Merlin’s weekly podcast with Dan Benjamin. We talk about creativity, independence, and making things you love.
The Missing Link in GTD
Dan Grover | May 4 2006
So last week, I was determined to get into GTD, got my tickler file, my index, my next action lists....and it didn't work out. I had started composing a post to this board a few days ago, but found the post sufficiently dumb and myself sufficiently vented and relieved after writing it, that I decided not to finish. My problem was just that everything in my inbox seemed unactionable, something that seemed unique to my situation as a high school student. Then I started listening to the book all over again (audio book thingy I got a long time ago), and I realized the piece that I was missing was the "project materials". Like I picked up a chemistry worksheet the other day. I knew I couldn't do it right then and there, it didn't make sense to "file", or put in the tickler, and certainly I could say "what is it" and write down the appropriate action on my next actions list, but what the hell do I do with it after that? I've got it on the list, but it's still in front of me. Now I realized that everything has to have an organized place. So I'm getting binders or containers for all my projects that don't already have them. Right now, I just carry around a chemistry book, the independent study workbook, and my notes, so obviously i'll have to bundle those together somehow, and have a folder for current work. It seems like an incredibly basic idea, but it eluded me for so long. My "line cook" system I'm abandoning, unless I try the thing mentioned in the "would you like fries" thread (some of the other printable ceo stuff looks real slick). I didn't like all that stuff hanging over my head, though, literally. Did anyone else have this kind of problem? 7 Comments
POSTED IN:
 Juggling different projects with different...Submitted by kenzi on May 7, 2006 - 9:59am.
Juggling different projects with different priorities is a big challenge for me too. One thing that David Allen says in his book is that the system helps you realize not just what to do, but what not to do; and he implies that knowledge of what you aren't doing allows you to forget about those things until it's time to think about them. Like, "I'm sitting in the park and have my Greek homework and my cell phone...so I can do my homework, make some calls or find shapes in clouds. I can't do anything on the computer, so that's that." If you find yourself loafing and don't like that, you have your lists to keep you on track...the one thing you HAVE to do is look at your lists, I find. You can schedule in loafing; relaxing is important. Maybe scheduling it will force you to keep it under control, even just by saying, "ok, I'm going to play this game for 30 minutes and then get back to xyz." » POSTED IN:
|
|
| EXPLORE 43Folders | THE GOOD STUFF |
