EPISODE 049 - Organisation: Why should you use SSOS?

Michael Seidl: Welcome to a new episode of the Get Shit than an IT podcast. name is Michael Seidl and today we start the next series. So we planned a three episode series about single source of shit. Maybe some, some background. got some feedback on, that, that you might. dive deeper into some topics and have longer recordings. The first thing, deep in the topic, yes, longer recordings. No. So I prefer short podcasts. I prefer to record short podcasts because that's the only thing that mostly works with my time. So bad news, the episodes will still be around 10, 15 minutes, but we like the idea of deeper topic or dive deeper into some topics. So we will have again a three part or maybe four part, not sure right now. In this case to have a deeper knowledge, deeper dive, deeper into topic, but keep the episodes as short as you know it. So today we talk about single source of shit. So the system called single source of shit. And to be honest, think I'm the only one who's using that name for it. So it's just, it's related to how the podcast was introduced. So before this podcast, had some sessions on conferences called Get Shit Done in IT. I talked about the productivity and everything. And the feedback was very good. And that was the birthday of this podcast. And in that session, I talked about the single source of shit. So I talked about the system and it's nothing new. It's just a funny name about what already is in place in different systems, whatever you call it. It just had a funny name. So we'll keep that name on. So it's a single source of shit. The idea is to have, so to introduce.

Michael Seidl: have a single source of list, a single source of tool. It might be digital or it might be on the paper, but I can't imagine how it works on a paper to be honest. Maybe I'm not a paper guy or handwritten stuff guy. the idea is to have a single place where all your to-dos might be private, it might be business related or anything else. A single source of place where everything is located and stored and planned and managed and everything. And for all of you who might think it is Outlook or your inbox, you're wrong. So it is not everything what is in your mind doesn't fit in your inbox. Okay. And we had some, some episodes before. Inbox or mailing is a message system, not a to do. not a task management or anything else. So your inbox is not your single source of shit. So this central place, this unique place for all your to-dos, the big advantage is to have this single place. So the only thing you have to put your focus on is this single place where all your stuff you have to do, you have to plan, you have to think about it, you have to plan the actions is on one single place. So no post-its on your desk, no handwritten notes on any notebooks, okay? No inbox, no mails. So everything is on one single place. It is fine to have some post-its. I have one here as well. So I did some, brainstorming and everything. So a lot of post-its are here, but it's just temporary. So had today, I did some, some product management, for example, for Automator. So I've written down everything. I did some brainstorming and for this, I like to have post-its. I don't like those, those digital right now, maybe in a few months I changed my mind. Right now I felt like I want to have post-its, but those are removed at the end of the day. Okay.

Michael Seidl: That's not to do's or have to do's, it's just brainstorming and want to write down everything. So nothing against post-its, nothing against notebooks. But at the end of the day, everything has to be moved to your single source of shit. So to your central place of all your to-do's. And the benefit of it is that you have an overview of everything. Of everything that needs to be done. What needs to be planned, needs to... actions needs to be taken on. Everything on one place. The opposite one is you have your post-its, you have your inbox, you have maybe a digital list and maybe you have a notebook. How would you determine or define what to do next and how to define priorities when you don't have an overview of everything what needs to be done. That's not possible. The second one is if you don't have those lists, you are not very productive because you cannot go through that point. The second one is at the end of the day, you work the whole day, but you don't know what you have achieved and you have the feeling of, I'm so tired, I did so much, but what I have done, I don't know. Whatever done the whole day. So, and that if you have a single list and if you go through that list, if you plan your day and you see, I don't know, the five points you have to do, you mark them as done, you see it and also in your brain, there is some good feelings, okay? That you see you have achieved something and your list gets a little bit shorter. And that's maybe one thing. would really helps me when you have to sing list and you see all the, you, a huge list of things you have to do. Keep in mind, it doesn't matter how long you, you work and, if you, they had 72 hours, yeah. Or maybe you work a whole week without any sleep and everything.

Michael Seidl: The good and the bad feeling is you never run out of any to-dos, okay? You will never have... situation that there are no to-do's. If you do it right. So if everything is in that list and that on the bad side it could can take it can overwhelm you or maybe maybe give you bad feeling but at the other hand you can relax. Okay? So tomorrow the list is still there. Okay? So don't worry. But back to the single source of shit that for the first episode we talk about this in one of the following ones. You have a clear list, a clear view on everything you have to do.

Michael Seidl: A lot of people... managed to get that single source of list beside the inbox. Okay, so they have two lists, everything and the inbox. this, that, betray their self a little bit and think that's fine inbox is different and no inbox is not different and trust me always I had that by myself and sometimes I struggle to keep my inbox at zero. You can listen to previous episodes we talked about. But to be honest, inbox is just a post-it, just a mind, just someone who told you to do. It's nothing different. Clean up your inbox, bring everything into your single source of shit, your central point. Okay. And so my day mostly, not every time, but mostly looks like that everything comes in my mind during the day. I've written down very often to a handwritten notebook. Then I go through that notes, put them in my single source of shit. I go through my inboxes, I have several inboxes, read that emails, define the action, put in that list.

Michael Seidl: Everything but I put in my single source of shit inbox. I use Notion for this. I have a form that can put in some short notes, some ideas. Maybe I see some interesting on my smartphone. I can push to that list and go through that list and also decide which area, which text, what is the next next section, how important is it, do we need to plan it. So at the end of today. All my inboxes, there is not only the email inbox, there is the posted inbox. There is that what is in my mind inbox. There is my, what I found through when I go on LinkedIn inbox. So everything, what is on any place, I need to put in a single place. And that's, that's the idea behind the single source of shit or the unique place. And the benefit is you have an overview and a clear view what you have to do. What is might be more important, what is less important. And that's the idea of the single source of shit. So that's enough for this episode. And next one, we dive deeper into that topic. As I said, right now we have planned three episodes, maybe four. That depends on maybe if it takes too long when I start talking. But let's see. But for now, I wish you a nice Monday, stay productive and bye bye!