I Need a User Manual for My Life!
I was doing something routine a couple of days ago — paying some first of the month bills online — and I got stuck. For the life of me, I couldn’t remember the name of one of the people I send payments to. All the information is saved in my bank account’s settings, but I have to enter the name of the recipient, exactly as it appears in my records, to bring everything else up.
That’s when it hit me:
I need a user manual for my life!
I have a password manager, personal information manger, Treo, online todo list, reminder system, Moleskine notebook — but nowhere had I written down the step-by-step instructions for making this payment. Nor, I realized, did I have a record of most of the tasks I do routinely. Instead, I remember the first step (visit a website, call someone, open a program. etc.) and rely on the cues presented. If I can’t remember how to do something, I work at it until I figure it out.
How much time do you think I’ve wasted trying to remember simple stuff, like the steps it takes to process photos I’ve taken to print them out, or how to pay my quarterly tax payments, or how to accept new contributors to the Lifehack.org pool and get them up to speed?
What I should have, I realized, is a single place where these processes, from the crucial to the mundane, were recorded. There are a few good reasons to have something like this:
- To save time: Like I said, I probably waste a couple extra minutes on just about every routine task I perform. While on a day-to-day basis, I probably wouldn’t need to check my "user manual", it would be nice to have a single reference I could turn to when I got confused.
- For inspiration: Writing a task down, step by step, can help identify wasted efforts and shoddy processes. Maybe there’s a better way to do task x? Also, for tasks I’m likely to procrastinate on, I’d have a tool to keep me from letting myself get distracted until all the steps were done.
- For troubleshooting: How many times have you done something "the way you always" do and not gotten the expected result. Having a guide to turn to would help make sure I was walking through all the necessary steps and help me see what I’d missed the first time around.
- For training: If I ever hired someone to take over part of my work, I’d already have step-by-step tutorials for them to follow.
- In case something happens to me: If I were injured or even (goodness forbid) killed, how would my family pick up the pieces? I’m the family tech guy — it would be impossible for my loved ones to figure out the assortment of online tools, software, and hardware I use to manage my business and other projects.
What would be in it?
What would I put in my user manual? Quite a few things come to mind, including:
- The tools, both online and off, I use to accept, process, and make payments.
- Banking processes — how I pay bills and receive payments
- Bookkeeping tools — How I keep track of my accounts
- How I add clients and advertisers into my system
- Google Adwords and Adsense processes — how I identify keywords, how I set up campaigns, how I add new ads to my sites
- How I produce a podcast — my local and online workflows for recording, uploading, and distributing my podcasts
- Renewing my car registration
- Reactivating my health insurance (I teach as a contract employee so I have to reactivate it every time I renew my contract)
- Putting a new syllabus or online course together
- Writing an academic paper
- And so on…
What would it look like?
Since part of the usefulness of a personal user manual would be the ability to share it with other people, especially if I were incapacitated in some way, using any fancy software tool or online application seems out of the question. The best bet would be to keep a single file in a standard word-processing format (Word .doc, .rtf) on my computer, and an up-to-date hard copy printed out in a binder.
Finding information in a paper copy might be a hassle, though — a clear table of contents seems essential, and a clear organizing schema. Pages — at least within a section — should follow templates, with the same kinds of information in the same place on each page. I’m torn between two organizational schemas, though: should it be organized by topic (e.g. paying bills, writing articles, organizing courses, etc.) or by regularity (things I do every day, things I do weekly, things I do monthly, quarterly, annually, etc.)?
Maybe both, actually — the point is to be as perfectly useful to someone else as to myself, and who knows how much direction I might be able to give or what conditions it might need to be used under?
Putting it together
I hear you out there, thinking "That sounds like an awful lot of work!" And it does. What I’m thinking, though, is that once a template is created, adding new pages would be pretty easy. And rather than sitting down and figuring everything out, it might be more fruitful to keep the file open and document processes as you perform them in the course of your regular schedule. It might take a few extra minutes per task for a couple of days, but by the end of a week, you’d have most of the tasks you do most often fully documented. Add the monthlies at the end of the month, and add the less regular stuff as it occurs to you, or when you can set aside an hour or two to think about it.
