 Re: Getting Things Done
Hi
I loved this book. I bought it after reading "The Success Principles". In day to day life like paying bills etc I'm naturally quite organised but with my own personal and creative goals I was very disorganised. When I'm anxious I gravitate towards making list or 'making a plan' to try and get myself out of that state of anxiety. However I realised that these weren't working because I'd have a huge list with every step of every project I'd thought of so far on all different files on the computer and got completely overwhelmed.
I haven't done everything that David Allen suggests but then I think it's about what works for you.
Here's what I did when I'd finished the book...
I had a complete brain storm session on my main goals and sections of my life and set up organised folders on each of those on my computer. Example are Learn Portuguese, Improve Health, Blog 1 and Blog 2, Songwriting and Music, Friends, Christmas and Birthdays, Holidays etc. Anything I'd collected regarding these goals (resources, ebooks, notes I'd made) I ruthlessly went through and sorted/discarded. I also did this with all my email and bookmarks.
I have one folder marked "To do Someday". Inside here there is one single file. On that file is each of the parts of life I want to achieve/improve as a heading then any steps/thoughts I can think of under that heading.
I created a "To Do" list - again with the headings of each goal. Now from that "To do Someday" list I move one single step (the very next step I need to take however small) onto my "To Do" list from each goal. A tiny example is I have been meaning to get my hair trimmed for about two years (yes I do have extremely long hair and phobia of scissor happy hairdressers!). This weeks "Improve my appearance" goal was simply "Ask friend for the number of her hairdresser". Now that's been done I've deleted that and added "Work out which dates I could possibly go to the hairdresser". Literally tiny steps.
I then have a "mind dump" file so if every I find my mind wondering to something that's then distracting me from writing I 'dump it' on there. Once I've done that I can get back to work. I don't use it very often but it's there if I need it.
On my calender I ONLY put things that are time/date limited like my day job hours, appointments, meetings with friends and when my library books are due back. Appointments are alarmed for the evening before so I will see it when I'm on the computer. Appointments I often copy into my mobile phone calender as well so that I always have them to hand.
At any one time I only have one step from each goal on my 'to do' and because it's often such a small thing it feels achievable. This has been working well for me for around three months now. At any one time I will have a maximum of 14 things to do but they will be things that are very manageable. Once I week I check in with my "to do someday list" Sometimes things on there can become obsolete or have somehow been done anyway.
I think everyone can gain something from reading the book but everyone will develop methods that suits them. This is what worked for me. |