9 Ways To Trick Yourself Into Being More Organized
Summary
TLDRIn this episode of 'The Totally Chill Guide to Work and Life', Holly Trantham, the creative director at tfds, shares practical strategies for managing money and productivity without becoming overwhelmed. She discusses the ease of starting to invest with Betterment, the importance of setting reminders for tasks, applying the two-minute rule, leveraging AI for research, and pairing tasks with rewards. Holly also emphasizes the value of reworking household chores, decluttering systematically, and allowing oneself to deprioritize to maintain a balanced life.
Takeaways
- 😌 Holly Trantham, the creative director at tfds, discusses a relaxed approach to money and career decisions in 'The Totally Chill Guide to Work and Life'.
- 💰 Many people avoid making important financial decisions due to anxiety, especially without proper education or family guidance on the subject.
- 🤖 Holly recommends using automated investment platforms like Betterment to simplify the investment process and reduce the mental load.
- 📅 She suggests setting recurring calendar reminders for tasks, including annual bills and routine chores, to ensure they are not forgotten.
- ⏱ The two-minute rule is highlighted as a strategy to complete small tasks immediately, reducing the mental load and preventing procrastination.
- 🤖 AI platforms like chat GPT can assist in breaking down larger tasks and conducting research, helping to alleviate the stress associated with certain chores or projects.
- 🍰 Pairing an annoying task with a reward, as per the Premack Principle, can motivate individuals to complete unenjoyable chores more effectively.
- 🧹 Holly advises reworking the division of household labor, possibly through chore swapping, to avoid tasks that cause significant dread.
- 🧹 Decluttering and organizing should be done on separate days to prevent the cleaning process from becoming overwhelming.
- 📦 Implementing systems for clutter, such as using bins and baskets for easy tidying, can help control mess and simplify the organization process.
- 📱 To combat distractions, especially from phones, Holly recommends physically moving the phone away to create an environment conducive to focus.
- 🚫 Lastly, Holly emphasizes the importance of giving oneself permission to deprioritize certain tasks, acknowledging that it's impossible to do everything and that life should have room for spontaneity and enjoyment.
Q & A
Who is Holly Trantham and what is her role in the video?
-Holly Trantham is the creative director at tfds and the host of the second season of 'The Totally Chill Guide to Work and Life'. She has been working behind the scenes on content across YouTube and other tf's channels and has also written a book titled 'Beyond Getting By'.
What is the main theme of the second season of 'The Totally Chill Guide to Work and Life'?
-The main theme of the second season is to approach money and career decisions from a relaxed perspective, aiming to help viewers live the life they want without making these decisions their sole focus.
Why does Holly suggest that people often spend more energy worrying about money decisions rather than actually making them?
-Holly suggests that people often worry more about making money decisions because it can be anxiety-inducing, especially for those who have not learned about it from their education or family, and the energy spent worrying can be greater than the effort required to make the decision.
What is Betterment and how does it simplify the investment process according to Holly?
-Betterment is an automated investment platform that simplifies the investment process by asking users a few simple questions about their goals, timeline, and other factors. It then uses automated tools like portfolio rebalancing and dividend reinvestment to make investing easy for the user.
What does Holly mean by 'productivity for productivity's sake' and why is she against it?
-Holly refers to 'productivity for productivity's sake' as the pursuit of being productive without a clear purpose, just for the sake of being busy. She is against it because she believes productivity should be about freeing up time and energy for the parts of life that truly matter, rather than being an end in itself.
What is the 'two-minute rule' that Holly mentions and how can it help with productivity?
-The 'two-minute rule' is a productivity technique that states if a task can be completed in two minutes or less, it should be done immediately. This helps reduce the mental load of constantly remembering to do small tasks and can prevent procrastination.
How does Holly suggest using AI platforms like chat GPT to break down larger tasks?
-Holly suggests using AI platforms to help with tasks that are time-consuming, such as research or project planning. These tools can help reduce the time spent on these tasks, allowing individuals to focus on other aspects of their work or personal life.
What is the 'Premack Principle' and how does Holly recommend using it to tackle annoying tasks?
