Is it better to take care of regular tasks daily or let a backlog build up and then take care of it all at once? You probably won’t be surprised by the answer that question: It depends. This week Janine and Shannon discuss their ideas around which tasks are better handled daily and which can be batched.
Discussion topics include:
- Tornadoes in St. Louis
- Taking care of things every day versus letting things build up to do at once
- Janine’s affinity for daily habits
- How it’s more beneficial to batch some tasks rather than do them daily
- Areas that really benefit from daily action, like handling email and keeping the kitchen clean
- How perfectionism can get in the way of putting stuff away
- Janine’s definition of clutter: Having more items than you can comfortably store
- How some things are better done in batches
- Being mindful about approaching tasks daily or in batches
- How Shannon batches the processing of the mail
- The Paper Karma app that helps you get rid of unwanted mail
- Right-turn technology (have you ever seen a UPS truck turn left?)
- Getting rid of a backlog without adding to it
- How sometimes a backlog doesn’t even have to be dealt with
Links:
- You Need a Budget aka YNAB (that’s an affiliate link: if you use it to sign up, you get a free month and so does Shannon)
- Janine’s blog post on the benefits of clearing her desk daily
- Paper Karma app
- Right-turn technology
- Nationwide Whole Pet with Wellness veterinary insurance
I appreciated the pep talk on how to deal with the backlog, especially with genealogy papers. I have boxes and boxes of research that I want to process. I think I will take your advice to heart about starting NOW with new stuff, and working on the backlog little by little. I also went to your OrganizeYourFamilyHistory.com site and bought the Paperless Genealogy guide. Looking forward to reading it!
Thank you, Christy! It’s so easy to get overwhelmed by a backlog of genealogy papers. But processing it little by little will get it done, right?