One of my failures as a person is organization. It’s not that I don’t get things done (I do) and it isn’t that I don’t have a system (it’s mostly piles and stacks of recent tasks), but it’s mainly that I’d like to be better at it. Who doesn’t want to be better organized? I’m a technology junkie (I install a new operating system at least once a week and a new application multiple times a day) and that means that in the search for an application that I feel can work I go through lots and lots of applications that don’t.
There is a downside to trying everything though. The major difficulty is that I never become completely comfortable with a particular program. While I’m aware of the benefits and downsides to many programs I don’t stick with one and, thus, become even more fragmented with my notes and writing and other things I need to get done. Finally (finally!) I came across an application that works for me. It is a so-called “desktop wiki” with a built in task manager. Essentially is a one-stop application for my to-do list, my note-taking, my brainstorming, and even composing lectures, lessons, and exercises. To say that this has skyrocketed my productivity would be an understatement. I’ve been able to focus for the first time in a long time.
One of the other essentials is that the application is on a computer that runs nothing else to distract me. While my main computer is right next to this one (I’m writing on it right now) there is something about this computer that doesn’t compell me to check e-mail, go through my bookmarks, search for this or that, or compose a tweet. If I really need to I can (the computer is right next to me) but my focus is maintained. At any rate — find an application and stick with it. Write, write, write.