-The 'Premack Principle' is a psychological theory that states that a more probable activity can be used as a reward for a less probable one. Holly recommends using this principle by pairing an annoying task with a reward to motivate oneself to complete the undesired task.
What is the importance of dividing household labor equitably according to Holly?
-Dividing household labor equitably is important to prevent one person from bearing the mental load of household chores. Holly suggests chore swapping if there is a task that one person dreads more than another, to distribute the burden fairly.
How does Holly recommend managing clutter and maintaining an organized home?
-Holly recommends having systems in place for clutter, such as using empty bins and baskets around the home to quickly tidy up items. She also suggests adopting a 'tidy as you go' mindset and decluttering and cleaning on different days to prevent the task from feeling overwhelming.
What is the key takeaway from the book '4,000 Weeks: Time Management for Mortals' that Holly shares?
-The key takeaway from '4,000 Weeks' is that it's impossible to make time for everything that feels important. The book encourages readers to accept that they will never feel completely on top of things and to prioritize what truly matters, rather than trying to do everything.
Outlines
🌟 Introduction to the Totally Chill Guide
Holly Trantham, the creative director, introduces the second season of 'The Totally Chill Guide to Work and Life.' She has been working behind the scenes on content creation for YouTube and other platforms for eight years and is also the author of the book 'Beyond Getting By.' Holly aims to discuss a relaxed approach to money and career decisions to help viewers live the life they want without these aspects becoming their sole focus. She acknowledges the anxiety that money can cause, especially for those who lack financial education and encourages starting with investing using Betterment, a platform that simplifies the process with automated tools. She also touches on productivity, arguing against productivity for the sake of it and emphasizing the importance of focusing on what truly matters in life.
📅 Tackling Mentally Draining Tasks with Calendar Reminders and the Two-Minute Rule
The paragraph delves into strategies for dealing with mentally draining tasks. Holly suggests setting recurring calendar reminders as a way to ensure tasks are completed, such as paying annual bills or cleaning routines. She also introduces the 'two-minute rule,' which advises doing any task that can be completed in two minutes immediately to reduce mental load. Holly shares personal examples, like canceling app subscriptions right after downloading them to avoid forgetting. She emphasizes the importance of not letting tasks occupy more mental space than they deserve and encourages finding ways to ease the burden of these tasks, especially for women who often manage this 'mental load.'
🤖 Utilizing AI for Task Management and Productivity
Holly discusses the use of AI platforms like chat GPT to break down larger tasks and reduce the time spent on them personally. While she admits to having some reservations about AI, she acknowledges their usefulness in cutting down on the time spent on tasks like research or project planning. She shares an example of a mother using chat GPT to find summer camp options and her own experience of getting a meal plan outline from the AI. Holly suggests that AI can help alleviate the stress of tasks that bring no joy, like researching meal plans or finding local activities, without replacing the need for human effort.
🍪 Pairing Annoying Tasks with Rewards and Reworking Household Division of Labor
This section explores the concept of reward pairing, where doing something enjoyable can motivate the completion of a disliked task, based on the Premack Principle. Holly cites a study that emphasizes the importance of how rewards make people feel, which can boost dopamine levels and enhance pleasure. She then suggests reworking the division of household chores to avoid dreading certain tasks, advocating for chore swapping among housemates or partners. Holly provides a personal example of swapping the task of mailing items with her husband, who doesn't dread it as much as she does.
🧹 Strategies for Managing Clutter and Cleaning
Holly shares her personal strategies for managing clutter and cleaning, starting with decluttering and tidying on different days to prevent an overwhelming cleaning list. She also advocates for a 'tidy as you go' mindset and introduces a tip from Casey Davis's book about using empty bins and baskets to quickly tidy up items throughout the day, which can then be organized and put away at the end of the day or week. This method helps control clutter and makes the cleaning process more manageable.
