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Great TODO List - Motivation Lacking?
Scottw | Feb 12 2007
Greetings. I am new to GTD and have yet to read the book, but I plan on doing that. I have always been a todo list person, and even have it broke out in a fashion that many are recommending. I do have ADHD and am easily distracted, and typically find that things come up, that are not on my todo list, that I make a priority, which are not at all. I tend to procrastinate to no end, and when I have projects (many) with no dead lines, they seem to go and go and go. Based on what I have read, I have taken time to take a new approach to email, keeping updated on news, and trying the various TODO software and web sites available, based on GTD. The problem is, even if I am 100% organized, I have a hard time getting over hurdles, especially larger projects or projects that seem difficult in my head, even if not really. I know that when I really come to an empass and feeling bad about myself and my lack of productivity, I can start nailing out the "little tasks" and get things done, and feel good. But eventually, those little tasks run out and I am left with only big things. I have read that those with ADHD should typically do fun things first, and not-so-fun things later. That is an interesting approach as it addresses the distraction issue, that if you save your dessert for later, your constantly looking forward to that and not focusing in the meal at hand. By eating the dessert first, your less distracting when eating the meal. My problem is, if I take that approach 100%, I will never eat the meal. But the meal is what provides the money to keep life and family functional. How do you approach the todo list and manage tasks that seem to have no real deadline. 5 Comments
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 I do have ADHD and...Submitted by unstuffed on March 10, 2007 - 8:00pm.
Scottw;8096 wrote:
I do have ADHD and am easily distracted, and typically find that things come up, that are not on my todo list, that I make a priority, which are not at all. I tend to procrastinate to no end, and when I have projects (many) with no dead lines, they seem to go and go and go. Part of the problem may be that you have a multitude of systems happening around the place: if you tend to make todo lists, do some of the stuff, then abandon them for a while, then make new ones and so on, this might be the case. You get distracted by the plethora of inputs and demands. In which case, GTD might help you focus much better: you only have one incoming pipe, and everything has to get funneled through that to get your attention. That's what I've found, anyway. Procrastination: yes, that's a weighty problem. I've written on that at some length elsewhere, on the davidco forum, as have some others. Also, Merlin has some excellent articles on beating procrastination: check out his archive for the category. Scottw;8096 wrote:
Based on what I have read, I have taken time to take a new approach to email, keeping updated on news, and trying the various TODO software and web sites available, based on GTD. Software won't help unless you have the underlying process straight. I'd really recommend reading the book. Trust me. It'll help. Scottw;8096 wrote:
I know that when I really come to an empass and feeling bad about myself and my lack of productivity, I can start nailing out the "little tasks" and get things done, and feel good. But eventually, those little tasks run out and I am left with only big things. Nonetheless, as David Allen points out in his book, all tasks can be broken down into little tasks. And this is one aspect of the process that I find particularly useful: previously, I'd look at a todo list full of yawning chasms of despair, and just go and hide until the quilt until it all went away. No longer. The essence of GTD, or one of the essences, is working out the very next thing to do on a project. Not a goal, which is the mistake most of us make: we put "write chapter 6" or "design/code/debug distributed part of software" or something equally hideous. No. The Next Action should be something physical: call client to get requirement specs, create a document file, look up a phone number. Scottw;8096 wrote:
How do you approach the todo list and manage tasks that seem to have no real deadline. Set intervening goals with their own deadlines. I started by setting arbitrary deadlines, but that doesn't work because the procrastinating part of our minds is smarter than that. The deadlines have to be reasonable based on the task. Now I work one week at a time, deciding what I want to get done that week, using the full armoury of GTD skills to help me get there. The weekly review and the monthly review are good for that: they let me see that I'm making progress, as well as reminding me when there are things over the horizon that need to get done in a timely fashion. You need to read the book. Seriously. You won't make much ground if you don't. » POSTED IN:
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