I have trialed these exact steps (in order) with multiple medical students and physicians and have confirmed the benefits and utility of this system. The images shown in this blog post are actual photos of me implementing this process at a resident physician\u2019s home workspace. It will take approximately 1-2 weeks to implement (and possibly longer if you have many things accumulated).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Feel free to take your time however and carry out what you feel works best in your own life and workflow. The three environments I feel that need to be concentrated on are 1) The PHYSICAL<\/em><\/strong> workspace, 2) DIGITAL<\/em><\/strong> workspace 3) Mental<\/em><\/strong> workspace. If you can clear these things efficiently every day only ONCE or twice a day, I guarantee you will create time to do some of the most meaningful work in your life. The catch is that you NEED to be able to process these shallow tasks effieciently, and these 12-steps will let you achieve that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This post is just an introduction to all of the 12 steps. If it doesn\u2019t make complete sense, don\u2019t worry! This post is just a general overview of all of the steps. There will be a detailed blog post on each and every step in detail. <\/p>\n\n\n [et_bloom_inline optin_id=”optin_7″]<\/p>\n\n\n\n This step involves gathering all of the absolutely necessary items for creating This step involves the total declutter of your current workspace by taking every single item (documents, Below is an example, of our resident physician who had 5 external hard drives, 3 graphing calculators, and multiple redundant items he had no clue were taking up his workspace! <\/p>\n\n\n\n After sorting your environment into these three piles you will purge your workspace by throwing away things in the \u201ctrash\u201d pile and decide who to donate these items from the \u201cdonate\u201d pile. The only pile you will have left after your purge will be your \u201cPossibly Keep\u201d pile. You will organize Now that you have totally cleared and decluttered your workspace, you can start adding all of the essential supplies from Step 1 systematically into your new workspace with each item serving a purpose. This will minimize distractions and allow you to have maximum productivity to perform true deep work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you have created the optimal workspace, now you will have a blank framework to reintroduce things from your \u201cPossibly Keep\u201d pile back into your physical workspace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Read the full post HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this step, you will now have to decide exactly what needs to go into your physical workspace. This will involve deciding what you want to do with each item in your \u201cPossibly Keep\u201d pile. Things that may have meant something to you 15 years ago, may not have the same meaning and you may consider tossing them. Anything you don\u2019t trash will need to be integrated into your workspace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Integrating your final pile will mainly involve organizing your documents. You will organize documents and journal articles in this step using a trusted A-Z filing system for your general reference items. You will also organize all of your electronic items in this step. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Below is a sample of one of our Internal Medicine Senior Resident\u2019s workspace at home before and after we decluttered and organized his workspace!! Yes, even the dog is happier after we decluttered! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Read the full post HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Depending on how much you have accumulated in your computer and laptop over the years, this step may take some time. However, it is necessary. This step will involve purging any unnecessary digital files and sorting the remaining into three folders: Active Projects, General Reference, <\/strong>and Pending Review. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The sorting here will not involve any organizing (that will be the next step). The purpose here is to quickly put all digital files into one of these three folders. If something needs to be deleted just trash and purge it on the spot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Active Projects folder<\/em><\/strong> will only contain folders that contain projects that are truly active and ongoing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The General Reference folder<\/em><\/strong> will contain all folders of completed projects or documents that need to be archived (taxes, scanned ID\u2019s, passports, etc). <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Pending Review folder <\/em><\/strong>contains all of the other documents that still need an action to be performed or it is undecided what to do with them. These will include recent downloads from your inbox, downloaded journal articles, scanned documents, etc). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Read the full post HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this step you will now organize all of the files in your Active Projects and General Reference Folders using a systematic approach. <\/p>\n\n\n\n After those folders have been organized you will go to your Pending Review folder and complete actions on any pending items and sort them into their appropriate folders in the Active Projects or General Reference folders. If the action for an item needs to be performed at a later date, then you will need to set a date for when you will complete that action. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You should make a habit of clearing your Pending Review Folder Daily. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Read the full post HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is probably one of the toughest steps for most people with thousands of emails in their inbox. This step will be similar to dealing with your digital workspace above. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You will need to purge any emails that are trash. The rest will be placed in an Active Projects Folder or General Reference Folder. Your actual inbox will serve as a \u201cPending Review\u201d folder and should be cleared daily. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I personally attempt to clear my inbox once a day, and if I need to reply to an email at a later date, I will set a reminder in my productivity system to deal with that specific email. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I receive over 60-80 emails a day. I found that by processing ALL emails only once a day in the afternoon, I save a significant amount where I can use it to complete my most important tasks! It usually only takes me about 1 hour or less to clear all of my emails a day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Read the full post HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this step you will clear your mind by listing every single project that is in your head. This will allow you to create more mental space for deep thinking and deep work. If you have so many unprocessed and pending things in your mind, it will be difficult to become productive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You need a process to dump any lingering thoughts in your mind into a trusted external environment where you can deal with it later. Your mental space is invaluable and should be used to create and cultivate ideas, so don\u2019t waste it on just trying not to forget things. <\/p>\n\n\n\n After you have listed all of your projects, you will then list the immediate next action for each project (this is the GTD philosophy). The key to productivity is to not think of the end result of a project but only to think of completing the immediate<\/em> next step. Fortunately, the immediate next steps are usually something simple such as sending an email, looking something on the internet, giving someone a phone call, etc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Read the full post HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It can be tempting to think that using a productivity app will make you productive and that you can skip the previous 8 steps. I have seen countless people fail to achieve true productivity because they think a productivity \u201capp\u201d will make them more productive. However, they end up using these apps just like a grocery store checklist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A productivity app is extremely useful, only if used correctly. It should allow you to keep track of all of your current projects and next actions. It should also be used to sort and organize incoming projects as well as recurring actions. However, you won\u2019t know all of your current projects and next actions if you did not define them in the previous 8 steps above. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Read the full post HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A calendar is like a commitment to yourself. Effective use of a calendar is always completing assigned tasks on dates you have determined. Over time people will trust you and your reliability. You will also learn to trust yourself and your calendar system over time. Read the full post HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is something I learned to do more recently in the past few years, and I feel it can propel your productivity to extreme heights. This is a little more advanced but if you can learn how to track your daily habits as well as batch habits you will not waste time. Read the full post HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the last step but one of the most important steps. Very few people perform weekly reviews of all of their projects. Doing this properly however will save you countless hours. Performing weekly reviews will keep your projects up to date and make the most efficient use of your productivity system and apps. Read the full post HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n1. Gather the Essential Supplies for a Productive Physical Workspace<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
2. Declutter the Physical Workspace by Sorting and Purging<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.physicianzen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/IMG_2146-EDITED.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n3. Create an Optimal Physical Workspace <\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.physicianzen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/IMG_2175-1024x768.jpeg\")
4. Organize the Physical Workspace <\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.physicianzen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/IMG_1230-1024x768.jpeg\")
![\"After\"](\"https:\/\/www.physicianzen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/IMG_2222-1024x768.jpg\")
5. Declutter the Digital Workspace by Sorting and Purging<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
6. Organize the Digital Workspace<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
7. Clear and Organize Your Email \u2013 Inbox Zero<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
8. Clear your Mind by Defining all Projects and Next Actions<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
9. Implement a Productivity System Using Apps<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
10. Effectively use Your Calendar<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
11. Track and Batch your Habits<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
12. Perform Weekly Reviews<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Summary<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n