First annual, Power of [you name it] room management

[GTDmw]

It was great to focus on the kids and teach them ways to help them clean up and get organized (Read the Power of Mudroom Management post in this forum to learn more). But lurking in my basement, tucked away behind the finished part of the basement, is my shop (my tinker space). It is a MESS!

My wife reminded me of the mess recently. I snapped back defensively, "I need a space just to be me!" I pulled the "guy space" or "man cave" argument in the hopes of fending off the attack. I think it worked but I definitely did not make any points with my wife with my response. Plus, she was right.... gosh darn it... again!

Here I was writing about the Power of Mud Room Management and defending my mess. Can you feel the disconnect? I've got to believe (or hope) I am not alone here.

So here is the idea. We all have a room of some sort that needs some GTD lovin'. The holidays are approaching and perhaps you have a little vacation time to use up. I am going to work on my space during the holidays and will attempt to apply the GTD principles. I will post my results here.

If you have a [you name it] space, how about doing this:

(1) Name it. Once you name it you can own it.
(2) Figure out your GTD strategy for the space.
(3) Take a before picture (either a 'verbal' picture or actual photo)
(4) Work on it.
(5) Take an after picture.
(6) Share your results here.

I bet there are a lot of GTD Connect members that would love to see some examples from your situation.

Let the games begin!

Did I mention the due date for this?
1/13/08

Here is what my project list looks like for this:

Complete... clean up and organization of shop by applying GTD principles by 1/13/08

My next action:
@Home
- Sit in shop and brainstorm a list of ideas for space

 

[Barb]

What fun!

Great "In Conversation" this month, with 3 writers from "The Simpsons". For me, the stress of working in a wacked-out environment like that would probably make me nuts, but it was interesting to hear how they try to put some structure into their lives to compensate.

Lots of fun...and a nice Christmas present (I opened it early) :-}

 

[torialouise]

How did the clean up go?

Mike

Would be interested on how the clean up went. I'm about to attack the office and i like the strategy you took. I have the before picture and i'm currently using the natural planning model to define what the room should be - hopefully it will be all sorted for when i return to work next week.

Thanks Toria

 

[GTDmw]

Clean up results (way over due) but some GTD lessons applied...

Hello all,

This project has been on my project list for a long time. So too has the sense of guilt for not posting any results.

My workshop workspace is a tough space to get under control. It seems that everything that does not have a permanent home crawls down to our basement and takes up residence where ever it wants.

But an interesting thing happened along the way. Since the project was on my project list my mind was always working on the problem. Combine that with the fact that I had recently bought some new shoe laces to replace some old worn out shoe laces. The shoe lace package had two sets of laces. I used one for my shoes and put the other set in my home INBOX. And there they sat for a long time. Where the heck do you file shoe laces?

The two problems: my workspace and my shoe laces - swirled around my mind for weeks. Then said I said - "ah ha!" I need an INBOX and filing system for my workspace!

I designed a system and have been using it for about 2 months now and the change is sticking. Here it is:

(1) Here is a picture of my system:
- I reused a bin holder.
- I bought some flip lid bins
- I labeled them using the A-Z system
- This is my "filing cabinet"

(2) My "file folders" are zip lock backs that you can write on.

(3) Here is how I would process a random baggage lock:

- Pull out a zip lock
- Label it "lock"
- Put the lock in the bag
- File the back under "L" for lock

There you have it! I hope this helps you find a "home" for some of your misc. stuff.

Best regards,

Mike

 

[mwinn]

Good to see this post again

Hi, All,

After moving for the 2nd time in 9 months (the first time across the country, the 2nd time locally & we expect to stay put for awhile now!), I really need the Natural Planning Model! We're in the middle of unpacking...

So here's my PROJECT: Complete... fully functional & organized home office by applying GTD principles by 8/14/08 [giving myself 4 weeks to finish this!]

My verbal "before" picture: I use my home office to run the business office of a consulting firm (a part-time job), manage the household, do my writing projects, and keep "my" books (my husband & I have a very large volume of books -- most of them shared, but some we each want to keep close at hand). I have a huge roll-top desk & the drawers to the cubbies got scrambled during the move. All the boxes were stacked in the closet so there was room to set up the desk. I usually have shelving in the closet to hold the office supplies, but the closet was full of boxes. The way I had my office set up at the previous townhouse was that the desk was the only convenient horizontal surface in the room, which didn't work - too many things just ended up on the desk & it became my giant in-box. (The "actual" in-box was on the upper level of the desk.)

So this time I traded one of my 4-drawer file cabinets with my husband for the two 2-drawer files -- now I have a second place for things to land, and a place for the in boxes that isn't physically on my desk (one in-box for me, one for the business, one for the household). But currently those file cabinets have other random things on them, too (the problem with flat surfaces -- they gather "stuff"!).

I have all of the boxes unpacked -- except the last few of office supplies that go on the bookshelves I just placed in the closet. BUT -- the files are just placed randomly placed in the file cabinets & need to be completely re-ordered and purged, and the books are all on shelves, but not in any particular order. I was desperate to get the boxes unloaded so that I could get the shelves into the closet to unpack the boxes of supplies & blank CDs, etc.

My GTD Strategy:
My purpose and vision is clear -- a functional, attractive workspace with everything where it belongs.

