Surprise– this post is NOT about kitchens! I am always talking to people about how to think like an organized person. One of the questions organized people ask constantly is "How will I remember this later?" You should not be reinventing the wheel– it wastes time. It struck me this week that we have this really well-ingrained concept already in our brains: RECIPES! What do you do when you make something in the kitchen and you want to make it again? You write it down. Recipes enable us to re-create what we have already created, and they enable us to share that creation with others.
Take this concept and spread it around a little in your life. Did you just figure out how to download pictures from your new camera? Open up a document and write down exactly how you did it. Save it in a folder on your computer (call it "Recipes" if you want!). Did you just tell someone for the 18th time how to get to your house because it’s not right on Google Maps? Make a document that tells people once and for all and save that "recipe" too.
In business this is even more important, as capturing and communicating procedures is crucial to the growth and success of your company. Why not apply this in your personal life as well?
I am fairly extreme about capturing things as I learn them– I have been known to annoy people who are helping me by stopping to write down everything they are saying, especially computer guys. And I try to get people’s contact information into Outlook as soon as I have used it once.
What kind of "recipes" do you keep?
This is such great advice, especially as we (well I anyway) get . . . ahem . . .older.
Amazing concept Lorie…Recipes for success! Organizing ideas and measurements into a recipe to fall back on as well as share with co-workers and friends. Imagine having a “cookie” swap of ideas with your neighbors, friends, co-workers.
I attend a distant (for me) meeting once every so often, and in between I forget the directions which are complicated (zig-zags, same str. diff. name) so finally I wrote them out, put them on Bright paper, put them in a plastic sheet protector, and keep the paper in my car!!!
I just recently started doing this in my business and I can’t even begin to explain how much time it’s saved me. I love the idea of using it at home too! Great post. Thanks for sharing.
I love the recipe analogy! You mentioned recording directions to your home. I keep the directions to my home in my “drafts” folder in Outlook so it’s easy to forward on to anyone needing it.
Thanks for a great post!
SO true! Hadn’t ever thought of it this way. Great advice!
I do this already but carry it one step further. My woodworking hubby made me a beautiful wooden card file that I keep stocked with four by six cards and file dividers. I keep my life there and even created a Word template that lets me copy and paste notes into text boxes that are just the right size and print them to cut out and place in my file.
Several folks know that if I get hit by a bus – go get the file!
I also have a little expandable card file so I can pull a few that I need and a few blanks to carry with me. A skinny pen tucked in with them and I am ready to jot down whatever I might need later.
I am notoriously unorganized and messy. I try so hard. But at home, paper rules. It’s everywhere. How many full file drawers should I have? I’m ready to scream!
I’d forget my name if it weren’t so embarrassing.
But, I have found a way to keep up with projects and issues at work. I’ve used this for a while (learned it from someone else), but recently I received a lay-off notice at work. My boss saved me by finding another position for me, even though it was a demotion. But for now, I’ll take it.
This new job involves a lot of ongoing projects at any given time. Lots of paper pushing. Lots of putting it back in someone else’s hands until a later date. I keep up with individual projects with Microsoft Outlook. Each project is assigned a task. I title them by project #, project name, and the last name of the engineer “owning” the construction project.
In the body of the task I log every activity related to that project. Phone calls. Emails. (I insert a link to each email.) Routing status. I change the due dates to remind me of the status, but you could assign a hard due date and change the reminders accordingly.
At any given time I can open my task list and give an account of where my projects are. Since I take my Lenovo notebook to meetings, I don’t have to keep up with paper – it’s all right there!
Now if I could get my house under control…
I use the notes section in Outlook to capture this kind of information. The most important directions I capture this way are the are treasure maps that help me find things I don’t use often. For instance, where is the gravy seperator that I must have at Thanksgiving? Or, where are the extra fridge light bulbs? Items that are used infrequently but are critical when they are needed never get lost when I record their location in my notes list.
Where I used to work, I wrote out instructions for EVERY procedure – how to order copier toner, how to handle invoices, etc, as well as wrote out a yearly time line to remind me which tasks needed to be completed when. I put everything in page protectors in a 3 ring binder. An added bonus was that when I left, they didn’t hire a replacement in time for me to train, so the “handbook” I put together served as an excellent training guide.
I’ve learned to put any and all dates immediately in my electronic calendar. Appointments, school calendar, specific due dates. No more keeping up with pieces of paper or little cards.
I keep a note in outlook with my morning “recipe” – a checklist of items to do before I go out the door each morning. I update it periodically for life changes. Same for my night “recipe” -which includes checking for the next day’s tasks so I am prepared.
When I am learning how to access a new website at work, I record every step by indenting the next step from the previous one:
step 1
Step 2
like this. I even include the “enter” key so I don’t forget to hit that when necessary. I keep a notebook so that I can share this info with other people on my team. It has served me well especially for those sites you only access once in a while.
My indent for Step 2 didn’t work when my comment was posted so it doesn’t look right. Anyway, Step 2 should be indented so the comment makes sense.
Thank you for sharing your recipes, everyone!