Browse All Articles > Time Management with Two Notebooks and a Pen
As the Marketing Director for the company I work for, time is a commodity that I have relatively little of. My time is divided between coaching my team, creating a direction for our company's future AND actually getting stuff done. As a result, I am forced to fit more into my day or face the consequence of long, lonely nights away from my beautiful wife.
When looking at the options of increased efficiency at work vs. increased time at work, it is clear that increased efficiency trumps increased time 7 days of the week (well, hopefully only 5, if I am as efficient as I would like to be...). To accomplish this task, I have come up with a simple system that anyone can use that has greatly helped me increase my efficiency and my execution, as it constantly re-focuses me on what is important and what tasks need to get done in a given day's time.
The process is so simple and cheap that anyone can get started for less than $10!
It all boils down to two notebooks and a pen.
The Pen
The pen is obviously used for writing. It does not need to be fancy, but it should be comfortable, write well and be in abundance so you never have to wonder where your pen is. Basically, use what you like. To me, the key is that they fit in the circular binding of your notebook and that you have lots of them. I like the Pilot G-Knock Fine Point Pen. They write well, are comfortable, and seem to fit nicely in my pocket or in the wire binding of the notebooks I use. Naturally, they come in packs of a dozen, so they are readily available when I need them.
Notebook #1
The first notebook is used for note-taking. I write down any/all notes from meetings, phone calls, etc that come up. It is the place that I keep track of my random thoughts, suggestions, ideas, etc. 90% of everything that I write is in this notebook. Whenever I need to remember an idea that was discussed, the specifics about a project or the overall flow of the concept we were discussing, I can refer back to this notebook. It is crucial to capture nearly everything that is noteworthy in this notebook.
Notebook #2
The second notebook is used for action items. The ONLY thing that goes in this notebook are the action items that apply specifically to me, whether it is a task that I need to perform, something I need to follow up on, an email I need to send out, anything that I need to DO. I organize my day by this list. I have some symbols that I use to let me know, at a glance, where I am on each task.
Each day, when I come to work, I look at where I am, what projects I need to give attention to, what is important, etc, and based on that information, I plan my day accordingly. Each week, I carry the projects that are still in the works over to the next week's list and spend about 30 minutes adding other tasks that I would like to accomplish that week. This gives me a fresh new task list to work from. Having this list close by limits my down-time because I have a constant reminder of what I am working on, what needs my attention, what doesn't and what I need to do next.
Why 2 Notebooks?
IMO, the KEY to this process working is the two separate notebooks. With only one notebook, you are forced to constantly be flipping back and forth, trying to decipher your tasks from your notes. I have found that when I do this, key action items regularly get missed because they are jumbled with all my other notes. Having two separate notebooks with two separate functions will keep you organized and separate what you need to DO from what you need to REMEMBER, greatly increasing your chances of finding either when you need to.
BRING THEM WITH YOU!!!
If you don't bring them with you everywhere you go, this WILL NOT WORK. I suggest getting small notebooks like this one so that you can easily carry them around with you. Also, I suggest bringing them BOTH with you, as you should begin separating action items from notes from the get-go versus trying to remember which was which when you are out of the meeting, or more realistically a couple days later when you finally get back around to reviewing your meeting notes.
Good Luck!
Regardless of what you chose to help you manage your time, you need to make sure it works for you. Everyone is different. Some people have the luxury of bringing their laptop with them wherever they go, or they use their SmartPhone or PDA. No matter what you use, the key is that you use something and that you separate your notes from your action items. Left to your own devices, if you don't have a written, separated list, you are going to constantly find yourself working on the urgent over the important and worse yet, you will probably have to work 10 to 12 hours to accomplish what you could have in 8 or 9.
Hopefully this simple, practical, effective concept will help you with your time management, regardless of the resources available to you. I know that the people who I have shared this with have found it to be a huge help in their efforts to better manage their time and I wanted to share it with you as well.
Hope this helps!
When looking at the options of increased efficiency at work vs. increased time at work, it is clear that increased efficiency trumps increased time 7 days of the week (well, hopefully only 5, if I am as efficient as I would like to be...). To accomplish this task, I have come up with a simple system that anyone can use that has greatly helped me increase my efficiency and my execution, as it constantly re-focuses me on what is important and what tasks need to get done in a given day's time.
The process is so simple and cheap that anyone can get started for less than $10!
It all boils down to two notebooks and a pen.
The Pen
The pen is obviously used for writing. It does not need to be fancy, but it should be comfortable, write well and be in abundance so you never have to wonder where your pen is. Basically, use what you like. To me, the key is that they fit in the circular binding of your notebook and that you have lots of them. I like the Pilot G-Knock Fine Point Pen. They write well, are comfortable, and seem to fit nicely in my pocket or in the wire binding of the notebooks I use. Naturally, they come in packs of a dozen, so they are readily available when I need them.
