How I Stay Organized as a Professor

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses the author's journey towards becoming an organized and productive individual, detailing the tools and strategies they used to overcome their previous struggles with forgetfulness and unreliability. It covers the author's use of various productivity and organization apps, including calendar, task management, and note-taking apps, to develop a comprehensive system that helps them stay on top of their personal and professional responsibilities.

🙋 Q&A

[01] Becoming Organized

1. What were the author's struggles with organization in the past?

• The author was very bad at planning and often forgot important events like birthdays, meetings, and appointments, even during their bachelor's and master's degrees.
• The author's forgetfulness led to embarrassing situations, such as when a professor reproached them in front of the class for forgetting to print a biology article.

2. What prompted the author to become more organized?

• When the author had to study and work as a teaching assistant in graduate school, they realized that their lack of organization was not just a personal issue but also affected their students' learning outcomes.
• This realization motivated the author to find ways to improve their organizational skills and develop a reliable system to keep track of important dates and tasks.

3. How did the author go about developing their organizational system?

• The author researched various productivity and organization apps, experimenting with different tools like calendar apps, task management apps, and note-taking apps.
• The author found that developing the habit of using these apps daily and checking them regularly was the key to making the system work effectively.

[02] The Author's Organizational System

1. What are the main components of the author's organizational system?

• The author's system is based on the "Getting Things Done" (GTD) methodology and consists of three main components:
  • Calendar app (e.g., Google Calendar, Apple Calendar) for managing events and appointments
  • Task management app (e.g., Todoist, Notion) for tracking tasks and projects
  • Note-taking app (e.g., Obsidian) for storing information and ideas

2. How does the author use each component of the system?

• Calendar app: The author uses the calendar to record all events and appointments, with the main events listed in the all-day section and the details in the grid below.
• Task management app: The author uses the task management app to record tasks with due dates, priorities, and project associations, which they can view in different formats (calendar, board, table).
• Note-taking app: The author uses the note-taking app to save information that doesn't translate into tasks or events, such as meeting notes, research ideas, and other relevant information.

3. How has the author's organizational system impacted their daily life?

• The author no longer needs to rely on their memory for important information, as it is all stored in their organizational system.
• The system allows the author to confidently respond to questions about their schedule, tasks, and information, as they can simply refer to the relevant app.
• The author has found that developing the habit of using the system daily has been crucial to its effectiveness and has helped them become more organized and reliable.