Set aside one day a week in order to handle your crucial items or issues. Nothing important should be postponed beyond that day.

My own best day for handling those items is Friday. Granted, I may be tired on Shabbat as a result, but I will also have the comforting feeling and knowledge that my most urgent tasks are under control. I also like to start the week with the feeling that I'm working with a fresh slate.

You may choose a different day of the week. It depends on your lifestyle.

Does this mean that my desk is clean, that everything is put away, and that I have nothing left to do after Friday? Of course not. I have an immense and constantly growing ToDo list. It may never be completed, and that is not my goal.

On Fridays, I want to handle the basics:

• The urgent notes are all in one place. They include the following:
  • ToDo notes
  • PostIt notes
  • Scraps of paper from my pockets
  • Notes of items to enter in my personal databases

I've also transferred or copied some of those long-term important notes to a computer file or to my computer calendar.

I've backed up my computers.

In this way, I am prepared to show the world that I am in control. Nobody else knows about the mess in my house, because all of the important issues - those that affect others - are all under control.

As a result, I don't need tsumi from anybody.