There are many things that could be done in a day.
There are many things that will not get done.
Choose one of each; others will follow.
—
Thank you to my shower, which gave me this thought.
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Pingback: topwebbusinesses » Blog Archive » - Simple time management
If you have more than a couple tasks, I have hundreds waiting at any given time, take a look at David Allen’s GTD (Getting Things Done) book. And if you like technology, you can implement an all electronic GTD as I have recently done. My GTD allows me to view my entire GTD at work on my Win machine, at home on my Macs and even on my cell phone. And another app lets me call in tasks to my GTD without any writing or typing, great for those thoughts that hit me while driving. I’ve written about my experiences with GTD in a blog post at http://johnkendrick.wordpress.com/2008/03/27/more-getting-things-done/ John
Your shower is a genius. This would work for me most days, and on the really freakin’ busy days, it would help me get started.
John, I’ve heard good things about GTD from people close to me. I haven’t tried it, only because the way I organize myself now works well enough, and — I know this might sound weird — I don’t actually want to be more productive. I feel pretty busy and purposeful as it is. However, I will read your post and see how you’ve been using it.
And, J3, my shower is indeed a genius. It comes through for me occasionally. What happened on this particular day is that I was standing under its water, and starting to fret a bit about all the possible things I could do on a Sunday. And that mountain of possibilities seemed, well, paralysing. So, then my thoughts tried, on their own, to get in line, and the overactive thoughts put those possibilities in a two-column grid. That imaginary two-column list grew and grew and grew in number and scope. My personal agency felt weighed down by possibility. What a freakin’ burden. And then the water droplets tapped on my skull, and said, “Think clearly and soberly, Jane. Someday you will die, and your To Do list will outlive you. Scale back, scale back.” And then the other thought came to me, that I could choose one thing I wouldn’t do (shoe-shopping) and one thing I would do (helping Lydia) and the rest of the day would be open to change. I didn’t go shoe-shopping; I helped Lydia; and other things did and didn’t happen that day. It was a good one.
My husband and I created a top ten list about five years ago when we reflected on what was most important to us. We were at some crossroads or something, or perhaps we were bored, I can’t recall which. We priorirized the items. It lived on our refrigerator for a long time, only coming down when company came over. Whenever we had a decision to make or a time where we needed to weigh an option or a task, we said “Is it on the list,” or “where does it fit on the list?” It is a great way to prioritize your daily life.
yes, I still have the list. and no, I cannot share it with you.