TAG! I’m it! So is Suzanne Evans!

TAG! You’re it, Tracey Lawton! And you’re it, Silvia Shields!

This ultimate guide to productivity meme was started by Ben Yoskovitz at Instigator Blog and Vickie Turley of A Balanced Alternative (transforming from Elite VAs) tagged me and Suzanne.

The question: what’s your secret to being productive?

Well, it’s not really a secret; it’s more of a practice. Some might even see it as being a bit on the obsessive-compulsive side. It’s the way I work best.

I believe in the old adage: a place for everything and everything in its place. My home, which contains me, a five-year-old boy, four cats and two fish, tends toward messiness. It also seems to generate things that prove the placard hanging in my kitchen: if the dustball moves, it’s probably a cat. The dustballs bug me, but I can coexist with them. I cannot coexist with disorder.

Like the rest of my home, my office is organized and ordered. My home is small and the office is a small alcove within the home. The operative word is small. If things are not where they belong – and it only takes a few things – small becomes smaller. I haven’t reached smallest yet . . .

Everything in my office is within reach. I can swivel my chair and put my hands on anything I need. This proves to be very efficient. I don’t get a lot of exercise, but that’s not the point. Efficiency breeds productivity and that’s the point. As something comes into the office, it’s dealt with immediately, even if that’s just putting it in its place. A piece of paper is put into a file/folder and the folder may be put into the bin. Or that piece of paper is put into the follow-up file with a corresponding entry on the calendar. The objective is two-fold. Keep the files complete and try to put my hands on a piece of paper as few times as possible.

So that’s my “secret.” Some might call it a disorder. I call it order; it’s organized, efficient and . . . productive.

Okay now – here are the rules of this project from Ben’s Instigator Blog forwarded to me by Vickie Turley:

  1. Write a post on your best productivity tips. Challenge yourself by picking your single best productivity tip (although this isn’t a requirement; you can give us more if you want).
  2. Include links to other people that have written posts, or include their tips in your post with proper attribution.

    Note: I’m not asking that you link to everyone in the group writing project meme; pick the ones you want to connect with. You certainly can link to everyone, but it’s not a requirement. I like leaving more decision making power in your hands so this isn’t just a link grab, but you’re thinking about what your audience & community wants to read about.

    A link back to this post is appreciated though, to help spread the word!

  3. If you use Technorati Tags then tag your post “ultimate guide to productivity”.
  4. Tag others in your post to spread the meme. Tag as many people as you like!
  5. If you link back to Instigator Blog and email me at byosko@gmail.com, I’ll make sure to include at least 2 links back to you. But this isn’t a requirement, it just helps me keep track of what’s going on.