Married With Twins

Real life is this.  You have 2 screeming babies on each hip.  Laundry needs to be washed, folded, put up. Doctor’s visit needs to be scheduled. The dog needs to be fed.  Poor dog, he’s always forgotten now that 2 babies have moved in. How can you possibly get anything done when our little loved ones demand so much of our time?  But, there’s a light, there’s hope, there’s a way to get it all done.

Today, I begin the challenge of transitioning my GTD corporate way of life to my new mommy-life.  My goal is organize all the clutter in my head head so I can get things done even when I have 2 screaming babies on each hip. I use the methods from  Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-free Productivity (GTD) by David Allen.  This book changed my life.  Before GTD, I was chronically double-booking myself for lunch, overlooking an email request fron my boss, forgetting to pick up the dry cleaning. GTD was exactly what I needed to keep my naturally scattered brain in order.

Day 1:  Getting the tools you need.
You’ll need an office somewhere in your home. Don’t share it with your spouse. You’ll need your own area all to your own to prevent all resistance to get work done.

If you’re starting from scratch, you’ll need

• 3 Paper-holding trays (I prefer magazine holders like the Snap-n-Store Jumbo magazine file box. )
• Stack of plain paper, letter size
• Your favorite pen or pencil
• Post-it notes (3×3)
• Paper clips
• Binder clips
• Stapler and staples
• Scotch tape
• Rubber bands
• Automatic labeler (My fav is the DYMO letratag Plus Personal Label Maker. I keep 1 at home and at work.)
• File folders
• Calendar
• Trash can/ recycle bins

One last thing.
The last thing you’ll need is a block of time. For me, that’s nap time.  The girls go down for 2 hours, fingers crossed.  If that’s not enough time. I can finish when they go to bed.

Next time, I’ll actually start collecting all the stuff in my head, house, and car.  Here goes!

Resources: I use the web based app toodledo to organize my action lists. I can access it anytime on my phone as well.

For more on GTD, go to David Allen’s site. I strongly recommend reading his book  Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-free Productivity. It’s the best resource on implementing this method.

Getting Things Done for a New Mom
Day 1: The Tools You’ll Need
Day 2: Collection. Capturing All the Stuff in Your Head
Day 3: Process. The Work Flow
Day 4: Process. What’s the Next Action
Day 5: Organizing Your Buckets
Day 6: Weekly Review