Sound crazy? Maybe it is crazy. And yet I can’t help but think that so many of the organizations I’ve worked for — universities, foundations, museums, the military, corporations — have shelves full of such documentation, from Standard Operating Procedures for various tasks to training manuals to grant-writing templates. If you want to make sure that a certain standard is reached every time you do something, you need to figure out and document that standard.
I may never open my personal user manual once it’s finished — but it will be nice to know I could. It will be nice to know that if I’m ever hospitalized, my partner can make sure that the people that need to know, know, and that at least the minimal requirements of my business could be taken care of. It will be nice to know that tasks I do very rarely are documented somewhere, so I don’t procrastinate by putting a "figure out how to do x" entry onto my todo list — and then procrastinate that task since I don’t remember how to find out how to find out!
What about you? What kind of information would you put into your personal user manual?
WRITER'S BIOGRAPHY
Dustin Wax
Dustin M. Wax is a freelance writer and project manager at Stepcase Lifehack. He is also the creator of The Writer's Technology Companion, a site devoted to the tools of the writing trade. When he's not writing, he teaches anthropology and gender studies in Las Vegas, NV. He is the author of Don't Be Stupid: A Guide to Learning, Studying, and Succeeding at College.
Follow him on Twitter: @dwax.
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Comments
Zia says on April 7th, 2008 at 10:49 am
Another point — how are you going to keep this secure, yet accessible? Seriously, this is a major concern of mine, so I’d love any ideas you have on it.
I’m really scared to have a User Manual for my life, because my planner has been stolen, my briefcase, and my wallet, all on separate occasions and in various locations.
Frank Gilroy says on April 7th, 2008 at 10:54 am
I put all of this information in a Google Notebook page. I’m sure the security questions that raises would make some squirmish, but it’s worked well for me.
Crispy says on April 7th, 2008 at 11:06 am
Personal Wiki?
Dustin Wax says on April 7th, 2008 at 11:10 am
Zia: Here’s what I’m thinking about security. Since part of the point is to have something accessible if anything ever happened to me, I don’t want security to be too tight; then again, with passwords and financial info, you do have to think about it. So encryption, using a password only people close to you would know, is a possibility for the source file. The hard copy would sit on a shelf in the house — while there’s no guarantees in life, a potential thief would have to a) have physical access to your home, and b) know that the boring binder on the shelf in your office was valuable, neither of which are all that likely.
To be honest, though, this is a problem for all security. You put passwords in a password storage program, and you need another password to get into it. Since you can’t put *that* password in the program, you need something simpler, and therefore much less safe, to access your stronger, more complex passwords. Or you encrypt your hard drive, but again, your password reminders are all “behind” the encryption, so to log in and unencrypt it you need a simpler password, which you stick on a post-it on your monitor, or which you make simple enough that it’s easily guessable.
I think the trade-off of the kind of security I gain by allowing my loved ones easy access to this material makes up for the unsecurity of having sensitive material in an unprotected physical form. Others may feel differently.
Anyone have any other ideas about protecting your personal user manual?
Vered says on April 7th, 2008 at 11:47 am
Normally, I love the opinions and advice that I find here, but this seems a bit excessive. I could never focus so much of my time and energy on creating processes and systems and manuals.
I think that creating a “personal use manual” is taking the whole productivity thing one step too far.
jtimberman says on April 7th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
This is very similar to the “love drawer” concept by Dave Ramsey. While his is directly related to financial matters – insurance policies, bank accounts and investment fund information, the concept is still the same.
The “love drawer” is usually kept in a fireproof safe, and it has all the instructions on how to access and manage the above. It also contains all the required legal documents – powers of attorney, last will and testament, etc.
But with regard to needing a manual to figure out how to pay a particular bill, it seems the system has become too complicated :-).
David says on April 7th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
I have created a user manual – comes in very handy as either my wife or myself can solve problems with it.
It’s a handy place to keep things like account numbers, billing dates for automatic withdrawls and some of the rarer items. My wife sends about 3 faxes a year through our Telus Online system. What web site is it at? What is the login?
I use a combination of a WIKI and KNOWLEDGE BASE software to manage it all. Some things, like passwords, are kept cryptic and not written down. But if we say the k pass, then we know.
