Open Q - organisational systems

[hwarium]

Question to moots and flyby visitors alike: how do you organise your life?! What do you use to track the myriad of sisyphean tasks that composite the human existence: chores, life admin, hobbies, social commitments and big events, side projects, reading lists, expense tracking and budgeting, journalling, article archiving, correspondance..... .... ..or perhaps do you just let go and speedrun raw.

I'm thinking about resetting some systems because items have been slipping off my mind into the ether. I'm currently looking at some kind of app for reoccurring tasks (ticktick / things 3 / microsoft to-do) and consolidating calendars, but would love to know what has worked, or not worked, for this corner of the internet.

Current profile:

• digital systems: android phone + pc + OS + iOS
• journalling, planning, expense tracking, general list-making: pen and paper (jibun techo + leuchtturm)
• budgeting: excel
• thoughts dump, flash to-dos, gym notes: google keep
• holiday planning: google maps and google sheets
• hobby tracking: todoist but ineffective

Comments

[themorninglark]

this is so funny, it truly is a different brains thing HAHA cos reading "I thrive best under stress" gave me hives... I feel like I am whatever the opposite of that is? I can't function if I'm stressed so I need to feel totally relaxed and minimising what is on my plate is the first step to relaxation. but no matter how your brain works I think the important thing is to have awareness and metacognition about it, so it's good that you are clear about _your_ brain's habits! and that you're continuing to experiment to see what works for you.

I also do physical alarm clock and all notifications off! Also...
- Within texts/calls I also have it set up so that outside of work hours, only a tiny group of close friends and family will trigger notifications.
- I just don't have any socmed apps on my phone, I only access these sites on my computer.
- Last year I went a step further by deactivating my FB/IG accounts.
- I have a distraction blocker on all my devices set up to kick in after 8:30pm (I use Freedom, but there are lots) that blocks any distracting site for me.

I think I've been pretty successful at making my phone boring and dull, I hardly ever reach for it! I am most likely to stay up late gaming or going down rabbit holes reading about something online on my computer though. I tried blocking search engines in my distraction blocker but that was really way too restrictive cos I do sometimes legit need to search for something at night, but that leaves me susceptible to looking up some butai actor's body of work and then before I know it I've spent an hour reading trivia and magazine interviews with him. So yes I too feel the need for better sleep hygiene, and I think figuring out exactly how long I need to wind down was important so I can be realistic 😔

I do think my brain naturally tends towards regimented and needing my calendar to be very orderly and manageable, so that helps with the balance without me needing to try very much. I have consciously picked a job where the calendar is so predictable I can commit to holidays a year in advance cos I know my busy periods, and I have designed a life outside work that moves in very set patterns. But I think it does all come back to reflecting on your own habits and really understanding what is going on in your mind/body. Like, I know that if I have more than 1-2 nights out a week, it really ruins my physical and emotional energy, so I know not to overpack my schedule. If I had no idea I would simply keep committing to things. So tl;dr know thyself!