AS came and had coffee with me yesterday, and halfway through our nice break together, I started rattling off a few annoying little chores that I need to take care of -- deposit our Xmas gift checks, mail off some bills, update my records and autopay with our increased condo dues.
I then started complaining about how it kind of sucks to be an organized, functioning adult because I'm constantly running through little mini-lists of things to do.
That reminded us of the book Getting Things Done by David Allen, because one of his main points is that until you have an external system that you trust to keep you on top of everything, you'll always be reminding yourself -- often at inopportune times -- of the things you still need to do. Reminding yourself multiple times about one task, he argues, is a waste of energy and saps your mental resources unnecessarily.
I started reading the book years ago but never finished. (Ha!) I don't think I needed it that badly at that time -- some of the stuff he talked about wasn't very relatable. Well, I picked it up again last night and started from the beginning again. Now my life much more closely resembles his description. I have complex, multiple long-term goals, bigger (and more complicated) responsibilities at work, many more financial buckets and regularly recurring financial tasks that need to be kept on top of, and a more complicated social/personal life (thanks to having a kid and another on the way).
I do all right, I think; nothing gets completely neglected that absolutely needs to get done. But I'm very attracted to Allen's vision of getting all of this done while being able to have a clear head, not weighed down by all the pending things on my to-do list. I feel like I could concentrate on consuming and possibly even creating art; and just be more *present* in my times of relaxation, rather than being half-distracted by things that need to be done (but that I'm not planning on doing at that moment).
So, we'll see if in my current state of distraction I can actually commit to reading an entire book and then taking the time he recommends to implement his system.
I don't know just how I'm going to implement -- which "buckets" I'm going to use to store all of the projects and actions needed -- but even just the first couple chapters have me thinking about all the different balls I keep in the air. I'm kind of impressed with myself, compared with the me of 5 years ago or so. (I only started to really get my s$#@ together a few months before I started this blog.)
But now maybe it's time to take it to the next level. I hardly ever feel relaxed, even when I'm ostensibly lazing on the couch watching TV. I rarely let go completely even in the middle of a vacation where everything's taken care of and I don't need to be thinking or doing anything. I find it hard to fully focus on movies, books, play time with my daughter, date time with my partners. I hope that I can continue to accomplish everything I do now, but with a clearer head and more actual quality time *away* from thoughts of my responsibilities.
AS and I talked about maybe working together to implement his system in both our lives; she's done it halfway a few times and was encouraged by what she saw, even though she didn't follow through and put it permanently in place. Right now I'm just focusing on reading the book, doing the mental exercises he recommends, and hopefully by the time I'm done with the book I'll have a much clearer idea of how I should change the way I do things.
Getting Things Done -- 2nd try
December 29th, 2011 at 03:37 pm
December 29th, 2011 at 04:34 pm 1325176480
December 29th, 2011 at 05:29 pm 1325179789
December 29th, 2011 at 05:59 pm 1325181547
I personally believe in anti-procrastination (just get things done and move on) and in not doing too much. I was just blogging on a related topic, about taking care of yourself first - makes it easier to accomplish more, more easily.
December 29th, 2011 at 06:41 pm 1325184081
December 29th, 2011 at 09:18 pm 1325193494
I'm firmly in the anti-procrastination camp as much as possible, and a dedicated list maker for the rest - but there are some things on my list that seem to be a permanent fixture (mostly on things not in my complete control
I know I've looked at that book in the past and it didn't seem a right fit, but I'll check into it, as maybe it is now. It'll be fun to read of your journey!
December 30th, 2011 at 05:05 am 1325221503
I also find myself running thru mental checklists during "down-time" sometimes.