Mark Blasini

1. The Problem
2. The Solution
3. Background
4. The DoCK System
5. Conclusion

The Problem

Knowledge professionals today often find that their main source of stress isn't the work itself, but rather the organization and management of endless digital "artifacts" generated by that work. These artifacts include everything from emails, documents, and spreadsheets to meeting notes, chat messages, and mobile notifications. Constantly trying to organize and manage this growing pile of digital clutter can be exhausting, stressful, and incredibly time-consuming.

The Solution

One solution that works for us in managing this digital clutter is to implement a streamlined organizational method that we call the DoCK System. This system simplifies your digital workspace by categorizing all work-related items into three specific actionable areas:

1. Things you must do
2. Things you must care for
3. Things you must keep.

Background

The foundation of a stress-free digital workspace relies on two key theories to help categorize your digital life:

The R2 Framework
This framework states that all work-related items fall into one of two categories:

1. Responsibilities. These are either things you are expected to do on a regular basis (i.e. are part of your job description) or things you are expected or want to take care of or must care for, like special projects, programs, presentations, planning, etc.
2. References. Things that are useful or necessary to keep, like employee handbooks or HR policies.

The Care Cycle
Responsibilities that fall under the "take care of" or "care for" category are often undefined, self-defined, or tricky to categorize. They are often acts of love. But often they follow a similar cycle every time. These are the components of the cycle:

1. Contemplate. This involves the development of ideas or thoughts around a problem or opportunity.
2. Confer. This involves meetings, check-ins, conferences.
3. Clarify. This involves things like status updates and questions that can be answered directly.
4. Complete. This is where the "care" responsibility - the project, the program, the presentation - gets completed.

Ironically, each of these stages maps directly to a specific workspace tool that best handles that stage:

• "Contemplate" is bested managed with a Notes App
• "Confer" is best managed with your Calendar
• "Clarify" is best managed through Email,
• "Complete" is best managed in a File Drive.

The DoCK System

The DoCK System helps you process information directly within your primary digital tools:

Task Manager & Notes App (Digital Miscellany)
Use these tools to track miscellaneous items you need to remember or act upon.

• Do: Put tasks you absolutely have to do into a Task Manager (like Google Tasks).
• Contemplate: For ideas or projects you want to think more about, add them to your Notes App and file them under a newly created "Contemplate" label.
• Keep: Save useful reference information, like quotes, facts, URLs, or contact info, in your Notes App under a "Keep" label.

Calendar
Set up your calendar by color-coding events to match the following categories.

• Do: Time blocks for tasks you have to do (regular or one-time) and items with submission deadlines.
• Confer: Events you must actively attend, such as meetings, business events, conferences, or office hours.
• Keep: Events you simply want to reference without attending, like a manager's PTO schedule, organizational milestones, or birthdays.

Email
Manage your inbox based on the required action.

• Do: If an email contains a clearly defined task, add it to your task list and immediately archive the email.
• Clarify: If you receive an email where you need to clarify information, respond to the message, archive the email, and add a follow-up to your task list if needed.
• Keep: For emails containing helpful information you want to refer to later, move them out of your inbox and into an appropriate label or folder.

File Drive
Organize your cloud or local files by creating three numbered, top-tier folders.

1. Do: Store files related to ongoing areas or responsibilities you manage on a regular basis (e.g., budgets, marketing, HR).
2. Complete: Store files tied to specific projects that have a goal and a deadline (e.g., quarterly reports, presentations).
3. Keep: Store files that contain useful, important, or necessary reference material (e.g., tax information, policies and procedures, completed projects). Everything that does not belong in "Do" or "Complete" should be moved here.

Conclusion