My Next Actions:
- Unpack the remaining boxes and get the office supplies in the closet
- Map out how I want to use the file cabinets & bookshelves I have (which types of books & files go where)

I'll report back by August 14th! Thanks for all being there so I have someone to share the process & the journey with! (And I'm inspired to do this analysis room-by-room for the rest of the house, too, but won't be posting all of that.)

Margaret

 

[mwinn]

Progress update...

After working on the room this weekend, I now have the office supplies in the closet on bookshelves (where they belong). Ah, the pleasure of being able to FIND things again!

Much like Mike found that part of his holdup in his workshop was the way that "everything without a home" ended up there and that he needed an In Box, I found many things had landed in my office that didn't belong there -- all those random containers of "stuff" from the move that might have one item for my office in it... What I ended up having to do was create a big, clearly labeled OUT box -- mine has a big label that says "Take Away from here" on it & the label is mounted on bright blue paper. It is big enough that it held everything from this round of purging the office, and yet is small enought to sit on the 2-drawer file cabinet.

I ended up moving the In Boxes off of the 2-drawer file cabinets near the door because they were taking up all of the free "staging area" space I'd created by HAVING them in the room in the first place. They're now on top of the 4-drawer files -- further away from the door and less "in the way" when I'm doing work.

What has been your experience with the placement of your In-Box(es)? Are there some places where you've found it to be more effective? Other places that seemed to make sense but ended up getting in the way?

For the consulting business, I tend to put everything into its In Box as it shows up, and then only process it on the 2 days a week that I work on that job, so it is both "IN" and temporary storage until I do any of that work.

Any advice on "recovering" from a move? I found it easier, in some ways, to move across the country than to "just" move across town. I feel much more tired with this move and that it is harder to re-settle than it was 9 months ago... Ideas & encouragement appreciated!

Thanks,

Margaret

 

[mwinn]

Report

These past 4 weeks, since my last post, I've made a lot of progress but not accomplished everything I'd hoped -- isn't that often the case?

I've gotten the desk totally set-up and the small drawers in the rolltop arranged so I'm not moving the flat-panel monitor to reach some of the most often used items. (The most often used items had been in the middle of the bank of drawers/cubbies when I had a laptop, which was easy to reach behind. With the desktop & flat-panel monitor I hadn't thought about, and the way the cables are it was MUCH harder to move that monitor out of the way.) What is it David says about having the work environment support you?So true!

The two 2-drawer file cabines by the door are cleared off except for organized project support materials and the current work files that I'm not working on at any given minute. I'd been trying to keep them on the surface of my desk itself at the other house and it was making things way too cluttered & "inviting" me to dump everything else not currently being worked on ontop of the desk, too. So I've major improvment in work habits and much less time processing my desk as giant in-box.

Having the in-boxes on top of the 4-drawer files across the (small) room from the door has worked out great. Very accessible and yet totally out of the way when I'm not actually working with them.

As for the reference files... it all sounded so easy 4 weeks ago to determine where I wanted to keep things and then work towards that. As I continued to work on things, I realized that's not where my energy was, AT ALL. I had much more desire & motivation to finish unpacking book boxes in the living room and and getting some work done in the basement (that I had thought would be several months in the future), so I put my reference files back on to a "sometime soon" list instead of an active project list.

I'm a little disappointed that none of the questions I asked in my last post got any kind of response. I was hoping that there could be some discussion, but maybe this thread was in the wrong forum for that...

I continue to be grateful that I stumbled across GTD 2+ years ago -- I can't imagine handling all of the transitions of the last 2 years without it! And I still love Connect.

continuing on,

Margaret

 

[sdann]

What has been your experience with the placement of your In-Box(es)? Are there some places where you've found it to be more effective? Other places that seemed to make sense but ended up getting in the way?

In my case, I have an inbox on my desk that I try (really hard) to empty daily. It needs to be visible, so that it reminds me to process it. Although it stresses me when it gets too "full", out-of-sight is out-of-mind for me. I feel great when I have processed it.

I also don't keep any project support material on my desk, which is very easy to keep clean and organized now. The longer I practice GTD the quicker I can determine where to put something.

 

[GTDmw]

Margaret... keep going

Margaret,

Keep going. Your thread is great.

A funny thing happens when you write about your experience. You are able to document your process then come back and look at it with fresh eyes.

There is a great quote I use to help me make changes. Here it is:

"The system is perfectly designed to produce this outcome."

If you get the same outcome over and over again, you need to look at the "system" that produces it. A system is made up of many variables.

Going back to my basement project, I am not the only person who produces "stuff" in my house. Yet, the "system" slowly migrates it down to my basement. I think this is probably pretty common with anyone who lives with another person or has a family with children.

So.... this has led me to think about two main things:

(1) Inbound question: What is the source of this "stuff?"
(2) Outbound question: How can I efficiently and effectively move it out of the house (in reality, my basement is one big INBOX that needs to be processed)?

I am still working on item #1 with the family. Regarding item #2, we have recently completed a garage sale and are experimenting with Craig's List. This is helping me move some of the larger items that we no longer use.

I am not sure the solutions I use will work for you. But the core "inbound" and "outbound" questions may be the same.

Last, I have described the inbound/outbound problem to my wife. As a result she can now "see" the problem as a system. She came up with a great idea to throw away/recycle one garbage bag full of "stuff" per week as a goal. This helped a bunch.

Best of luck to you,

Mike