I’ve been investigating the personal management methodology by David Allen called "Getting Things Done" (GTD)
I got the CDs because I’m not much of a reader. I can read. I can read pretty fast even. It just isn’t my first choice. So, if there is ever a choice between reading a listening to a book, I’ll pick listening to the book every time. In fact, if you give me a book and I read it at all, I’ll probably only read it once. If you give me an audio version of the book, I’ll listen to it multiple times.
Now, for those of you reading this who THINK you know me, you may wonder why I’d be interested in any organizational methodology. After all, most projects the world sees, I get done. In fact, when I started investigating GTD, I was primarily looking for something I could recommend to others. I had no felt need for organization.
About half way through the CDs, I realized that while my work life IS pretty well organized, it is about the only thing that is. And even within my work life, there’s my office that is almost always a mess.
Of course, this is no surprise to my family. There’s the living room trim that needs painting. (Not to mention the entire room that could probably use a fresh coat.) There’s the black hole we call the basement that needs to be cleaned. And probably another dozen things I’m not even thinking about.
In discussing this with others, I’ve found is not uncommon. We all have parts of our lives that are organized and parts of our lives that are a complete mess. The parts that are organized are the parts that are important to us. So, for example, while I can’t keep my desk clean. I know others who, once they leave "work" at the end of the day, you’d never know anyone even used the desk. A clean desk is important to this person, even if getting the projects they are responsible for done isn’t.
So, once you realize you are not the idol of organization you thought you were, how do you get started without being paralyzed by the magnitude of the problem?
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Tagged with: getting things done • organization