If there is something one of us needs to know, we put it as a question in the knowledge base… the other one answers it ONCE. Really very handy.
Larissa says on April 7th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
While it is cumbersome to get started (that’s where most of the work is) I think it’s a good idea. I write, edit, and maintain my Company’s reference material (handbooks, operating procedures, pos technical material, etc) and soft skill training programs. I have been doing this for the last 6 years so it’s second nature for me. I am lovingly referred to as “the gatekeeper”. While it is tedious it saves so much time when there are questions.
The amount of time really depends on how complex you want the manual to be and what you want in it. Not sure if bill paying would quality (seems pretty simple unless there are some specific instructions to paying the bill i.e. passwords). Also it depends on what type of index you want to include in the manual. One that gives a breakdown of what is included in each section or page references for topical words.
For security (of passwords in the manual) you can publish it into a secure pdf file that can only be opened with a password or save the password list as a additional secure file.
Holly Ward says on April 7th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
First off, bad idea to print this out. At some point the printed copy will be out of date, plus it could fall into the wrong hands. I keep mine in my email. After all, you can access your email from everywhere, right? I just send myself an email with the subject line “How To: …”
And dont put passwords in, put password HINTS. Something your loved one could guess, given a bit of work. For example, put “Fish in Chicago” and eventually they’ll come up with the name of the seafood restaurant you two always used to go to there. Don’t forget to leave your loved one a hint to the password of the email account where you keep this stuff.
RandomPasserBy says on April 7th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Every franchise in the world has it’s “three ring binger” operation manual.
You mostly allude to financial and organizational matters in your post and from the types of tasks you list, most seem related to your transactional business surrounding your websites and the accounts and money related to them.
So – it sounds like you need to document your business – which almost all successful businesses do to some degree or other, ranging from post it notes by the cash register, to full blown organizational procedural manuals and docs.
So – sounds like you need a manual for your business. Nothing new there, and if you aren’t doing this in your business already, you should be.
Zod2002 says on April 7th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
I have to agree with Vered. As a programmer, I’m all about processes and procedures, but is the work to create and maintain something like this really saving you that much more time then “figuring it out” each time?
For more involved processes, you might be able to justify taking the time to write down the specific steps, but for renewing your verhicle registration? By the time you need to do it again, the website/mail-in form/phone number has likely changed anyway.
Dot says on April 7th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
FlyLady (flylady.net) would call this a Control Journal, i.e., how to control her household without her. Personally, I’d prefer a personal assistant over a manual, if I could afford it. I have a Control Journal, in case something happens to me and my friend needs to do my finances, and I also enter any pertinent information into the password manager in my Palm.
Dwayne Phillips says on April 7th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
One such manual is already available – called “The Bible”, see especially “The New Testament”
marie says on April 7th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
I just created a process for converting my cds to mp3 and correcting the tags for the ones that already are mp3s.
I created a simple folder structure prefaced with a letter A-wav-formatted files, B-need retagging, C-other (need editing), D-retagged.
I created a text file with the flow and which software to use for which step in the flow.
I got so mixed up with using several software products (one does X but doesn’t do Y) that this was the only way I could keep track of what I had or hadn’t done.
Susan says on April 7th, 2008 at 8:31 pm
I like this idea.
A year ago I was involved in an accident. Mostly my back was affected, but I did have trouble remembering previously easy things like online bill pay. I had to make phone to get the directions again. If I had a system already in place, that would have been helpful.
Since I am still in grad school, I would include a page on how to do MLA quotations, end notes, etc. Every time I do a paper, I have to go look it up.
Duh, print it off and make it page one of my life user manual.
Thanks for this article. Prompted some good thoughts.
Susan says on April 7th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
I have one. It’s called a control journal and the FLY Lady told me about it (flylady.net). If I fell off the earth tomorrow, my family would be able to pick up and keep going (even know who I already bought Christmas gifts for). I update it once a quarter and print out a new one.
BG says on April 7th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
I love this article! I’m a technical writer myself and sometimes thought of doing such a manual, at least for my web-related projects and finances, but never saw such a good guideline for actually doing it. You may get me started at last :)
Hello says on April 8th, 2008 at 3:25 am
I’m not preaching right here, but coincidentally yesterday our preacher talked about that we need a user manual for our lives – which, he said, is the Bible. In this “manual”, what to eat, what characters we should possess, how to be happy, etc. are mentioned.
