Don't start your day until you have it finished on paper first.
The night before, go over your schedule and see what you're going to do and what the purpose of what you're doing is. I advocate having a two-column schedule. On the left, put down all your appointments and phone calls. On the right, put down what the purpose is.
I always make lists of things I need to get done. I like the sense of having completed one thing so I can move on to the next.
When I come into the office, the first thing I do is I plan out what I want to accomplish that day. I write it down in my notebook and make sure I accomplish it before I leave that day.
Do one thing at a time. Start the day with a list of things you have to do, and do the most important things first.
I'm very organized. I have my day-to-day schedule, every 15 minutes, written out.
I have 17 alarms that go off every day to remind me not to have mom brain.
I've got tons more stuff to do.
Write down the most important things you have to do tomorrow.
Make an exhaustive list of everything you might do & do the last thing on the list.
I basically wake up at five in the morning and grab coffee and just get to the studio. And I have a list of things I need to get done every day. Sometimes it's just mixing, sometimes it's actually writing, sometimes it's writing, recording, and mixing. It all depends on what is necessary that day.
Don't worry if you don't complete everything on the schedule. At least you will have completed the most important projects before getting to the less important ones.
I have everything in my house organized to an unnecessary T, and I love it! The only downside: I have no excuses for losing my to-do lists.
I still have long lists of things that I want to accomplish every day.
I am definitely a keep-it-clean type of person when it comes to e-mail. My 'important' folder on the Gmail app is constantly clean. When a new e-mail comes in to my important folder, I immediately look at it and determine what action item comes with it. The action item may not get done until later, but at least I know it's coming.
You can do eight things. We got it down to eight for you.
I write everything down. I e-mail the second I think of something, or I write notes in my BlackBerry calendar. I set up reminder alerts on my phone. And I have a notebook by my bedside so I can write down any last-minute ideas.
In all planing you make a list and you set priorities.
Each night before I go to bed, I take out a small card and write a list of the things I need to do the next day in order of their priority.
It seems every morning I wake up to face a list of 20 things to do, with time only to do 10, and somehow I always wind up squishing in 30.
I try to list the top three things to get done every day, and I'll be lucky if I hit all three, but it's amazing what that does to keep you on track.
I am anal about my Gmail calendar. It's my life. I put everything in there - my to-do list, or even if I want to do things.
I try not to look at my schedule for the week because I'll get so overwhelmed. Every day, there are multiple things to be done and 10 things I don't end up accomplishing.
Nick, fetch my car, fetch my clothes, sweep the chimney, make my bed, watch my psychopath, fetch my slippers.
