(no subject)

[queenbookwench]

I want to be more organized. I really really do. And I have tried different things at different times, but nothing has worked for me consistently. FlyLady, despite her sometimes-annoying tone, is possibly the best for me, in terms of using what she had to say and being able to incorporate it. I was trying some of her ideas and they were working really well, until I moved, which absolutely blew apart any consistency in my life. I am just now getting things back to what I would consider normal. But I hate the feeling of looking around yet again, in my voluminous folder of papers that should have been marked and handed back long ago, for the rough draft of one of the students that I am meeting for a conference later this afternoon, and not being able to find it. Looking some more, and still not finding it. Fretting. I can feel my heart beating faster. I feel small, bad. A bad teacher. Incompetent. Irresponsible. All the things that my perfectionism has pushed me to never, ever be. I know that it isn't just time managment & organization. I am working two jobs (because I have to, for rent and expenses) and taking 7 credit hours and trying to finish my thesis. But better organizational skills would help.

Comments

I can't harp on it enough...

[whytcrow.livejournal.com]

Organizing From the Inside Out by Julie Morgenstein. When Melissa is done with it, you can borrow it, after I look through it briefly first. The focus of this book is understanding you and your needs before you jump into a system.

Getting Things Done by David Allen. This is a wonderful productivity process. Designed primarily for the corporate sector, it is applicable to all aspects of your day to day life.

As for Flylady, I'd like to hear your review of it. I've looked at it but am not sure it fits in with the other stuff.

Re: I can't harp on it enough...

[queenbookwench.livejournal.com]

I have JM's book, and have used ideas from it before. I guess where I have always had trouble with it is that--it isn't really _getting_ organized that's the problem--i can do that, and have, hundreds of times. It's having the skills to _stay_ organized and not slip back into chaos and entropy. I should look back at her book again though. FlyLady is more about building the routines into your life, which is why I think it will be more helpful for me, even though her tone is a little too "golly-gee-whiz" and perky for me sometimes. I should look at the JM book again though.

Re: I can't harp on it enough...

[whytcrow.livejournal.com]

Yeah, staying organized is the hardest. I think that for me the key is to first make sure that *everything* has a specific home, and then to make a concerted effort to train myself to return things to their proper place. Also, I try to at least once every couple of days go through my office and fix stuff. This keeps it from getting too chaotic.

Don't underestimate the power of labels, either.

I still think that Getting Things Done is a good complement to any system. I can loan you the book if you'd like to check it out.

Re: I can't harp on it enough...

[whytcrow.livejournal.com]

Another note: Barnes and Noble has an online "university" that you can take classes from. Both Getting Things Done and Organizing From the Inside Out are provided as free classes, starting May 5th.

[likeadeuce.livejournal.com]

oh baby, don't I know it. Hang in there. i was exhorting my students today to be honest on their evals, and I'm a little scared about how obvious my disorganization has been this semester. . .i know this is an ongoing worry for you, but I also know you've made a lot of progress and it's no good judging yourself by someone else's standards, kay?

Coffee and Buffy soon? ;)

[queenbookwench.livejournal.com]

by all means, coffee and buffy soon! possibly this weekend? And I worry about that on evals too--not so much b/c of the disorganization itself, but because it is the visible evidence that I suck at getting back papers on time. I'm okay with major papers, but quizzes, micro-analyses (like journals but a little more formal) and in-class writings not so much. Thus the hyoooge pile in my backpack.

[sarafiend.livejournal.com]

bawk bawk little chicken. i feel you. last night i briefly lost my cat. turns out when i was carrying groceries into my apartment, she slipped out the door into the hallway of my condo and i shut her out. i went to feed her a few minutes later and when she didn't come running at the sound of purina hitting her bowl, i knew something was up. a few minutes later, i found her patiently waiting outside my door. i told myself i need to get more sleep, and maybe some gingko biloba! so at least your student paper was inanimate!

[trouvera.livejournal.com]

Oh darlin I soooo know where you're coming from! I've been in my apt. here 7 months now and while all of the "stuff" is in place and more or less organized, the paper, oh dear gods the paper. File cabinets had to be emptied for the movers and even though I tried to keep things straight while packing, it went to hell while unpacking. Trying to find articles and resources for papers this year has been ridiculous.

I think I'm going to have to invest in the book the first commenter mentioned. I've done this before and held it together home files wise for the better part of two years, surely I can do it again, right???

[gwynraven.livejournal.com]

going back through reading all the stuff I missed :) You know I have at least as much trouble with this as you do. Must pull out the JM book again, particularly since I will be moving in about a month. I still have boxes from the last move that never got unpacked. But I feel your pain. It took me about 3 hours to find my GRE scores when I needed them earlier this semester.