redeeming time 02: the funnel

“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” –Psalm 90:12

in my last post, I talked about the daily list. this one is about what I call the funnel. we all have details spread out all over the place- we need to funnel them down into one spot- the daily list.

details and to-dos come from all over the place- once you find them, transfer them to your list. you get an e-mail that has a to-do in it- transfer that to the list- or to the calendar- more on that later.

you get a text message from a family member asking for a favor- transfer that to the list.

what about all of those details floating around in your brain? transfer them to the list. I believe that God actually reminds us of important details. its like a little gift. we get these thoughts that say, “don’t forget…” and we have this flash of stress thinking, “I HAVE to remember this! I CAN’T forget this!” and so we just hold that thought in our brains until the task is done.” if you don’t find a way to get that detail to your list, you’re in danger of forgetting it.

the problem is that those ideas come when we’re in the car, in the shower, and places where our daily list is far away. so how do we get it to the daily list?

you need a system to capture that thought.
its got to be portable and accessible to you all the time.

I use all kinds of ways. many people have seen me whip a small pad of paper out of my pocket and write a note to myself. I also send myself e-mails. if I can’t do that, I send myself a voicemail. I am reminded of so many things to do when I’m in the shower, that I got one of those shower crayons, and sometimes I make a list right there on the shower wall. when I’m dried off, I transfer that list to my pocket pad or send myself an e-mail. I’ve seen people make notes on their hands- whatever works for you. I have gotten out of bed on many nights to walk over to my list to capture a thought. the great thing is that after its written down, I can give my mind the freedom to stop thinking about it and get rest.

people wonder what I’m doing when I’m capturing a thought. they see my pad and think, “what are you writing?! is this about me?!” or they see my typing on my phone and wonder if I’m texting during our meeting. now I just announce what I’m doing and say, “that’s a great idea- I want to make sure I remind myself to take care of that later.”

here is the bottom line: if you don’t write it down, you will stress yourself out trying to remember it; or you will forget it. but when you write that task down somewhere, then you can free your brain up to think other thoughts, and the stress level drops.

so every day, I make one master daily list. that list is created from the funnel. each day, I look at my calendar, my pocket pad, my e-mail, my text messages and notes; and transfer all of those details onto my one master daily list. my daily list often grows throughout the day as e-mails come in and as I’m reminded of things to do.

give it a try! think about what system will work for you. what can you use to capture those thoughts? its got to be something that you will see and not overlook. its got to be something that you can access all the time. phones can really be helpful with this. if you use a pocket pad, get something you’ll enjoy using and that you won’t misplace. don’t forget to have a pen on you if you’re going to use a pad. it sounds a little OCD, but there is nothing weird about remembering things that are important to you. people that remember details are thought of as thoughtful- and that’s always good.

God is love.
rev-rob