Learn | Do | Become

[PODCAST 288]: What Do I Do About the Clutter in My Head?

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Welcome to the podcast! You can click “play” above for the audio, the written version is below, and the community highlights I shared at the end can be found at the bottom of this post. Enjoy!

The other day, a member of our Steps to Everyday Productivity community posted this in our group:

Hey friends! I have a friend that is extremely overwhelmed mentally with all that she has to do. She is a very busy professional, now a student in a graduate program, a wife, etc and can’t figure out how to unravel her mind, which has never been an issue for her before. I would like to send her a video or a podcast to encourage her and give a brief overview of what the program can do. But her issue isn’t “stuff.” Any of our admins or other members have an idea of a not-too-long media piece that fits the bill?

I LOVED that question, and so I thought I’d take a few minutes today to provide a very specific answer.

This is actually my very favorite question TO answer because it was my own pain in this exact area that brought me to teach organization online. I’d learned how to declutter and create an organized space, so anyone who dropped by would probably think I had it all together, but my mind was never calm.

I couldn’t be fully present with my husband or children, I couldn’t calm my brain when it was time to sleep, my shoulders were constantly tense, my mind would be spinning in circles–even when I “should” have been relaxed, and I didn’t see any way out of that situation.

But I learned how to create that “calm”–with the help of books like Getting Things Done®, and now I want to do the same for you.

Let’s start with a few suggestions that came from our community:

Then Taryn, one of our wonderful coaches here at LearnDoBecome shared a couple of resources listed in our directory. (Come get access to that by signing up for our Welcome Kit!) I’ve listed her suggestions in the related links….one is a podcast featuring two ways to solve the constant churning in our minds. The other is a YouTube video featuring one of our members named Claire who truly thought she could never be organized, but then she built her full Command Central, and it changed her life.

I also want to feature a third recommendation that was posted in our group:

Now, that comment included multiple parts of what we call the STEP Command Central, and in essence, we help you to build a system that has 15 parts, and then we show you how to process everything into it. That includes things like papers, digital files, tasks, projects, messages, goals, errands, and every idea that is currently floating around in your head. It’s amazing. But “processing” isn’t the end. We then show you how to maintain it with a solid Weekly Review and great routines moving forward.

A quick note: we talk about ALL of this on our podcast and our YouTube channel. Nothing is a “secret,” and if you dive in fully to LearnDoBecome, you can build your system and get relief. I want to make sure that’s clear because this information is literally available to everyone. Our Welcome Kit (linked below) is a great place to start. We do have a signature program here at LearnDoBecome called “STEP,” which walks you through bite-sized assignments in order, offers a community forum, provides live group calls with our coaches, and even features an on-demand accountability program that sends you texts, emails, and social media posts where you can report back on your progress, so that is definitely an option if you want to move more quickly and get coaching along the way, but we are here to serve you in the way that works best.

All right–now going back to that last comment from our community member, I want to dive deeper into the mind sweep, the capture tool, how to use a project management software to track projects and routines, and how to create a Context-Based Next Actions List.

These are skills I first learned from David Allen, author of Getting Things Done®, but then I adapted the principles to make them visual, step-by-step, and family-friendly. If you’re balancing an active family or personal life as well as trying to build your professional or volunteer work, this is exactly the road to a peaceful mind.

