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[STEP Foundation Principle 9]: Keep the Party Going with a STEP Command Central

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Bonus Processing Videos

Feel free to watch these videos while processing your piles! The first video addresses processing “emotional” tasks–issues that are bothering you and can stop your progress in accomplishing your day-to-day tasks and goals. The second video addresses how to handle “sentimental” items like cards and children’s art–as well as other miscellaneous items like receipts and checks.

Video 1: How to Handle Frustrations

 

Video Notes

Create a “What’s Bothering Me” list and process this during your Weekly Review. Get out a notebook and title a page “Things that bother me.” Use this list as the day progresses, adding things that pop up as problematic. Then during your Weekly Review, process it like a regular paper with tasks on it.

Examples:

  • too many email folders
  • sliding door is broken
  • wardrobe is outdated
  • need a nightstand with a lamp

Keep this list going as needed. That way, you can acknowledge and track issues that need to be taken care of without letting them become roadblocks to your week and hang over you!

Video 2: Processing the Inbox!! (Miscellaneous Items)

Video Notes

***Please note that the SANE resources mentioned in this video have been discontinued because we chose to focus our efforts and energies in on the STEP Program. Feel free to look into this resource as you like!

It’s tempting to dig through the pile in your inbox and find the things that are easiest, but resist the urge to do this; instead, work top to bottom.

Examples from April’s Inbox:

  1. Card dropped off from a friend. I want to save the message, so I’m saving a photo of this inside Evernote under my “Journal” notebook. Then, I recycle the card (unless I want to save the actual note- in which case, I have a file for cards I am saving.)
  2. Receipt. I keep receipts in my planner folder until I enter them in YNAB (you need a budget app), then I recycle the receipt.
  3. Son’s bell choir concert program. Because this was meaningful to me, I want to save the program in my son’s banker box. Each child gets 1 box for 5 years of life.
  4. Drawing and art by daughter and son. I take a picture and add these to my Evernote Journal. Then, I save the original in my child’s banker box for them.
  5. Day camp packet. This is a stack of paper that needs information added and actions made (insurance card photocopied, medical info added etc). I still will need some time to fill it out. Because of this, I add a calendar trigger for when I can fill this out. It’s not a meeting (that gets added to digital google calendar), but it’s a task that can be listed on my paper planner, so it gets done on time. The paper is housed in a cubby until it’s pulled out (children’s cubby or Tickler File by month.)
  6. Stack of papers for track meeting. I need to add the dates to a calendar (digital for me and a family calendar note for my son). Then, I recycle the papers.
  7. AP Test receipts for daughter. I entered it into YNAB, but I also need to save it–so I will take a picture and add this to my Evernote notebook under “household management” in case it’s needed when my daughter takes the AP test.
  8. Handwritten cards with Dad’s writing. I want this to be saved, so I put it in my keepsake drawer in the filing cabinet.
  9. Grandparents love letters (over 100 years old). I plan to scan them, email the scans to my siblings, and then store in them in Evernote and an external hard drive. Then, I’ll put acid free sheet protectors around them to get back to Dad safely (who will keep them). I keep them in a cubby while working on them. I also make a note on calendar to remember bring them with me when I visit my parents to return them.
  10. Checks to be cashed. I endorse them and use the online check deposit feature. It just takes 2 minutes or less!
  11. Mom’s food journal. I want a digital version of this, so if I ever want to share stories about this, I have access to it. I take a picture of it and add it to my Evernote. I also will save this in my filing cabinet as a keepsake.
  12. Son’s choir performance with calendar changes and time updates. Lots of information needs to be added to calendar from this. I add a note to the “Friday meeting” with spouse to discuss with Eric.

Enjoying this lesson topic? Here are some related links to explore:

Build Your STEP Command Central in an Hour

Does the idea of building a STEP Command Central sound daunting? Come watch this video to learn how you can make yours today, using materials you can find around your house!

A STEP Command Central on Every Desk–and What That Means for YOU

If you want to have a clear, calm, organized life, that typically doesn’t just “happen.” Come join us for this groundbreaking podcast episode that will show you how building a STEP Command Central is the KEY.

You Probably Already HAVE a Place for Your Command Central (Come See!)

At LearnDoBecome, we teach you how to get out of “piles” by creating an optimal Command Central. The FIRST question we often hear is, “Where do I put one?” This post is that answer.