The trusted system

One of the big things in Getting Things Done (GTD) is that you trust whatever organizational system you put in place. He doesn't insist that you use a Palm or a notebook or anything, just that you feel that you can rely on your system. I wouldn't use a notebook, or instance, because I wouldn't carry it around with me and I can't read my own handwriting.

I started thinking about trusted systems, and I realized that I already have a few in place. The nice thing about such systems, is that they reduce stress. I'll list some examples to show you what I mean:

1. I call my mom every Monday night. For a while, we disagreed as to how often we were talking. Since I knew we were probably talking, on average, once a week, I had no problem committing to such an arrangement, and I knew that it would make her happy to know she could count on a weekly call. Now I never need to worry about how long it's been since I spoke with her, and she never needs to worry about when she'll hear from me next.
2. I review my class notes each night before doing the next day's homework. Part of my filing system for my class notes requires me to handle each page and put them away one at a time. I don't ever start my homework until I have filed the notes I took that day, and I force myself to review these notes, so that they have a better chance of being remembered. If I didn't do this, I wouldn't see notes at all between the class I in which I took them and the final exam, and I'd forget which classes yielded critical ideas. With this system, my class memories become more solidified.
3. I call or send an email to an old friend each Wednesday. I've only been doing this since 1/1/07, but I already feel great about it. Part of the problem with HBS is that's it's easy to get caught up in the moment, and lose track of longer-term priorities. I found in the Fall that I didn't keep up with people that I didn't see on a daily basis, and I started to feel like a bad friend. I have to be realistic about the amount of time I have to chat with people, but a weekly call or email to the important people in my life is doable. Now I don't have to worry about losing touch with my friends due to avoidable negligence.
4. I stretch in the shower. I know it's important to stretch my muscles on a regular basis, particularly my quads and hammies. Even though it's important, I rarely do it. I added it to my shower routine about a year ago, and it's worked out well. Shampoo, quads, conditioner, hammies. Easy to remember :-)
5. I write the initials of my old friend, Mike Mallette, on the top of a page when I take notes in class. Mike passed away the summer before 9th grade, and the fear when you lose a friend is that you'll forget him over time. I got in the habit when I was 14 of writing his initials at the top of my page along with the date and name of the class every time I take notes, and in the more boring lectures, this triggers some pleasant reminiscing. Honestly, I don't do this for literally every class anymore (because I'm often scrambling at the bell to prepare for a possible cold call), but I get it right about 80% of the time, and that's enough to trust the system.

The point of GTD is to consolidate these systems, so that you don't have to reinvent the wheel anytime something's important to you. I hope to get to the point where I can have one system that I trust that helps me remember all of the above and more. We'll see if that works out.