THE COMPLETE DAY WRAP UP
DON'T STOP WITHOUT "COMPLETING"
"Stop the chaos and the worry! Just "complete" and "wrap up" what you do and then you'll be at peace AND be much more effective, which will have you being at further peace."
The BuddhaKahuna
____________________________________________________________
THE POINT OF ALL OF THIS
The next day or the next time I return to a project/task, I will "hit the ground running" instead of wondering or wandering and having to rethink or rediscover what to do!
PEACE, CONTINUITY, INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY
In the "tradition" of David Allen (enter that name into the search engine of the site and see the many references), a top leader in the area of productivity and time management, one should leave no "open loops", as they leave it up to your mind to worry about. Instead,
1. Be at peace,
- Knowing that everything has a follow up time (eliminating the necessity for the primitive mind to constantly obsess over whether the follow up will be remembered or done)
- Knowing all the notes have been written to allow you to pick up where you left off and to not forget something important
2. Start faster and better,
- You won't have to reinvent or rethink about what to do next (you just follow the instructions and start right away, and you save your decision ability and willpower reserve by not using it to make decisions that don't need to be re-made!)
WHAT DO I DO?
Although implied or pointed out above, it is useful, I believe, to have a checklist (a "system") to facilitate its completion. (See also the simplified version of this, at the end of this piece.)
__ What is incomplete that I must wrap up before I quit for the day?
__ Wrap it up. (Complete it if urgent, otherwise complete the notes: the description of what to do next, any facts that need to be remembered/accessed, sufficient cross referencing to find it when needed,
__ What's next? What do I need to do next to follow up on what is on my desk or in my notes (such as in my Master Notebook or wherever I store my notes for the day)?
Write it down.
__ Assure the follow up (tickle it or put it on a list that will be looked at, for sure, such as the "Next Actions" list (which often consists of two parts: what is put on the list of actions, in this case, to do tomorrow, on the day's to do and schedule for the next day and a separate list of "next actions" you expect to do next after you've finished what you are currently working on).
__ Write down where to find it, if not blatantly obvious, as your short term memory will fade. Always crossreference everything although it seems it is time-inefficient, for it is one of the most time efficient things you can do, stopping
__ Schedule it. It is useful to schedule into the next day's schedule specific time blocks to do the actions (or, if you see it can't be done the next day, put it into the schedule for some day thereafter).
__ Take everything off of the desk that you'll not be working on next. Do this, even if it means you have to pile it. It is best to "file" it in a place that it is findable or just to stick it in temporary file, which you label so that it is more findable in the pile. Remember that every single piece must be findable and have a naturall followup triggering event. A triggering event could be a tickle of some sort (an alarmed reminder or put in the schedule, with an alarm) or something you know you will look at when you begin a project that you're sure you'll do (such as with a tickle set for it).
BUT I'LL LOSE THIS AND FORGET ABOUT IT
The statement of woe and whoa: "I've started things like this but they soon fall by the wayside, where I lose it and/or forget to use it. So I might as well just give up now."
The answer:
As is pointed out as being necessary for having a great life, we must note that there is a problem (lack of follow through and every lack that is behind it) AND always follow up as soon as can be feasibly done by solving the problem - so that it does not repeat over and over and continue to beseech us and cause emotional damage and loss of effectiveness in life.
Not solving the problem is of course the greatest cause of continued problems. (Duh!)
Note that leaving in place the habit that is causing the problem is at the core.
The "habit" is that of "not completing things", where we violate one of the greatest principles in life, one that if followed will massively improve life and happiness. (Read, and honor and follow, The Power Of Completion, which is a principle of life.)
The solution lies in assuring that you leave no "open loops", by constructing a "closed loop", where nothing will be lost. You build into the schedule for every day as an alarm-set small block of time called "Wrapup, checklist" (or whatever you'd like to call it). It is fairly obvious from the title that there is a checklist available to look at. But, of course, you don't want to have to go look it up somewhere, so a copy of the checklist is placed in the "notes" or "description" section of the calendar item - you can't lose it then! (Copy the complete long version of the checklist, with explanations, into a google doc and then use the link to it as the cross reference if you need the detail - it is cross referenced in the "note" section of the to do. See the simplified version of the checklist below to see how the cross reference is done.)
BUT I'LL BE IN A LOWER ENERGY STATE THEN
The question: What do I do about my lower energy later, when I am less able to do the wrap up or do it as well?
The answer:
Whatever you do, don't allow it to stop you. Just do it as well as you can, as it is better to do it stupidly than to be so stupid (unwise) as not to do it at all.
First of all, you don't wait until the end of day to do all the notes and wrapping up - you do it at the end of your working on any project, as needed, or at the end of a time block. Note that almost every human being on the planet has difficulty just wrapping things up and/or organizing, as it seems like we are making no progress and getting no results for the time - but that is an illusion and a delusion, as this is one of the most productive tools you can use to assure more and better results in life. In consideration of this human tendency, we must make sure that we don't leave too much of a (metaphorical) pile of unorganized and incomplete items to do later!
(Subject to "overdoing" it, this is a very valuable activity in life! "Overdoing" it is actually "not doing it judiciously". We have to ask "is this worth doing and/or completing or should I just stop here and dump it?". Note that dumping (stopping) what is of little value is, in fact, a way of being complete with it, as there is no further action required! No further action means we are finished with it!)
THE SIMPLIFIED CHECKLIST
Because I already know the extra descriptions and explanations, I eliminate them from my checklist, but I don't assume that I won't possibly forget anything. Toward that end, note that I crossreference (via a link to the site, for me) to this piece you're reading right now, so that I can see the detail if needed. I copy what is below and insert it into my schedule's notes section for that daily time block. I also have in my notes, at the top, the following: "Rules: No quitting until finish up when leave project or anything working on - organize, notes for next things to do and pick up train of thought (don't leave it in the brain!), put away."
Day Wrap Up Checklist
(To hit the ground "running")
__ What is incomplete?
__ Complete it if urgent, or
__ Complete the notes: __ What to do next, __ any facts, __ cross referencing
__ Followup on desk, notes - __ All written that needs to be written!
__ Assure the follow up (__ Tickle, __ Schedule, __ Next actions list)
__ Assure the findability (__ Write down where to find it)
__ Schedule for next days if can. I
__ Take "everything" off of the desk __ Labeled files as much as practical
