Thursday, January 10, 2019

No More Excuses: Write it Down!!! Keep a Bullet Journal

In my 44 years in sales, I can't tell you how many times I've asked someone if they did something and the response was: "I forgot".  The simplest way to solve this problem of forgetting seems to be the one that people resist like the plague:  keep a list; write it down; look at the list every day.
There is a movement becoming hugely successful in the U.S. almost overnight, called "Bullet Journals".   "Track the Past, Order the Present, Design the Future" is their value proposition.  Ryder Carroll is the inventor of this enormously popular organization scheme.  While the concept is simple (using pen and notebook), the critical component of this idea is that you have to spend time reflecting on the journal--what are your current tasks; where are you headed.  Writing things down is not the end point; reflection on what you wrote is the end point.  Hundreds of thousands of people are using Carroll's method.  Check it out:  www.bulletjournal.com.
I use a system called Evernote (www.evernote.com)
I can forward emails right to Evernote that I need to see later, put reminders on these emails or notes; create notes and reminders and take notes, typed and handwritten, right onto the app.  I have been using Evernote as my "bullet journal" for years.  But putting something somewhere is meaningless if you don't spend time reflecting on your notes: what got done (delete it)? what got delayed (change the reminder to a new date)?  what needs to be done by someone else (forward it)?  
Don't try to test your memory.  Write things down; make lists; keep a bullet journal--and then go back over it every day and cross off what you did and move what you didn't do to the next day.
Write it down; and look at the list every day and stop using the excuse "I forgot".  
And for each item in the journal, ask yourself: "what is the next step; where do I go from here with this task or project?"

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