(1) The Mind Sweep
  • This is where you get everything out of your head and onto paper or a digital note, spreadsheet, etc.
  • We do a “big one” during the processing part of our program, but we also recommend that you do a Mind Sweep each week during your Weekly Review–or any time you’re feeling overwhelmed and need to clear your head.
  • You then process each item so they are organized by when and how you’ll need that information. (For example, I have some big plans for LearnDoBecome, but I can’t do everything right now. I have a tiered projects list, with Current, In Progress/Waiting, Next in Line, and Someday. I can keep a few projects in “Current” and then sort the rest into the appropriate categories. That lets my brain rest because I update my Current Projects List each month, and I add in the most timely projects that were in queue–never more than 7 or 8 at a time, so they all get done.)
  • The Mind Sweep is only helpful, though, if you have the 15 parts of the Command Central ready to receive it. (They’re pictured below.)
    • (2) The Capture Tool
    • Because we want our minds to constantly feel calm, we need a simple system in place to do so. A “Mind Sweep on the go”!
    • David Allen recommends having some kind of a notebook, note card, digital note, etc. to jot things down when they come into our minds. Our minds are for having ideas, he says. Not for holding ideas. Brilliant! Some people have a page in a paper planner that they use to capture ideas. Some people email themselves. Some people have a digital note. It doesn’t matter what it looks like as long as you use it.
    • Let’s say you’re out on a walk and you remember you need to call your insurance company about an upcoming procedure. You add that to your capture tool so it doesn’t get lost.
    • Then you go through your capture tool at the end of each day–or at least once a week during your Weekly Review, and you put all those things into your Command Central.
      • (3) Project Management Software
      • This whole system can be done with paper and pen, but the digital tools today are so great that most of us prefer to organize our projects and routines digitally.
      • I personally use Asana, and I have it separated into personal, family, LearnDoBecome, and volunteer work with my church.
      • I create my project tiers in there for each of those 4 categories–Current, In Progress/Waiting, Next in Line, and Someday–and I keep all relevant information with each project (links, images, typed details, sub-tasks, etc.
      • I also keep my routines in there–things I do daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly, as needed, etc.
      • Anything that must be done has a calendar reminder attached, so I can check the “My Tasks” section each day and get a simple list of everything I need to do across all areas of responsibility. (I try not to have more than 5-10 things pop up each day. Many routines and projects are on auto-pilot and are naturally done during my work day. This prevents me from having a bunch of overdue tasks. It feels so calm and simple.
        • (4) The CBNAL
        • This stands for Context-Based Next Actions List–another blessing from David Allen
        • It’s a weekly list, organized by where you are when you are completing that action (home, computer, errands, to discuss, and phone).
        • No projects or routines or calendar-specific items go on this list. Just flexible tasks you can do anytime during the week.
        • It prevents having to rewrite your flexible tasks over and over, and when you are out running errands, for example, you can group them. So fun and easy!

          • All right, so where do you go from here?

          I recommend you first learn about all the parts of the STEP Command Central. If you sign up for our free Welcome Kit, you’ll get our LearnDoBecome Directory featuring all of the free resources we have here–plus you can immediately get started identifying your Current Projects and Next Actions.

          We have programs and coaching available, if you want more. And while our free training, “How to Finally Stop Drowning in Piles” is designed to help people out of physical clutter, you’ll love what it does for your mind, as well! You can sign up below!

          Essentially, I want you to know that you don’t have to live in overwhelm. If you feel like too much is in your head, too much is expected of you, and too much is slipping through the cracks, you can completely solve that. I didn’t believe it was possible for most of my life, so I didn’t even LOOK for a complete solution. But now my mission is to help you out of overwhelm so you can do what matters most!

          Community Highlights

          Our first message comes from Jayme:

          This Command Central transformation comes from Daisy:

          Pat sent in these images and wrote:

          “I cleaned out my office surfaces (not shelves or drawers). Now I have a pile of stuff in the corner of my bedroom, but the office is ready for Command Central. I found 3 tape dispensers and several envelope boxes that I would have tossed earlier, but thought I might find a use for them in my initial Command Central. Tomorrow is the next step!”

          And last but not least, Michelle shared the following message:

          I am thankful for all the STEPs I have implemented so far.

          1.) Especially implementing routines to avoid creating more projects.

          2.) Identifying projects to complete that roll over into a routine.
          3.) Get real with what a landing spot looks like and clear landing spots every day (routine)
          4.) CBNAL with added Capture tool (mini-mindsweep) finding the right format

          When I had read about implementing STEP and watch the piles melt away, I felt it was unattainable, the statement a cliché! But really folks, even if we aren’t STEPping perfectly, progress is progress. Narrowing down our focus to implement the next STEP gives us forward motion. I’m going to keep on STEPping. STEP has given me quality of life in an upset world. When life puts things on hold, I know where I’m at because I have my projects routines and tasks all loaded into my Command Central.

          Related Links:

          YouTube Channel: Subscribe Here!

          VIDEO: 3-Part Framework to Get Out of the Overwhelm

          PODCAST: Two Ways to Solve the “Constant Churning” in Our Minds

          VIDEO: “I truly never thought that I could be organized.” (Member Spotlight!)

          Brand new? Get the LearnDoBecome Welcome Kit here!

          Free Training, How to Finally Stop Drowning in Piles

          Our Steps to Everyday Productivity program!

          The ARISE Membership– an amazing gathering place for community members that are using their Command Centrals to refine relationships, health, finances, individual purpose, and more. We focus on a new topic each month, and this is an amazing opportunity to receive coaching and support from Team LearnDoBecome. You can sign up for a free, 60-day trial here.

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