# Personal Organization Roadmap ## Pre-requisites - Digital Literacy ## Start small - [[Start small]] - [[Ivy Lee's advice for productivity]] ## Minimal toolkit with examples - Email: GMail - Calendar: Google Calendar - Task Management: Obsidian + [[Kanban plugin for Obsidian]] or maybe also [[TaskNotes plugin for Obsidian]] - Knowledge Management: Obsidian ## Gain clarity Before organizing anything, know what matters most (cfr [[Knowii Community Event - Knowledge Builders - 2025-06-17 - Clarity 101]]) **Why? Because you can't organize effectively without knowing what's important to organize around** - Write down your [[Personal Manifesto]]: principles, core values, needs - Identify your top 3 life areas that need attention (work, health, relationships, etc.) - List 1-3 major goals for the rest of the year ## Add Journaling and basic planning Build the habit of living your days intentionally **Why? Because [[A good day starts with clarity and predictability, not distractions and confusion]]** - Start each day by... - Opening your daily note - Writing down 3 most important tasks - Highlighting the [[Most Important Task of the Day (MITD)]] - Build the habit of going back to your daily note multiple times - To track what you've done, what you're grateful for, what you struggled with, what you should do next and to capture ideas ## Master your calendar **Why? Because your calendar should reflect your priorities, not just react to others' demands** - Audit your calendar: what's actually happening vs what should happen? - Block time for your most important work (i.e., start using [[Time blocking]]) - Schedule recurring events for periodic reviews - Add reminders for important deadlines/bills to pay etc ## Level up your Information Management Skills Invest into learning more about [[Information Management (IM)]]. **Why? Because you need to stop waste time searching and losing stuff. And you need a space to capture/think** - Integrate the [[Inbox Zero principle]] - Cleanup your inboxes (e.g., a few mails at a time, here and there) - Cleanup your file systems - Warning: focus on building the habit, not on cleaning everything in one go (would be too depressing) - Build your Single [[Single Source of Truth (SSOT)]] - Setup a basic folder structure for digital files (e.g., [[PARA method]]) - [[Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS)]] - Start using it everywhere (your computer, your cloud storage solution, ...) - Build your [[Personal Knowledge Management System (PKMS)]] - [[Knowii Community Event - Knowledge Builders - 2025-07-23 - Knowledge Management 101]] - [[Knowledge Management for Beginners]] ## Build your productivity routines **Why? Because consistency creates momentum** - Start with the [[Two minute rule for productivity]] - Establish a simple [[Morning Routine]] - Establish a simple [[Evening Routine]] that prepares you for the next day - Try the [[Pomodoro technique]] with a [[Time Timer]] - Go further with [[Time blocking]] ## Perform Periodic Reviews Add [[Periodic reviews]] to your routines **Why? Because those are the engines of evolution and progress** - Schedule ~30 minutes every week for review and planning - Ask yourself... - What worked? - What didn't? Why? - What challenges did I face? - What am I grateful for? - What will I do next week/month/...? - Review your journal entries to remember - Capture the output! ## Expand your Information Management System Further improve your [[Information Management (IM)]] system **Why? Gain in efficiency, and reduce the feeling of overwhelm** - Improve your Knowledge Management practice (cfr [[Knowledge Management Proficiency Ladder]]) - Start organizing your bookmarks, your files, ... - Define naming conventions, taxonomies, templates, ... - Create templates/checklists for recurring events (e.g., travel, projects, home maintenance, etc) ## Focus more on the bigger picture **Why? Because that's how you'll take life changing actions, one step at a time. You want to manage outcomes and impact, not just tasks** - Define your goals, projects, plans, & tasks more precisely - Define your priorities more clearly using the [[Eisenhower Matrix]], the [[MoSCoW Method]], ... - Think about different [[Time Horizons]] and define what should happen in the next year, next 3 years, ... - Start using the [[Kanban Methodology]] and [[Kanban Boards]] to visualize your work ## Further expand your system **Why? Because you need a holistic system, not just one for clarity, information and productivity** - Build yourself a [[LifeOS]] - Expand your system with health management, habit management, habit tracking, ... - Expand your [[Periodic reviews]] to cover different areas (e.g., financial review as part of your yearly reviews) ## Things to keep in mind - [[Organizing yourself is a journey, not a destination]] - It's NOT ABOUT THE TOOLS - It's REALLY NOT ABOUT THE TOOLS - Embrace a bit of chaos. You need a somewhat loose system, not too tight ## Related - [[Knowii Community Event - Knowledge Builders - 2025-07-30 - Personal Organization 101]]