I told you yesterday I was reading through the Babauta site with vigor. It is funny how things come together sometimes. Rebecca already had me thinking about the purpose for our stuff and spaces.  I have been hitting our schedule reliably and working the binder system.  I actually have looked at several other binder systems but after reading Leo’s articles and links I realized this really does work best for us and now I can articulate why.

His work builds upon David Allen’s Getting Things Done, which I haven’t read since I am busy getting things done. <g> (and let me tell you it is plugs like these that endear me to Amazon lolol!; ))  GTD was designed to help corporate types boost productivity and eliminate stressors. While I mostly shun the concept of running a home like a factory there are some parallels to be made. Some of the guidance can be adapted to our situation. 43 Folders sums up the GTD system this way:

1. identify all the stuff in your life that isn’t in the right place (close all open loops)

2. get rid of the stuff that isn’t yours or you don’t need right now

3. create a right place that you trust and that supports your working style and values

4. put your stuff in the right place, consistently

5. do your stuff in a way that honors your time, your energy, and the context of any given moment

6. iterate and refactor mercilessly

Now if you have visited Rebecca’s site since she started the Peter Walsh book, It’s All Too Much, you know how similar the advice is – Declutter, have places for what is left, always put the stuff in the right places, reconsider both the stuff and places regularly.  There.  That is easy enough.   Easier if you have less stuff anyway. And excepting the fact that childrens’ stuff tends to multiply in the dark I am almost certain. Note to self: keep purging the stuff….

There is also #5: DO your stuff in a way that honors your time and energy, which is what we have been talking about a lot lately. What is worth my time? (see Doing it All) What does it mean to do things honorably? If I am a Christian wife and a Montessori mom then for me it means to do things cheerfully, peacefully, and respectfully.  (Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love Eph. 4:2) 

Creating a supportive working environment means surrounding myself with encouraging, enabling messages and avoiding places and people who are less so. Never underestimate the power of suggestion. A discouraging word can weigh on your heart and slow you down.

Honoring my energy means acknowledging that there is a fixed amount of time we are given and we can’t get it back.  Since I have some stamina issues, time and energy have to managed carefully and responsibly.

Leo B mentioned that the best rule of thumb for GTD is to make short lists and follow those lists. We are doing very well with that. I have considered some of the other list systems I have seen and my feeling is you can have too much of a good thing. The opinion seems to be if one list is good then ten are better, but the inverse is true here. At some pt your mind shuts down and you stop seeing things and start glazing. Better to have short lists you and your family can memorize and make work.

If you task yourself with tracking every book read, every window cleaned, gift bought, calorie consumed, all your bible verses, etc you will end up a slave to your binder. The goal is to spend most of our lives LIVING vs planning and documenting. Make the plan – yes, but make it the least cumbersome possible. Life is short. : )