This week’s theme will be about letting go, clearing out and seeking clarity. Problem Child closed on Sunday and I have a little respite. This one felt like a real ending because I don’t have the next “gig” lined up. I’ve had a very long run of acting projects one after the other and it’s been pretty wonderful. Now … empty space/time. It’s been awhile since I’ve had the opportunity to decide what to do with my time. Hmmm?

I started sorting out my house on Monday and I actually felt like I was moving back in. I’ve been carrying clothes, jewelry and make-up around in various bags for over 3 months. Time to unpack!

I caught up on a lot of de-cluttering. There were papers that had piled up all over my house and lots of clothes waiting to be washed. I didn’t get everything back in order. It took 3 months for my house to get into this messy state so I’m going to need more than one afternoon to get it sorted out.

I have a strong desire to create space:

• in my head – forget the lines
• in my joints – time to stretch
• in my drawers – some of those clothes just don’t work for me
• in my desk – toss it or file it
• in my email box – file, delete, un-subscribe
• in my to do list – time to ask the question: “Really? Do you really want/need to do that?”

I have a strong desire to clarify my vision:

I’ve started some great projects with my “just jump in and figure out how to swim when you hit the water” process, but it’s time to clarify. This desire for clarity is coming from within (as opposed to someone else telling me I should have a business plan) which tells me that I am due to discover and learn some things. And…(I love synchroncity)…I got a great gift in the mail today: The Vision Board: The Secret to an Extraordinary Life by Joyce Schwarz. This lovely gift was sent to me by Jennifer Lee of Artizen Coaching. Thank you, Jennifer!

I have a strong desire to organize:

I collect productivity systems the way some people collect Hummel figurines. And, yes, they do get dusty sitting on my shelf instead of being adopted or adapted as intended. So…I put together my Circa Notebook last night and labeled some dividers and I devised a little plan (cobbled together from other plans) to keep myself moving forward and on task.

I’ll share it here because, if you’re like me, you’re a collector too and you might think it’s fun. Also, if you spot a missing link, let me know.

WARNING: This part gets long so you can skip to the conclusion of this post here.

This is cobbled together from The Autofocus Method, GTD, and Franklin Covey. I’ve also incorporated a writing capture based on Phyllis Whitney’s Guide to Fiction Writing.

My tools are:

Circa Notebook
This goes with me everywhere or I carry some circa-punched paper with me when I can’t carry the full notebook.

Sections:

• Weekly Time Map & Monthly Calendars
• Autofocus Lists (Personal & Work)
• Goals – Overview and Page-by page details. I might put some vision boards in here too.
• Inbox – anything I don’t know what to do with goes here until I figure it out and can put it somewhere else.
• Writing Capture – see below

RTM
This captures dated tasks and sends them to my Twitter and GMail. I also have an RTM widget on my iGoogle and a RTM sidebar on my GMail.

Outlook Calendar
Dated and timed events with alarms set. This synchs with my cell phone.

How it works:

Everything goes on my Autofocus list in my notebook (including dated tasks and dated events if I am not able to enter them immediately into RTM or Outlook). Dated tasks and dated events get crossed off the Autofocus list as soon as they are entered into RTM or Outlook.

The writing capture section of my notebook has a cheat sheet on the first page reminding me of the notebook categories for my stories: (Based on Phyllis Whitney’s sytem from Guide to Fiction Writing.)

1. Theme – ultimate meaning, lessons learned, arguments for and against
2. Situation – Problems and goals (story goals and character goals)
3. Plot – capture and story telling that comes along (dialogue, images, scenes)
4. Character – anything I discover about a character that isn’t part of the story telling
5. Outline – Ideas for shaping the plot, scene-by-scene story action

What I’ve learned about myself from playing with multiple productivity thingies (systems and tools) is:

• I need lots and lots of blank paper available to me at all times. I have to engage in the tactile action of writing (and doodling). This is how things sink into my brain and begin to get sorted out. It’s a kinesthetic thing.
• I love web applications! But, I have to write on paper too. This system lets me have both without a lot of duplication. I like things that synch with other things so I am not location dependent. I can access oth RTM and Outlook with my cell phone.)
• I have to review my goals daily or I tend to lose track of my big picture in the daily grind. If I carry goal sheets with me, I can peruse them at my leisure and capture any ideas that come up during the day.

Maybe you read that, maybe you didn’t. Here’s the conclusion. When I am working on theatre projects my life is very busy and I don’t plan. I don’t write things down. Things tend to accumulate because I don’t take the time to sort through it all. I let it all pile up until I’m done with the show or until it overwhelms me and I start to freak out. Whichever comes first.

I am learning to get comfortable with this instead of beating myself up about it. This gives me permission to sink into my project and let go of the “stuff”. Relationships and projects are timely, the stuff will be there. I can ignore the stuff for awhile and trust that sooner or later the project will end and I will feel an internal urge to clean up the messes in my house and my brain. If I try to force myself to take care of the stuff when I don’t have the energy, I will get angry and frustrated. It’s simply not effective. If I can wait until the show closes (insert the conclusion of your project), then my mind and my energy are open to personal revision and my focus on “stuff” actually pays off. It’s flow versus push.

The mess comes and goes with the tide – and that’s okay. It’s actually a wonderful opportunity to revise as needed.

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Tags: Productivity