Organizing FAQs: Pressing Tech into Service

 On Tuesday morning as I stood at the podium, fingers flying over the keys as I pulled up the slides and various info I needed for my class, it occurred to me how second-nature all of this had become. 

When I first started teaching at the college level, the podium was a mysterious place where things went wrong almost as often as they went right, and where trouble-shooting was an art in which I had no training or apparent skill. I lived in fear of being unable to access the slides that simultaneously shaped my discussions and afforded my students a visual. 

No longer. I mean, those thoughts cross my mind, but they rarely intrude, because such things rarely occur.

Uh huh. You know where this is going. 

Yesterday, I stood at the same podium in the same room, but the computer refused to cooperate. I did the trouble-shooting that has, by now, become second-nature. Then, when I failed to resolve the issue, I asked my students if anyone was a good tech troubleshooter (I no longer think that just because I stand up front I need to know everything. But that's another post). 

One sweet student (who'd previously served as my fellow in my first year seminar) came to my rescue, finding something I'd missed.

We were on our way.

Until we weren't, and the same inscrutable screen presented itself. 

I joked to my waiting class (all of whom were very content talking among themselves and/or doing something on their phones) that the computer and I were engaging in a battle for world domination and it was winning. I told them I'd be a few minutes.

But the problem was bigger than my skills, so I gave in and called IT. Meanwhile, I pulled up my class slides on my phone, and invited my students to do the same on their devices and I began teaching, albeit not in the way I had planned. 

When I write about organizing, I very rarely address technology-based solutions. 

And this is why. 

For me, tech is a great tool, but it's one that requires back-ups. In addition, one of its assets (keeping everything tucked away, and therefore looking tidy) is a terrible fit for my dominant style, I need to see it.

But, for many of you, technology is more than a viable option -- it's the best option. Like the IT wizard who appeared at my door very shortly after my call and solved the problem before I'd gotten very far into the material (doing something I couldn't do, for those of you keeping score at home), technology is an extension of you. It's the way you keep track of appointments and special days, the way you keep clutter to a minimum by saving files electronically instead of generating printed hard copies, and a place to keep photos safe and organized.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

So, why don't I write about it more often?

Because my vision of tech as an organizing tool is limited. I'm an I need to see it, paper-and-pencil, hard copy girl all the way. I love my iPhone and iPad, and I don't know how I ever taught lugging a laptop and an adapter back and forth to campus as I did pre-COVID. Some days, my school bag is so much lighter because everything I need can be accessed from the networked computer on the podium at the front of a classroom.

Wait. Some days?

Yes. Other days, I carry the book(s) my students are reading in my bag. I love my Kindle, too, but when I'm teaching, I like to reference my books the old-fashioned way.

There is no one personal or organizational style that includes or precludes the use of technology, just as there is no one right way to organize. If you've found a tech solution that helps you to reduce clutter, organize your time and/or other key elements of your life, congratulations! Use it, love, it, make it your own. Share it in the comments below if you'd like so that other folks might try it out, too. 

I might be one of those who checks it out. But, when pushing buttons comes to shoving papers, it might not be the tool that works for me. 

Because one size, no matter how luxurious, never fits all. 

Then and Now: When It's All Too Much

 Then: Did you ever have one of those days?

Thursdays are the days the week begins to catch up with me any week, even when I've figured out the school/life/writing/blogging balance for whatever semester I'm in.

I have not yet done that.

Until we can make the world stop when we do, feeling overwhelmed from time to time is inevitable. Knowing what to do when that feeling strikes can help us to take charge and feel a little less out of control. For me, this "take charge" approach includes:

Taking baby steps. When it's all too much, we start feeling the need to slay big dragons. Unfortunately, the pressure to get it all done at once, even if it's self-imposed, only contributes to that feeling of too much to do in too little time. Putting one foot in front of the other and taking one thing at a time can create a sense of accomplishment as we erase all of those little tasks from our to-do lists, one by one.

Prioritizing. As we approach each of those small tasks, it's important to ask ourselves if the baby steps we're taking are leading us in the direction of something that must be done now or something that can wait. While we have the luxury of mixing it up when we're not in a time crunch, we need to focus first on the here and now when we've hit the panic button. When we're overwhelmed, baby steps that make progress on a project due in two weeks may be less useful than the ones we take on the stuff that's due tomorrow.

Using the plan. In an effort to find shortcuts and super solutions, we often get in our own way. When this happens, we need to stop, step back and assess the plan(s) we have at our disposal. If they work on a day-to-day basis, they might just be the life raft we're looking for when seas get stormy. Choose the most appropriate plan and put it into action. Even a semblance of a plan can help us feel less out of control.

In a few weeks, I will have settled into a routine. Until then, it's one baby step at a time. 

Now: Yesterday, I hit the wall of overwhelm, even though it was a Wednesday, not a Thursday. And, while I still stand by all of the baby steps above, sometimes what we really need is to step back and take a break. While we don't always have that opportunity, it's often less out of reach than we realize. Yesterday, I couldn't figure out what was wrong, let alone why I was so upset and overwhelmed. Today, the answer was clear. I was exhausted by a pile-up of tasks and emotions. 

Today was a better day -- much better. But it wouldn't have been without the break I took yesterday to reset. 

Too often, we interpret down time as a luxury or a weakness. Instead, maybe we should embrace it for what it really is: a sign of being human and reaching our limits. And maybe if we were more open to the interpretation, we could cut those feelings of overwhelm off at the pass.

Maybe.

3 Key Reasons Not to Do it All in One Day

 Organizing projects are one of my favorite things to do. So much so that when I get a break from school, they rise to the top of things I want to do with my free time.

But, over time, I've learned not to try to cram huge projects into one day. Here's why.

1. Age, pure and simple. The biggest reason (and the one I most want to deny) is that I'm no longer 20-something (or even 50-something) and overdoing it exhausts me. In the midst of the project, I'll think I have plenty of time and energy to see it through, but the feeling of "okay, I'm finished now" sneaks up on me pretty quickly and usually when I'm standing amid piles of things that need to be sorted and put away. Consequently I've learned to set goals that seem too small, knowing they will blossom into tasks that are bigger than I expected. Even if you're younger and more energetic than I am, reasonable goals make the task much more pleasant, and make it much more likely we'll reach the finish line.
2. Mental exhaustion. Decision fatigue is a real thing and the longer the project goes on, the more likely it is to set in. When you find yourself staring at that thing in your hand and thinking I really don't care where it goes, it's time to wrap things up. Past time, actually, but until we can turn back time. we have to do what we can do.
3. Too much change. Invariably, the organizing projects that go on and on are the ones where we end up relocating things. Too much relocation in too short a time frame creates unsustainable systems and that place for that thing that seemed so logical in hour three quickly becomes forgettable by the time we need to retrieve it. If you need a treasure map to keep track of all the changes you've made, you've gone too far.

Those of us who have to work to stay organized may already have a complicated history with the task. Taking small steps and letting things go in time frames that work for us can make the difference between successfully organizing and resentfully organizing. There's no sense in making an essential task painful. Listen to your heart and your body, and tackle the task in a time frame the works for you.