simplicity sake

what we're reading at simplicity sake

For getting things done...and a good dose of perspective:

• Mashable has a published a GTD Toolbox: a list of 100+ resources for Getting Things Done
• David Allen's new book, "Making It All Work," goes for a deeper perspective
  
• All this talk to getting this done...but what really matters? Here is a great article from Zen Habits on what would you do if you only had a short time to live?

what we're reading at simplicity sake

This week, Simplicity Sake has been getting ready for twins' birthday parties, going on business trips, but we're still finding a little bit of time to read:

• Our toy organization post got us thinking about when should you sell and when should you donate. See this post for some great guidelines: Ask Unclutter: Sell or Donate?
• Linsey is on twitter (follow her @linseyk), but can you Get Things Done with Twitter? Zen Habits has a very interesting article on how to actually Get Things Done with Twitter...as opposed to having it be a complete time suck, which it really can be.

escape from email hell

So the whole GTD thing (Getting Things Done, if you didn't know)...I have tried it at various times with varying degrees of success. Last year, I read David Allen's hugely popular book and set up a paper system. That worked...sort of...for a little while. Then I kept forgetting my little tickler files everywhere, and hey, I'm a digital girl at heart, so I abandoned it. What followed what one of the most chaotic times in my life, both personally and professionally.

December took the cake. I was stretched to the very limit, and what I got done was only because there was a fire and I was the extinguisher. No time for extra planning and tracking. When I did that, other things would fail. I was exhausted. I entertained fantasies of quitting my job and becoming a yoga instructor. I was short with the kids. I did not enjoy my "off time" because what I had to do (or MIGHT have to do, buried in the depths of my follow up emails) was always lurking in the back of my head.

Enter Inbox Zero.

I had known about this great blog called 43 folders (named for the ticker file idea of a folder for each of the 31 days in a month, plus 12 more folders for the months in the year). Had not spent much time on it, but had good intentions. One evening, not sure why, I decided to watch a Google Tech Talk given by 43 Folder's author, Merlin Mann. Only an hour long. Wow, it has changed my life. 

I won't get into the specifics of the Inbox Zero strategy, but I will tell you about the results. 

I just spent a week in all-day meetings where computers were highly discouraged. Wanna know how many emails are in my inbox? Zilch. In my previous life, I would have probably had 300 emails flagged for follow up after a week in meetings. Keeping my inbox empty has been my goal for the past 7 days. I have gottten good at this: Delete, Delegate, Respond, Defer, Do. It's become my mantra. 

The biggest plus? My stress level has taken a HUGE hit. I don't feel like I'm a slave to my inbox anymore. It's not hanging over my head.  Truthfully, it's not. I have enjoyed my children more this weekend. I have given attention to my husband. I have planned some social events and activities just for me. Hey, I think I'm actually getting MORE done, but it feels a whole lot easier.

What are you doing right now? Just surfing the web? Go watch Inbox Zero. It's an hour. Go watch it right now. You will thank me. 

what we're reading at simplicity sake

This is a great article - The Single Secret to Making Your 2009 Your Best Year Ever from Zen Habits - a hint: its about happiness!

We're also watching this video from Wall Street Journal Video on Getting Things Done. The secret here seems to be keeping up with whatever system you have going. So true.

upgrading your OS is easy if your data is in the cloud

I converted from a PC to a Mac about 18 months ago and have never been happier. Last night, I finally upgraded my OS to Leopard - I had been waiting to finish up with work for the year, as I tend to have busy end-of-quarters (I am a lawyer and do a lot of technology licensing, which is very end-of-quarter sales based). I wanted to be sure that when I did the conversion, I wouldn't be stressed, trying to get time critical work completed without my system available. The beautiful thing is that the conversion to the OS has gone very smoothly - I am up and running in no time at all, mostly due to the changes I have made in the last couple of months to get all of my data in The Cloud, such as:

• I switched from Entourage (similar to Outlook, but for Mac) to Gmail for my email organization and responding. This has been HUGE for me. I love the way Gmail strings messages together in a thread. The tagging ability helps me to file things in a variety of ways, rather than a long list of folders which I ended up not using on Entourage. The search capability is so good, its almost...Googlelike, which I guess is the whole point. I limit my emails that I do receive. I try to get all messages on the web, rather than clutter my inbox with a ton of conversations that could take place elsewhere, like Facebook, Twitter, or Big Tent. I delete email messages a lot more than I used to and archive messages very quickly - immediately if possible. I am down from 5000 messages in my inbox over the summer to the current number of 150. My goal is inbox zero, ala 43 folders, and I am getting there.
• I also use Google Calendar and Contacts - and sync these to my iPhone via NuevaSync. 
• I use Dropbox for all of my files and documents. This gives me a online backup and syncing. And I can share certain folders with other people. For instance, if I want to send raw photos to my sister - easy, just invite her to share the Dropbox folder. Or if I want to share a folder with my preschool committee that different people update - I share the folder with them on Dropbox.  
• I am starting to use other Google products more as well. I have a few Google Docs for documents and spreadsheets that I share with and collaborate on with others.

I am sure there is a lot more I can do in The Cloud. I feel I am just getting started in this new way of computing and sharing and storing information, but what I have done so far has been very easy and quick* and has made a world of difference for me.

*A caveat: I have a live-in IT guy, my husband. He's the best! He's actually a medical device engineer, not an IT guy, but he's good at all the tech stuff and finds the coolest and latest stuff. I'm lucky to have him! He doesn't do everything for me - I figure out a lot on my own, but there are some things that a techie hubby is very helpful for :)

about simplicity sake

Simplicity Sake is about getting it all done, letting some of it go, and focusing on what really matters.

What exactly are we interested in?
A lot: voluntary simplicity, technology, home organization, productivity, sustainability, family life, travel, wellness. We like to enjoy the good things in life. So let go of that stress (deep breath in... and out...), pull up a chair and join us.

Who are we?
Simplicity Sake was founded by twin sisters who live much too far away from each other and their mother. Linsey is a media and technology lawyer, mother of three young kids (including her own set of twins), and recovering "yes-girl" who lives in Silicon Valley, California, USA. You can also find Linsey at: Me Too You, Mad About Multiples, and Silicon Valley Moms Blog. Robin is a software designer, mother of two young kids and recovering perfectionist who lives in St. John's, Newfoundland. Linsey and Robin's mother, Karin, is retreat and workshop leader and long-time practicer of voluntary simplicity.