📵 Addressing Phone-Induced Procrastination and the Permission to Deprioritize
The final paragraph addresses the issue of phone-induced procrastination and suggests physically moving the phone to another room as a solution. Holly references studies that link phone use to procrastination and shares her own experience of having to remove her phone to focus on tasks. She also discusses the concept of deprioritizing from the book '4,000 Weeks: Time Management for Mortals,' emphasizing that it's impossible to make time for everything that feels important and that it's okay to let go of the need for constant productivity. Holly encourages viewers to give themselves permission to deprioritize and to not miss out on the joys of life in the pursuit of being productive.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Productivity
💡Investing
💡Mental Load
💡Two-Minute Rule
💡AI Platform
💡Reward Pairing
💡Household Management
💡Clutter
💡Deprioritizing
💡Procrastination
💡Equitable Household
Highlights
Introduction of Holly Trantham, Creative Director at tfds, and the start of season two of The Totally Chill Guide to Work and Life.
Holly's eight-year experience working behind the scenes on content across all of tf's channels and her contribution to the book 'Beyond Getting By'.
The importance of approaching money and career decisions from a relaxed perspective to maintain a balanced life.
Admission of the common tendency to delay important money decisions due to anxiety and lack of education on the subject.
The concept that worrying about tasks often consumes more energy than actually completing them.
Endorsement of Betterment as an easy-to-use automated investment platform that simplifies the investment process.
Holly's stance against productivity for the sake of productivity, emphasizing the importance of focusing on what truly matters in life.
The idea that productivity is necessary to free up time and energy for life's important aspects, not just work.
Simple strategies to tackle mentally draining tasks, such as setting recurring calendar reminders for important tasks.
The two-minute rule for completing small tasks immediately to reduce mental load.
The use of AI platforms like chat GPT to break down larger tasks and reduce personal time spent on them.
Pairing annoying tasks with rewards to increase motivation, based on the Premack Principle developed by David Premack.
The suggestion to rework how household labor is divided, possibly through chore swapping to avoid dreaded tasks.
The strategy of decluttering and organizing on different days to prevent an overwhelming cleaning list.
Implementing systems for clutter control, such as using empty bins and baskets to easily tidy up spaces.
The recommendation to hide your phone from yourself to avoid distractions and increase focus on tasks.
Permission to deprioritize certain tasks, as suggested in the book '4,000 Weeks: Time Management for Mortals' by Oliver Burkeman.
The conclusion that productivity should not come at the expense of missing out on life's truly valuable moments.
Transcripts
hello everyone I'm Holly Trantham tfds
creative director and this is season two
of The totally chill guide to work and
life for the past eight years I've been
working behind the scenes on all of the
content you see here on YouTube and
across all of tf's channels and I also
wrote our second book beyond getting by
throughout this series I'll be talking
about how to approach your money and
career decisions from a chill place
where they help you live the life you
want without ever becoming your sole
Focus so let's be honest here a lot of
us have put off important money
decisions longer than we should have
money can be anxiety inducing especially
if you never learned about it from your
education or your family but a lot of
the time we spend more energy worrying
about doing something then it actually
takes to just do it and if you've been
putting off getting started investing
just know that with betterment it is
made easy just answer a few simple
questions about your investing goals
timeline and other factors and
betterment will take it from there
because with automated tools like
portfolio rebalancing and dividend
reinvestment they make investing easy
for you and a total grind for your money
vment can help someone ease their way
into investing as their financial
experts are working behind the scenes to
make your money hustle while you do
literally anything else get started be
invested click the link in our
description or head to betterment.com
tfd to sign up in minutes yes ma'ams I
am coming to you with productivity
content a quarter of the way through the
21st century but I want to be clear here
that I am generally against productivity
for productivity sake I think
productivity especially in the workplace
is only really necessary because
lessening the amount of time and energy
you spend on work means you have more of
it left over for the parts of life that
really truly matter not that work
doesn't matter but you know what I mean
and when I say work of course I mean
housework as well but even in a quest to
live a less productivity focused life
there are still things we need to get
done just to be people in the world so
whether your most annoying task is
something you've just continuously been
putting off like getting started
investing or coordinating upcoming
holiday plans with family not to scare
anyone or something that just won't stop
piling up like your email inbox or your
kitchen that somehow magically gets
dirty again after you clean it here are
