Much of the anxiety we experience in our work lives has to do with the sneaking suspicion that we forgot something. If our workflow has holes in it, nine times out of ten we are correct. Unless we have photographic memory, we simply have too many diverse inputs to keep them all our tasks and projects straight in our heads without help. The human brain only has so much capacity to remember, and if it's something we're really not interested in, then we're more likely to forget (Not to say that the genealogy of Mrs. Robinson's four generations of labradoodles is not absolutely fascinating.) This decreases our ability to be mindful.

The beauty of a good workflow is that it can remember for us and remind us of when we need to do something. Therefore, we can forget some stuff and concentrate on what is at hand, trusting that the information we need will always be at our fingertips. This can help save our anxiety for more important things, like stewardship.

Tools used to Implement this Principle

  • The Master Planner keeps our task list in order. We may not be able to get everything done on time, but nothing falls through the cracks.
  • The Calendar and Toaster will remind us when it's time to go to an event or process an item. We can forget them until they are brought to our attention.
  • The Fridge and Deep Freeze hold our reference materials. If they are properly organized, we can find anything we need quickly.