All Systems Go: 3 Tips for Organizing Your Life [2025 Re-Post] | Praise Podcast

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https://momo634.com/p/3-tips-for-organizing-2025

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00:00:34 --> 00:00:37 Hello, and welcome to Momo 634.

00:00:38 --> 00:00:41 Motivational moments just for today.

00:00:43 --> 00:00:47 I lived well over half my life without formal diagnoses,

00:00:48 --> 00:00:51 so I just appeared to be a very,

00:00:51 --> 00:00:53 very disorganized person.

00:00:55 --> 00:00:59 Anyone who knows me now might scoff at that because I don't

00:00:59 --> 00:01:00 just have a system.

00:01:01 --> 00:01:03 I have backups, alarms,

00:01:04 --> 00:01:05 Checks and balances.

00:01:07 --> 00:01:11 Part of the need for this is probably the reassurance needs

00:01:11 --> 00:01:12 baked into OCD.

00:01:13 --> 00:01:17 And part of it is the need to check things off my list or else

00:01:17 --> 00:01:18 I get panicky.

00:01:19 --> 00:01:23 Also part of the rules and order inherent in OCD as an

00:01:23 --> 00:01:25 anxiety-based disorder.

00:01:26 --> 00:01:30 What looks like efficiency to others is part of my condition.

00:01:31 --> 00:01:35 But as we discussed in one of our bonus Saturday episodes,

00:01:35 --> 00:01:40 it's also a blessing to embrace as part of making peace with

00:01:40 --> 00:01:41 living with a mental

00:01:41 --> 00:01:43 health condition or being neurodiverse.

00:01:46 --> 00:01:48 I remember having organizers in college.

00:01:49 --> 00:01:53 In particular, a red-tabbed one during the Filofax years.

00:01:54 --> 00:01:58 Millennials, you might need the internet wayback machine for that one.

00:02:00 --> 00:02:04 It wasn't until I acquired one particular brand of smartphone

00:02:04 --> 00:02:05 that I began to

00:02:05 --> 00:02:07 develop the system that I have now.

00:02:09 --> 00:02:14 First, I put everything into my calendar app right away.

00:02:15 --> 00:02:17 When my kids were younger,

00:02:17 --> 00:02:20 at the doctor's office right there at checkout,

00:02:20 --> 00:02:22 you'd find me with my phone out.

00:02:23 --> 00:02:27 You may have to kiss a few calendaring and email apps before

00:02:28 --> 00:02:29 you find ones that work for you.

00:02:30 --> 00:02:35 But I didn't let one app go until I had fully integrated into

00:02:35 --> 00:02:35 the new one,

00:02:36 --> 00:02:38 just so that nothing fell through the cracks.

00:02:39 --> 00:02:42 I'd rather too many notifications than none at all.

00:02:44 --> 00:02:46 Secondly, I set several alarms.

00:02:48 --> 00:02:49 In your calendaring app,

00:02:49 --> 00:02:52 you can choose how long of an interval before the event that

00:02:52 --> 00:02:53 you get a reminder.

00:02:55 --> 00:02:56 I generally set up three.

00:02:57 --> 00:02:57 One,

00:02:57 --> 00:02:58 the day before,

00:02:59 --> 00:03:03 because with three kids I had to make sure that I had time to

00:03:03 --> 00:03:04 rearrange anything

00:03:04 --> 00:03:04 pressing.

00:03:06 --> 00:03:08 One that's two hours before,

00:03:09 --> 00:03:14 you can get ready and get wherever you need with a two hour timeframe,

00:03:14 --> 00:03:15 generally speaking.

00:03:16 --> 00:03:21 And one 15 minutes before for phone calls and work meetings.

00:03:23 --> 00:03:26 As mentioned with apps, you can also set email reminders.

00:03:27 --> 00:03:32 Sometimes I'll send myself an email and good email apps will

00:03:32 --> 00:03:33 integrate with your calendar.

00:03:35 --> 00:03:37 I also put a hold on the whole day,

00:03:37 --> 00:03:39 a banner at the top of my day,

00:03:39 --> 00:03:41 if it's something really urgent,

00:03:42 --> 00:03:44 and or I text myself.

00:03:46 --> 00:03:48 I also use checklists and spreadsheets.

00:03:50 --> 00:03:53 I have a running list of ideas for this podcast on my phone.

00:03:54 --> 00:03:57 I have shared calendars with teammates for other projects.

00:03:58 --> 00:04:01 I have a spreadsheet for guests that I book for clients.

