Organising the organisers

Posted by Stephen R. Diamond
Apr 3, 2007 at 05:58 PM

Graham Rhind wrote:
>Until something becomes routine,
>the only way I can currently organise my organising is by adding numerous tasks to
>Outlook (the only program guaranteed to always be running) to remind me to
>synchrnoise this, or update that.

This method serves me to organize my organizing, although I do it more for efficient transition and general planning. I use a program called GoalEnforcer Hyperfocus (previously mentioned here in its base GoalEnforcer version) to plan the steps in a project, with the software I plan to use as part of the task description. I make a point of not deviating from this plan without first changing it or adding to it. In addition to solving the problem of organizing my organizing, I find that prior planning, with subsequent revision of the plan, increases my efficiency.

I use GoalEnforcer because I like the way it displays topics in BrainStorm fashion, and these diagrams are not so complex as to need a full mind mapper. Although I like the display of topics in GoalEnforcer better than mindmappers, it still lacks some of the basic ‘modern outlining features’ and requires some added keystrokes over a mind mapper. This is why I don’t use GoalEnforcer for general mindmapping. Also, keeping my overall operational plan in a separate program from the mindmapper where I create a content-based outline helps avoid momentary confusion.

I think this is an efficient way of working, and the small sacrifices of time to create and augment the plan are worth it. It is very regimented and would not be everyone’s cup of tea. I charge for work on the clock, so I have a duty be as efficient as I can.