One of my biggest shortcomings productivity-wise is the time that elapses between when I decide I need to do something and when I actually do it. Tasks like "buy new running shoes" or "call aunt who broke arm in four places" that I could accomplish in minutes instead take days or weeks, during which they just bounce around in my head and make me miserable.
I think the reason this is happening is, I don't have a good procedure in place for logging these decisions and holding myself accountable to them. Up to this point I'd resisted writing them down because I wanted to believe that my brain was capable of handling this sort of thing on its own, but it's time to acknowledge that evidence suggests otherwise.
So, this week's MLI is that I am going to write things down -- tasks, appointments, reminders, grocery items, etc. -- as soon as I think of them. I've tried carrying a moleskine but found it a bit bulky, so for now I'm going with the "piece of paper folded in quarters" trick.
It would be nice to eventually dump these handwritten notes into an organization system like iGTD, but that's next week's MLI.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
10 comments:
That's right -- I can buy new running shoes in minutes.
I recommend index cards for your purposes.
Thanks, that's perfect. Pugel Senior didn't raise a fool.
I am a pretty big fan of GTD. I use google notebook to implement it.
I read somewhere that some efficiency expert advises IMMEDIATELY doing anything that's going to take less than 5 minutes. Replying to an e-mail, for instance. I've tried to do that and it's great.
I believe the expert says one should do anything that takes less than 2 minutes immediately. And you read it in the Atlantic Monthly, you nerd.
another thing I should do is quit reading the Atlantic Monthly.
FYI guys, this efficiency expert you're talking about is David Allen, the creator of GTD (Getting Things Done).
I hate to tell you this, but speaking as a fellow a-hole, writing it down will not help you. You will just waste more time making lists, and having lots of crumpled little pieces of paper everywhere (plus extra-long Palm Pilot lists), reminding you of your horrible procrastination problem. And most of the things will remain undone. Sorry!
Post a Comment