t just the stuff on the floor. It’s anything that gets between you and the life you want to be living.” - Peter Walsh
Tools for Staying Organized
Primary Tools/Apps
Google Calendar + Tasks - my master planner with all appointments, meetings, deadlines, personal planning (gym time, etc), as well as both one-off and recurring tasks.
Microsoft To Do (app) - a quick-add option for ideas and tasks as they come to mind. Once or twice a week I go through this and either complete the task right then and there, move it to a Google Task, add it to my weekly task planning (see below), or delete it (sometimes they just aren’t that important). I also use it to store links to my favourite recipes and articles I need for research.
Apple Notes - a dumping ground for longer entries, plus Shared Notes with my partner for household tasks/shopping/appointments so we can share the load (a game-changer, if you ask me!). I also use it for trip packing lists, hashtag lists, captions and information I need for social media, notes from meetings, etc.
Slack (Business) - the best communications tool I’ve ever used. Conversations are sent in threads (categories) to keep them organized. It also gives you the permission to cut the formalities (not to mention the endless email chains) and get right to it.
Momentum Dashboard - a Chrome plug-in that will pop up as your new window or tab and includes a focus for the day, a quick-add task feature, optional widgets, and a nice photo and inspirational quote to ground you.
Printed Monthly Calendars - for family events, things my kids need to remember, activities, travel and important occasions. I post 2 or 3 months at a time right on the fridge.
Notepad and Pen(s) - more on this in a moment.
For Tasks
Weekly Task Planning - I can’t rely on digital products alone. I use paper and pen to wrap my mind around my week ahead so that I can space out my tasks and responsibilities and avoid wasting time wondering what I might be missing. My one-page weekly task planning looks a bit something like the image below. The point is that it focuses on just one week at a time, and this is what I largely focus my energy and attention on. The rest will be prompted by auto-reminders (see below).
A few notes:
People (at the top) refers to friends I want to connect with socially.
I almost always leave one weekday blank (usually Friday). I like to aim for a four-day work week.
Setting Auto-Reminders with Google Tasks (on Google Calendar)
This is my favourite tool for tracking and allotting tasks so that I can declutter my weekly task planning. These are generally tasks that can be handled in a quick 1-5 minutes. I love that tasks carry over from one day to the next if I don’t complete them so that I have a backup reminder in case I don’t get to it. I also love how you can set tasks to recur on any cadence. I use them to prompt me to make tax payments, back up documents, send invoices, start on articles, and more.
More Life Organization Ideas
Time-Blocking: Each week, I have a Google Task set up to remind me to block off time in the upcoming week for personal time, whether it’s going to the gym, for a walk or hike, or just down-time. I also block off any time I might need to allocate to a big project, such as an article with a deadline or task that will require several hours of devoted attention.
I don’t otherwise do a deep dive into extensive time-blocking, as it’s a level of daily organization that’s unnecessary for me. What I tune into instead is where my mind and body are throughout the day. Mornings, for instance, are for writing, deep mental work and creativity. Afternoons are perfect for admin and meetings. I allocate my work tasks accordingly.
Managing Emails: I use Labels in Gmail to keep emails categorized to make it easier to find things later. I otherwise use the Priority inbox setting and mark emails as “unread” until I have handled them.
Google Docs and Sheets: These are used extensively to synchronize documents across all my devices. I organize everything in folders so that they are easy to find.
Browsing Bookmarks: Chrome (can you tell I’m a fan of Google products?) has a wonderful new bookmarks feature that allows you to slide links into folders to keep them handy. This is especially helpful for business activities and projects.
Handling (Some Things) Right Away: I try to stay on task instead of addressing things as they come into my life (emails, chores, texts). But there are two things I handle straight away when they come in. The first is physical mail. As soon as I’m home, I open envelopes, deposit cheques, recycle junk, and make a note of anything important I might need to do (like call an insurance company). The second is emails from the school. I check them right away and handle whatever needs to be addressed, such as booking a parent-teacher interview or adding notes to the calendar for dress-up days. If ever I totally miss something, it’s because I didn’t open this mail right away!
I hope you enjoyed this journey through my mind and organizational systems. Written out like this, it looks a tad intense, perhaps even overwhelming. What it doesn’t show is just how much space and peace of mind these tools create for me. 🩵 It’s because of these systems that I can rest easy knowing that I’ll handle the right tasks at the right time and that I have the margin in my life to enjoy the good things, too.
I’d love to hear more about your own systems or specific tools you enjoy, so feel free to write back or comment below.
Meghan J. Ward is an outdoor, travel and adventure writer based in Banff, Canada, a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, and the author of Lights to Guide Me Home. Meghan has written several books, as well as produced content for films, anthologies, blogs and some of North America’s top outdoor, fitness and adventure publications.
What’s caught my attention lately… ✨
I haven’t written much before about TV shows that I like, but here’s what I’m watching these days: The Morning Show (a modern workplace drama and soooo good) and The Americans (a period spy drama about KGB spies living in America).
Check these out too… 🙌
Lights to Guide Me Home: A Journey Off the Beaten Track in Life, Love, Adventure and Parenting - my memoir (reviews welcome on Amazon and Goodreads)
The Wonders That I Find - my children’s book
My Email Newsletter - updates about my books, projects, and 1:1 coaching
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I think I picked up the Wonderlist tip from you years ago. That's morphed into Todoist, which I love for the repeatable tasks. Like you, I focus on creative stuff in the mornings, then the deep dive into work and hard problems. Then exercise (11 o'clock meetings, so named because if you're not out skiing at the Nordic Centre by 11 o'clock in February, then you're not getting any direct sunlight), then the emails and small tasks in the afternoon. The most important thing I ever did to find balance with personal-work-creative-family (four pillars, but I only have time to do three well on any given day) is to book myself off on my calendar and all my client's calendars at 11 o'clock each day. People get ornery when you take time to exercise, but if it is a meeting (i.e. work) they think that is OK. Focus is all important - I assign one and only one thing to achieve creatively each day. If I do more, great, but I force the focus on that one thing before I do anything else, and it justifies the whole day.
Shared Apple Notes with partner is *SUCH* a game-changer. We use the same running Note for the grocery list and another for meal planning.