Notebook #1
The first notebook is used for note-taking. I write down any/all notes from meetings, phone calls, etc that come up. It is the place that I keep track of my random thoughts, suggestions, ideas, etc. 90% of everything that I write is in this notebook. Whenever I need to remember an idea that was discussed, the specifics about a project or the overall flow of the concept we were discussing, I can refer back to this notebook. It is crucial to capture nearly everything that is noteworthy in this notebook.
Notebook #2
The second notebook is used for action items. The ONLY thing that goes in this notebook are the action items that apply specifically to me, whether it is a task that I need to perform, something I need to follow up on, an email I need to send out, anything that I need to DO. I organize my day by this list. I have some symbols that I use to let me know, at a glance, where I am on each task.
A circle to the left of the task means I have started working on the project
A forward slash (/) through the circle means that the project still requires work from me, but it is currently in someone else's hands
An X through the circle (/ plus \) means that I have done everything I need to do on the project, but it is yet to be completed
A horizontal line through the task means that the project is finished and I have crossed it off my list
Each day, when I come to work, I look at where I am, what projects I need to give attention to, what is important, etc, and based on that information, I plan my day accordingly. Each week, I carry the projects that are still in the works over to the next week's list and spend about 30 minutes adding other tasks that I would like to accomplish that week. This gives me a fresh new task list to work from. Having this list close by limits my down-time because I have a constant reminder of what I am working on, what needs my attention, what doesn't and what I need to do next.
Why 2 Notebooks?
IMO, the KEY to this process working is the two separate notebooks. With only one notebook, you are forced to constantly be flipping back and forth, trying to decipher your tasks from your notes. I have found that when I do this, key action items regularly get missed because they are jumbled with all my other notes. Having two separate notebooks with two separate functions will keep you organized and separate what you need to DO from what you need to REMEMBER, greatly increasing your chances of finding either when you need to.
BRING THEM WITH YOU!!!
If you don't bring them with you everywhere you go, this WILL NOT WORK. I suggest getting small notebooks like this one so that you can easily carry them around with you. Also, I suggest bringing them BOTH with you, as you should begin separating action items from notes from the get-go versus trying to remember which was which when you are out of the meeting, or more realistically a couple days later when you finally get back around to reviewing your meeting notes.
Good Luck!
Regardless of what you chose to help you manage your time, you need to make sure it works for you. Everyone is different. Some people have the luxury of bringing their laptop with them wherever they go, or they use their SmartPhone or PDA. No matter what you use, the key is that you use something and that you separate your notes from your action items. Left to your own devices, if you don't have a written, separated list, you are going to constantly find yourself working on the urgent over the important and worse yet, you will probably have to work 10 to 12 hours to accomplish what you could have in 8 or 9.
Hopefully this simple, practical, effective concept will help you with your time management, regardless of the resources available to you. I know that the people who I have shared this with have found it to be a huge help in their efforts to better manage their time and I wanted to share it with you as well.
Hope this helps!
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Comments (13)
Commented:
Author
Commented:I do think that digital has a good place for this kind of stuff, when you use it. The thing I like personally about the notebook option is that I am more likely to use it because it is easier for me to take notes by writing than by computer, unless I always bring my laptop with me, which is harder to lug around. However, that being said, if you do have a laptop that you can lug around, OpenNote sounds like a great option.
Tell you what, multispace, I have 'showed you mine', why don't you 'show me yours' and write a review or a tip/trick on how to effectively use OpenNote and how well you like it.
Has the gauntlet been laid down? :)
Commented:
Author
Commented:Commented:
As jhoekman says, it's not my article. I wish I had thought of it.
>> Please don't construe this debate as a lack of respect
Of course not! I think we actually are not disagreeing about all that much. We both admit that how one keeps a task list is a highly personal decision. You are biased towards the tech and I am biased towards paper but we both recognize that the user will use what they want to use. The value in jhoekman's article is not "use paper" but rather the way he organizes the paper into a simple, easy to understand system.
>> I think your comment about lack of support is accurate only for the smallest mom-n-pop shop,
>> with 60+ year olds.
Unwarranted generalization and assumption. There are plenty of younger, savvy businesspeople who are not comfortable with tech. They use it because they have to as part of business (email, bookkeeping) but otherwise prefer other methods of organization.
>> decrease that likelihood in using it regularly and with missing routine, will miss information.
Again, it depends on the workflow. You are assuming someone is tied to the tech and the tech is always available to enter the notes. This isn't my experience except for tech heavy jobs or tech savvy personnel.
>> And although new to it, quite savvy in assimilating new technologies
Every new toy gets played with initially. The true test is how long the user uses it. I have had a Palm Pilot, Palm III, Palm VI, iPAQ, Palm V, Toshiba Pocket PC, some tablet, an iPod Touch, and now a Sony VAIO netbook thingy and I have to run/support Windows, Mac, and Linux every day. That's a lot of tech and a lot of options. But I still use paper lists.
A paper notebook is small footprint, lightweight, doesn't need power, survives being dropped, can be spill resistant, never needs patching, and doesn't crash or lose data. Can you make the same claims? :)
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