Archive - Aug 2006

OK, I admit it: I've internalized the GTD collection habit, and it's spilled into other parts of my life. For example, when I move about the house or office, I find myself naturally keeping an eye out for something that doesn't belong. A dirty glass [1], dish, or piece of paper - it all gets automatically picked up and carried to the proper place [2]. If it requires a quick out-of-the-way trip to do this, so be it (a physical example of the two minute rule). My good friend and artist Matt Mitchell [3] calls this the "camping mentality" - getting your actions down to efficient routines, with minimal waste, so that you can set up and break down quickly.

In my research to make myself the premier personal productivity consultant in the northeast (hey - think wild success!) I've come across some very interesting ideas relating stress, aging, and unfinished tasks. What kicked this off was the article ABC News: '20/20' Busts 10 Body Myths, and this quote in particular:

"For one nagging unfinished task, it puts on about eight years on your life. So if you're 30, it makes you 38," said Roizen.

The connection to modern time management methodologies like GTD seemed clear: By getting control of those nagging tasks, we may actually be extending our life spans (in addition to the more commonly-discussed - and important - benefits of gaining relaxed control, maintaining focus, etc.)

In an earlier post (Great time management ideas from the world of improv wisdom) I shared some insights with respect to personal productivity from Patricia Ryan Madson's delightful little book Improv Wisdom: Don't Prepare, Just Show Up. Here's another thought from the book that really made an impact on me:

I'm on vacation this week, so I wanted to do a relatively light post. Following are a few thoughts that have been bouncing around.

What's the GTD definition of "vacation?"

The first thought is about the meaning of vacation for GTD practitioners. Let's start with this definition, but try to get more specific:

planned time spent not working

Well, since we use the five workflow phases to define how we think about work (Collect, Process, Organize, Review, and Do), can we translate them into "not working?"