some simple ways to tackle your most
mentally draining tasks number one set
recurring calendar reminders so I know I
am a pretty type a person but for me if
I have something on my calendar I'm
pretty much going to do it and not just
for day-to-day stuff I find this really
important for things like annual bills
like our credit card bill which is
really easy to forget is coming if we
don't set a reminder for it though I do
know there are some budgeting apps that
are actually pretty good about sending
those reminders to you I have gotten
into the habit for setting reminders for
everything from recurring weekly ones to
clean my apartment on Fridays to onetime
reminders I set to cancel a subscription
that I signed up for a free trial for
which actually brings me to my next
Point number two use the twom minute
rule this is a very basic rule that says
that if something can be done in 2
minutes do it right now so in the case
of setting a reminder to cancel an app
subscription that I signed up for a free
trial for I do that immediately
mediately when I download the app so I
just don't have to think about it this
is also the main rule that gets me to
put away a pile of clothes in the
evening which just ends up piling up
when I'm too lazy to hang up my outdoor
clothes after I come inside and change
into my indoor clothes this dress in the
house situation is very rare so many
tasks take up way more brain space than
they really deserve to because we spend
so much time dreading the fact that we
have to do them or thinking about oh
yeah I got to do that rather than just
doing them that mental load is something
so many of us deal with all the time
especially as women and side note I have
been asked before how men in opposite
sex relationships can start taking some
of that mental load off of their partner
and I think the key thing is just taking
ownership of those tasks and taking it
upon yourself to look up tips like these
in order to figure out how you get them
done number three use chat GPT or
another AI platform to help you break
down larger tasks okay I will not deny
these AI tools still give me a little
bit of the ick and I'm not suggesting
using them in place of real human labor
but I think they can be really helpful
when they help someone cut down the time
they personally spend on a task so when
it's cutting down the time you would
spend on something yourself not
necessarily something you would
Outsource to another human being whether
that's related to home chores or work
for instance I totally see how helpful
they can be for doing a lot of research
or tackling a bigger project down below
I've link to an Atlantic article from
last year all about how AI like chat gbt
can help you cut down the time you spend
on domestic labor even though it can't
do your chores for you for instance one
mom used chat GPT to research summer
camp options for her kids that worked
for their schedule and it came up with a
pretty good list even though it couldn't
take on the hassle of actually driving
her kids to Camp I tried out asking chat
GPT to give me a meal plan that is high
in protein and fiber and it actually did
a decent job giving me a basic outline
for what that could look like so if
things like researching meal plans for
your family or finding things to do in
your area bring you absolutely no joy AI
can be really helpful for taking the
stress out of those tasks side note I've
also used it to help me figure out a
room layout and it actually worked
pretty well number four pair an annoying
task with a reward we all love little
treats and sometimes a little treat is
really good on its own but you can also
use them as motivation for doing
something that you're really not looking
forward to according to an article in
Psychology today in the 1960s American
psychologist David primac developed a
theory now known as prex principle he
explained that doing something you're
more likely to do can be a reward for
doing something you don't actually want
to do and there have been several
studies that have helped legitimize this
idea behind reward pairing a 2019 study
found that it's not the reward itself
but rather how the reward makes people
feel that helps them do their best this
makes sense because rewards boost our
dopamine levels which plays a key role
in how our brains feel pleasure perhaps
for you this means only listening to a
certain podcast that you love while
working out or rewarding yourself with a
pastry for doing your weekly bookkeeping
but of course this only works if you
actually limit receiving that Award with
doing the task you're dreading number
five rework how you divide labor in your
household in the first season of this
series I talked about the household
management spreadsheet that my husband
and I use to divide our tasks in the
home if there is one particular chore
that you are constantly dreading I would
consider doing some chore swapping if
you spend more time dreading a task than
it takes to actually do it and you don't
live alone I would consider doing some
chore swapping with your partner or
roommate or family member etc for inance
I really hate mailing things and there
have been multiple times where I have
kept something past the due date because
I really dreaded going to The UPS Store
to drop off the return package that much
I don't I don't know why I dread that
but I really do my husband does not feel
that way he's very neutral towards the
mailboxes Etc so now that is his task
and I have eliminated that from my life
of course that only really works if you
have someone who you are able to divide
