Happy New Year!

Every year, one of the top New Year’s resolutions is “get organized.”

The pandemic has added a word to that resolution for many of us. Many began working from home, some on a temporary basis, some on a part-time but ongoing basis, and still others have made remote work a permanent way to work.

In whole or in part, we said “goodbye” to sticking our head in a neighbor’s office door to say “Hey, got a minute?” We said “goodbye” to gathering around a table for meetings and “hello” to what reminded us of a Brady Bunch rerun.

Taking notes digitally actually became easier because your note-taking tool is on side of your screen right beside the virtual meeting you are in.

Handling all those Zoom invitations was a piece of cake for people who use a digital calendar. A couple of clicks puts the meeting and its link on the calendar. At the appropriate time, click the link inside the appointment on the calendar and you’re in the meeting. You even get an alarm a few minutes ahead of time so you can’t forget.

Adding a new word…digitally!

Today, it’s not enough to have physical items in the right place. Yes, we still need to find papers, have a method to make those that need action come back at the right time, and have a place to put them when the actions have all been handled.

But that’s not enough. We’ve got to get organized and do so digitally. That’s why I wrote the book Get Organized Digitally!

Chapter 7 helps you up your game when it comes to your calendar. You learn how to move the “family calendar” from the refrigerator door to the phone in your pocket, because taking the refrigerator with you is tough to do. You also learn how to let approved items add themselves to your calendar. That’s in addition to adding those Zoom meetings and their links to your calendar with a couple of clicks.

Taking digital notes in meetings has never been more important than now. Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 give you the nuts & bolts to make it easy. And when we talk about “digital notes,” that’s a different topic from “digital documents.” Chapter 6 makes that clear.

We’ve been overwhelmed by all the things we have to do, and so how to keep a “to-do” list has been a topic of conversation since before LBJ was in the White House. In a digital age, when those to-dos tend to arrive digitally, a digital list makes adding to, organizing, and accomplishing our tasks much easier. Read Chapter 1 to learn how to set up a digital task list using Remember The Milk. Move on to Chapter 2 to learn what’s essential in a good task manager and how to get the most out of yours. In Chapter 3, you’ll learn the magic of doing one thing at a time.

I have to roll my eyes when I hear people talk about “doing away with email” or how “I don’t even check my email because it’s so overwhelming.” Email is the most efficient form of written communication we have once we institute good email practices. Chapter 8 shows you how.

One of the benefits of digital tools is how they can work together. Every phone call I receive on my mobile phone is recorded on a spreadsheet without me having to do a thing. Ditto for every phone call I make. When people book an appointment with me using my Calendly link, it not only goes on my calendar for the appropriate date but is logged in my digital journal as part of the record of what happened in my life that day. Chapter 9 goes into the wonders of automation, and it’s only possible with a digital system.

Join me for the Launch Party

January 13 at 7:00 PM (CST)/8:00 PM (EST), we’ll be hosting a “Get Organized Digitally!” Launch Party. The event is free, but you do have to register, and we’re limiting registration to 100. Learn more about the book, gather with like-minded people, and take advantage of a special offer. See you then!

If you’ve been feeling that life could be easier than you’re making it, you’re already halfway there. The other half is harnessing the technology that’s already available.