It’s been several weeks since I’ve posted about my progress with David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” system. While I still haven’t had the opportunity to do my full-blown purge and brain dump, implementing even aspects of the system has helped to significantly shift in the way I manage my stuff. In the intervening weeks, I’ve implemented few more gems that have really helped me stay on top of things, one of which relates to filing.

There are several things that Allen’s suggests that really break some of my own organizational rules. I’m not sure where the rules came from (most likely from jobs in previous careers that involved organizing other people’s stuff), but they stuck and stuck hard. It’s such a relief to discover other ways that mesh much better with my natural way of being. The idea of buying hundreds of file folders and creating files on the fly was so freeing. For whatever reason, in my world, file folders were reserved for only the most permanent of files. Things I needed to retain indefinitely, like client records, tax documents, bank statements, restaurant menus, etc.

With my newly attained freedom, I’m working on my third box of file folders! Creating files for short term projects and miscellaneous information has a pretty fantastic impact. I feel like I’m on my way to building a system that I really trust. I realized this earlier in the week as I headed out various meetings or prepared for phone calls. I was able to make one pit stop and find all of the information I needed related to the topic at hand by just flipping through the alphabet. No sorting through stacks of papers, notebooks, binders, or looking through the desk and assorted in/out baskets. Everything I needed was just where I expected it to be and it felt grand!

The result has been a little extra bounce in my step. Like, I’m really pulling it together as I build a system I trust to manage my personal and business lives, and I’m creating better work/life balance in the process.

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As a work at home mom (life and career coach) with three children, ages five and under, who is also a partner with my husband in a web business (Sojo Solutions) and who runs a community of support for entrepreneurial moms (The Enterprising Moms), I have a ton of stuff to wrangle, and it’s been completely out of control!

Many moons ago, my friend Jen recommended David Allen’s book, “Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity.” At the time, it sounded like it could be helpful, but I was in the process of developing yet another system of my own, so I’d check it out as some point.

Many more moons later, I was still struggling to wrangle my stuff, and getting a little desperate. Work was picking up all in directions and the state of my stuff was costing me in time, money and pure psychic energy. My countless experiments in time and stuff management were no longer functional. And I no longer had the leisure of reinventing my systems every three to four months, just for fun. (I had discovered at some point along the way, that I really like to create systems, but wasn’t so good at using them.)

After being haunted for weeks by things I feared might be slipping through the cracks, I made a choice to take a different approach. I ventured to the bookstore on a quest for “Getting Things Done” and have been hooked since. It’s like Allen has taken all of the various iterations of my ‘systems’ – the lists, spreadsheets (color-coded; time-based; grouped by task, subject, or context), outlines and mind maps, paper planners in all shapes and sizes, electronic planners in several flavors, and web-based tools – and culled them into a usable system. I usually shutter at the thought of subscribing to anyone’s ’system,’ but not in this case!

The system isn’t simple, nor is the process of setting it up. In fact, given all of my competing demands, it will take weeks, if not months for me to implement in bits and pieces – as opposed to a few dedicated days as he suggests, to gather and process all of one’s stuff.

Still, I’ve noticed that even small bits have had a big impact – I’ve maintained a zero-count in all of my email in-boxes for almost two weeks! My attitude towards my stuff has improved because I’m putting structures in place to tie up loose ends that used to dangle freely in the wind. And getting organized has helped me to be more productive with family life, household things and work. My work/life balance is shifting to a more comfortable place, and I love it! The ripple effect is pretty cool.

So, stay tuned. As I make my way through the book and implement the system, I’ll be sharing more about my progress as I go.

In the meantime, some food for thought:

Where have you gotten stuck, doing things your way, despite less than satisfactory results? How might a new perspective and some fresh ideas shake things up?

Now, go stir the pot!

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