00:04:02 --> 00:04:02 Additionally,

00:04:02 --> 00:04:04 I store these lists,

00:04:04 --> 00:04:05 spreadsheets,

00:04:05 --> 00:04:08 and the like in places I can reach no matter where I am,

00:04:09 --> 00:04:11 whether that's in the cloud or personal drive,

00:04:12 --> 00:04:15 and also backups on thumb drives and external hard drives.

00:04:16 --> 00:04:18 That may sound like a lot,

00:04:19 --> 00:04:19 and yeah,

00:04:19 --> 00:04:22 the reassurance aspect of OCD is partly to blame.

00:04:23 --> 00:04:28 But the anxiety when I'm late or forget something is far worse.

00:04:28 --> 00:04:31 And I've been there, so it's worth it.

00:04:32 --> 00:04:32 Plus,

00:04:32 --> 00:04:34 as I said at the top of the podcast,

00:04:34 --> 00:04:36 for those who know me now,

00:04:36 --> 00:04:38 with systems in place,

00:04:39 --> 00:04:41 it would be inconceivable to think me disorganized.

00:04:42 --> 00:04:46 I'm usually the first to respond to an email or text.

00:04:46 --> 00:04:50 And usually when they say, hey, where's this document?

00:04:50 --> 00:04:53 I'm the first one to pull it out and say, hey, here it is.

00:04:55 --> 00:04:56 They think it's responsible.

00:04:57 --> 00:04:58 Inwardly,

00:04:58 --> 00:05:02 I panic that I'm going to forget to respond to the text or

00:05:02 --> 00:05:04 forget to email whatever

00:05:04 --> 00:05:05 it is.

00:05:05 --> 00:05:09 So following rule number one, I respond right away.

00:05:11 --> 00:05:15 My systems are lifelines, thus all the backups.

00:05:16 --> 00:05:18 But others appreciate the organization.

00:05:19 --> 00:05:21 I think that's why project management called to me.

00:05:23 --> 00:05:25 Proverbs 21.5 says,

00:05:26 --> 00:05:28 The plans of the diligent bring plenty,

00:05:29 --> 00:05:32 as surely as haste leads to poverty.

00:05:34 --> 00:05:37 I know the book of James talks about planning ahead without

00:05:37 --> 00:05:39 regard to the fact if

00:05:39 --> 00:05:40 you'll even be around,

00:05:40 --> 00:05:42 given the temporal nature of life.

00:05:43 --> 00:05:43 However,

00:05:44 --> 00:05:48 these systems are in place with that obviously as the guiding

00:05:48 --> 00:05:48 principle.

00:05:50 --> 00:05:51 Our meme for today says,

00:05:52 --> 00:05:56 systems simply save sanity,

00:05:57 --> 00:05:58 subtract stress,

00:05:59 --> 00:06:00 solve situations,

00:06:01 --> 00:06:02 and solidify standards.

00:06:04 --> 00:06:07 You may have to play around and adapt a few to make them

00:06:07 --> 00:06:09 uniquely yours and work

00:06:09 --> 00:06:10 for your particular situation.

00:06:12 --> 00:06:17 Also, consider the GTD method or get things done method.

00:06:18 --> 00:06:20 Use your friendly search engine to look that up.

00:06:21 --> 00:06:26 I'm a particular fan of Kanban boards, K-A-N-B-A-N.

00:06:27 --> 00:06:30 Or you can use tools like Trello or Asana,

00:06:31 --> 00:06:35 both with apps for your phone and have free tier plans.

00:06:37 --> 00:06:40 So those are my tips and tricks and my insider secrets to my system.

00:06:41 --> 00:06:45 If you have a system that works for you or that you think might

00:06:45 --> 00:06:46 benefit others,

00:06:46 --> 00:06:51 drop it in the comments or respond to the email on Substack.

00:06:53 --> 00:06:57 If you enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe and share it with others.

00:06:58 --> 00:07:02 Free subscribers get the podcast and companion meme emailed daily.

00:07:02 --> 00:07:05 Paid subscribers get an additional weekend episode,

00:07:06 --> 00:07:08 as well as other subscriber-only perks.

00:07:09 --> 00:07:14 Momo634 is also on major podcast platforms and on social media.

00:07:15 --> 00:07:17 See the tab at momos634.substack.com.

00:07:21 --> 00:07:24 Thank you for listening to Momo 634.

00:07:25 --> 00:07:28 Motivational moments just for today.