Welcome to my STILL untitled newsletter. The mission of my newsletter is to offer you some helpful organizing and productivity tips, share useful tools, fun stuff, and a fair amount random Anne insight based on whatever shiny objects I happen to be chasing at the time. Hope you enjoy it!
Talkin’ Bout My Generation
In my past corporate life I had to take a seminar about working in a multigenerational environment. It was a time when Gen-Xers were starting to take over at the management level and found themselves, as usual, sandwich generation managers: working with people both older and younger than themselves, each with very different styles of work. Those 10-12 years older than us took copious notes, tended to work things out by talking at length, one at a time, until a boss would make a decision. The then 20-something millennials were all about team collaboration, obsessed with each new digital tool, and spoke in shorthand. The first group taught us the power of research, discussion, quality workmanship. The second saw the power of teams and a future of work many of us hadn’t yet grasped. Us Gen-X middle managers were very much a hybrid of the two. We took notes, but in bullet point form. We liked digital tools, but still made to-do lists on paper. We met in committees, then presented confidently to bosses for approval. This aspect of how we work still resonates with me today as an independent business owner and mom. Since that workshop in the early aughts, I’ve embraced more technology tools than I could have ever imagined. But at the end of most days, what was written in my notebook in pencil, not in Evernote, Google Docs, Slack or on my Trello board (all of which I use!) is what got done. I fear I am becoming a curmudgeon. But if my productivity clients are any indication, I’m not alone. Many of them have rediscovered the power of a simple blank book to transform their ability to get things done, set goals and priorities, and see the big picture of their lives. I’m a proud Gen Xer, and I’m a digital / analog hybrid. Nothin’ wrong with it.
Tools for Us Hybrids
If my blank book comments resonated with you and you think you’d like to jump in, I highly recommend checking out The Bullet Journal Method. If you google bullet journal, you’ll see lots of pictures of notebooks full of fancy calligraphy and stickers but that’s not at all where the value is. The method itself is a powerful system for putting your ideas, tasks, projects, goals & plans down on paper and keeping track of them. What I think is one of it’s greatest values is that it’s flexible. All you need is a blank book - which can be fun to buy because there are so many options. You can use as many techniques of the system as you like, and ignore others. It allows you to find what works best for you, which is they key to success in anything. Maybe for you that includes calligraphy & stickers, but it doesn’t have to.
Fancy bullet journal
My notebook, about as fancy as I get.
May Product Spotlight
Moleskine Notebook
For blank books themselves, I’ve been a long time user of Moleskine notebooks. They are not cheap, but they are durable, the pages have a lovely off-white color and pleasant texture, and there’s a handy pocket in the back. I carry mine everywhere and I have never had one lose a page, or had the cover get torn or warped.
Not actual Moleskine Notebooks, I don’t have licensing rights for that. But they’re similar and it’s a real pretty picture!
Good Old White Board
For more in the world of 1.0 tools, I must sing the praises of the white board. Simply can’t be beat for brainstorming and in-person group collaboration. I have one on a wall - something like 4 x 3 feet. Recently it was used for my business planning for 2021, which happened to lead to this newsletter’s new regularity. Currently it’s got a scribbled calendar on it from when I used with the family to map out our summer schedules. Also, some doodles from my teenage daughter.
A good old-fashioned dry-erase white board can do wonders for planning and brainstorming
Anne’s Thoughts & Observations
Lots of my reading and listening lately has circled back to this one concept: sleep. I just finished reading: “Essentialism” by Greg McKeown who has this to say:
"The best asset we have for making a contribution to the world is ourselves. If we underinvest in ourselves, and by that, I mean our minds, our bodies, and our spirits, we damage the very tool we need to make our highest contribution. One of the most common ways people — especially ambitious, successful people — damage this asset is through a lack of sleep."
We all struggle to get enough sleep for many reasons - pain, hormones, anxiety. We often sacrifice it in the name of getting more accomplished. This is a serious mistake. Sleep. Is. Everything. Sleep better, get more done each day. Sleep better, like everyone more. Sleep better, have better ideas. Don’t cheat your body out of what it needs. This is the #1 self-care priority you should focus on. See ya next month. Get some sleep.
Eliza always prioritizes self-care.
News About StepOne
Planning Ahead
I’m scheduling into June now, and will for the most part not be serving clients in July. Got something you want to tackle? Let’s get it on the schedule! Send me an email.
New Services
Do you struggle with managing your time? Do you have a million projects swirling about at work or at home that you can’t seem to get traction on? Still trying to find that elusive work-life balance? I can help. I now offer productivity consulting services to help you with prioritizing your tasks, establishing routines, organizing your space and your time to help you get more done. Over a series of six online sessions, we find the tools and techniques best suited for you to help you get and maintain that “productive day feeling.” If you’d like to learn more, you can schedule a free discovery call with me here.
COVID Protocols
At this time I am serving clients in-person and virtually. I only work in-person when social distancing guidelines of six to ten feet of separation can be maintained, and I am always double-masked. In many instances, I work independently in a space, conferring with clients only at the start and end of a session or via phone or video. Virtual organizing and productivity consulting are excellent alternatives, with clients working hands-on with step-by-step guidance from me along the way. Questions about working together? Send me an email, let’s chat!