tasks with equitably and also they are
on board for doing that but I do think
you can find workarounds for avoiding
the tasks you really dread even if you
live alone for instance one of the
things I really dread about the mail is
having to deal with missed packages so
if you're in the same boat you could
sign up for something like a po. box or
use pickup points to ship packages to
rather than dealing with them in your
apartment building shout out to people
who have package dealing problems in
their lobbies number six declutter SL
organize and clean on different days so
I've gotten much better about this with
age at the ripe age of 32 but I am
definitely a clutter prone person and I
am also the person in charge of cleaning
the apartment because I genuinely prefer
to have one bigger weekly task to do
rather than several daily tasks to do
but when I do my weekly cleans if I have
decluttering and tidying on the same
list with scrubbing the bathtubs and
doing vacuuming that list feels too long
so I've started making sure I do my
decluttering and tidying a day before I
do my big clean so that that big clean
list does not feel overwhelming and
adopting a tidy as you go mindset is
also very important which brings me to
my next Point number seven have systems
in place for clutter so my very favorite
tip for controlling clutter comes from
Casey Davis's book how to keep house
while drowning which if you are a member
of the society at tfd you will know was
one of our book club picks in that book
she suggests placing empty bins and
baskets around your home so that you can
easily and quickly tidy up places
without having to put everything back
where it goes immediately then at the
end of each day or week when you reset
your home you can go around collecting
all the things from your different bins
and baskets and reorganize them and put
back where they technically belong I use
this in the form of trinket dishes
because I am someone who is constantly
fiddling with her rings or taking her
earrings off so instead of maybe losing
an earring I just set it in a trinket
dish when I want to take it off and come
back around to it later goes back with
all my jewelry and we're all good and
there are probably other systems like
that that you could pretty easily put
into place so you can stop making your
own life harder number eight hide your
phone from yourself so for certain work
tasks I have to physically move my phone
to another room in order to to actually
focus on them and not open the New York
Times cross word app I literally had to
do that while writing this script there
are a lot of studies out there that
illustrate how phone use leads to
academic procrastination but for those
of us who are well beyond our school
years I'm sure we all know that that's
still a thing even if you're not
studying I've tried apps that lock me
out of other apps or setting timers on
my phone for my social media but truly
sometimes I literally have to just
physically move my phone because the
only way I can actually get something
done is to make it physically impossible
possible for myself to procrastinate by
scrolling number nine give yourself
permission to deprioritize one of my
very favorite books I've read in recent
years is 4,000 weeks time management for
Mortals by Oliver burkman yet another
book club pick and this entire book is
about dealing with the impossible task
of trying to tackle everything our
productivity obsessed Society is
throwing at us I highly recommend
reading the entire thing but here's a
really good quote the problem with
trying to make time for everything that
feels important or for enough of what
feels important is that you definitely
never will the reason isn't that you
haven't yet discovered the right time
management tricks or supplied sufficient
effort or that you need to start getting
up earlier or that you're generally
useless it's that the underlying
assumption is unwarranted there's no
reason to believe you'll ever feel on
top of things or make time for
everything that matters simply by
getting more done this Probably sounds
like it's going to negate all the other
things I've already talked about on this
list but I promise you it doesn't
because there are always going to be
things you do really have to get done
you have to file your taxes sorry to say
you have to check in on your finances
and you have to make sure your house is
clean enough those things are
non-negotiables but you don't
necessarily need to have this week's
meal plan written out on a chalkboard in
your kitchen in perfect calligraphy
relatedly when I interviewed author
Tiffany duu for the book she talked
about women and home control disease and
how letting go of your home always being
in perfect condition is a big step in
creating a more Equitable household this
honestly hurts me to admit as someone
who lives and dies by her spreadsheets
and Google Calendar but there's really
nothing magic about doing a certain
chore on a certain day of the week just
because that's when you planned to do it
sometimes a fun and unexpected
invitation or a long conversation with a
friend on the phone can derail your
plans to tackle your to-do list but life
has to have room for that as well
because what is the point of being
productive and feeling on top of things
if achieving that feeling means missing
out on the parts of life that are truly
so worth it thank you so much for
watching and I will see you back here
next week on the next episode of the
totally chill guide to work and
life e
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