Doug says on April 8th, 2008 at 8:02 am
There’s a helpful article, “How to Organize Important Records”, on the LiveStrong website:
http://www.livestrong.org/site.....mation.htm
And for keeping sensitive electronic documents safe (onsite and offsite) in case something happens to me, here’s my inexpensive approach.
I store my sensitive account info encrypted (with TrueCrypt) in documents & spreadsheets on my hard drive for convenience.
I store unencrypted copies on two USB “thumb” drives, one I keep in my bank safe deposit box and the other in a small lockbox in my closet.
When I update those files, I’ll print two paper copies and copy the files unencrypted to a USB drive that I keep in the lockbox. Then next time I am near the bank, I’ll swap out that USB drive & printed copy with those in the safe box. Old paper copies get shredded.
This may sound a little retentive, but my situation is a little complicated – widowed father of two young children, with hired help in the house while I’m at work, and an out-of-town will executor.
warillever says on April 8th, 2008 at 8:43 am
As someone already mentioned, Flylady calls this the “Control Journal.”
I made one up two years ago, and keep it in a three-ring binder next to the kitchen computer.
In addition to the procedural pages you mentioned, I include a menu-planning section (a grid with everyone’s favorite meals), a master grocery list, and a page with everyone’s clothing sizes. I update in pen as the kids grow.
My innovation — keep the takeout menus for local restaurants in the binder inside of sheet protectors. Circle what you want with a dry erase marker so that it is
B says on April 8th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
I believe you might have complicated your life with such a tedious manual. Keeping life simple has really worked for me. I have ADD, so things can get real hectic and complicated as I forget things, names, and dates. By having a very simple system, I have been able to organize and manage extremely complicated and fluid operations without getting confused. (I ran a Billion dollar a year oil company with legal pads, spiral notebooks, and a calendar. All before computers.) Having a life manual would really confuse things for me. Good luck with yours.
DrewNelson says on April 8th, 2008 at 7:45 pm
I’ve toyed with this idea for awhile.. I’m a software developer and I’m a big fan of documenting knowledge (it’s much faster to consider a process once, write it down and whip through it subsequent times). I haven’t started yet because it raises disturbing questions (like, what happens to my house if i die (heaven forbid)?)
I rarely order in and when I do I don’t remember what I loved/hated 4 months ago. Thanks warillever!
DC says on April 9th, 2008 at 5:49 am
Have you seen the movie, “The Lookout”? Check it out, the ending is relevant to a “user manual for life”…
Cleo says on April 9th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
I love this idea and have started to think about how to put on together. Write now I’m using Zoho as a repository of things that could associated with this. It would be online but there are rarely times that I am not in computer distance. But if I was away… I think you can access this stuff on a mobile phone. I haven’t looked much into that.
Alex says on July 25th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
This article raises a really great point. I wrestled with exactly this issue a few months back, and discovered “MindMapping” software. I recall using these back in engineering school, but that was the pen-and-paper type. There are dozens of packages out there now, free and for sale, which allow you to graphically link different concepts to each other. Some of them allow you to include notes, hyperlinks to URLs and documents, other maps, etc.
They’re intended for creativity-building, and for documenting individual or group idea development. However, the tools they represent are, for me, nearly perfect for organizing my life.
I’ve been going a bit overboard with them of late, but I love it. I have one main map which has the various aspects of my life – finances, friends, to-do list, how-to, etc. Click on any of those nodes, and they link to a new map specific to that concept.
You can password protect these maps. I zip them all into one document (including the subdirectories which store the .XLS or .DOC files I reference in the maps), and store the .ZIP on google documents, so I can access it anywhere. Love it.
Barry Zweibel says on July 27th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Bravo!
Imagine, too, how much easier it’d be to be successful at work if people *all* came with user manuals! Want me to become a real fan of yours? Here’s what you need to do! Want to alienate me so that I never give you the benefit-of-the-doubt from here on in? Just follow these 5 easy steps! Without all the guess work, we’d all likely be, what, a *zillion* times more productive?!