Getting Things Done

If you're not familiar with GTD, your life is about to change!! Ok, maybe not, but there's a distinct possibility you'll find something useful in there.  At first, it just looks like list-writing, but the theory behind it is what sold me.  I listened to a speech that the creator, David Allen, gave at Google.  He explains how your brain can get taken over by things you have to do.  Instead, if you create lists, you can free your brain for more important (and less stressful things).

I started out organizing my process by using the free app Evernote on my Ipad, home computer, and work computer.  However, I got annoyed at having to sign into my account every time I thought of something.  Instead, I decided to use my bus trip to work as time to organize.  I got a small notebook and started writing notes for each day of the upcoming week.  I also made three lists of “Before Going to Bed,” Before Leaving Home,” and “Before Leaving Work,” and posted them around my house and work.  They’ve been surprisingly helpful in getting me out the door because I’m not longer running around trying to remember if there’s anything I’ve forgotten.

Going through the process for the first time was incredibly relaxing.  I’m a disorganized person who loves organization, so this process is perfectly suited to me. In addition, I have a tendency to throw things away if I haven’t used them recently.  I do this because I hate clutter, but it drives my husband crazy.  Now, I’ve organized everything into boxes with labels like “important papers,” “old clothes,” etc.

I think the process will definitely help me. I’ve been a list-maker all my life and this has taught me a better way to do what I already do.  Some changes needed to be made in my routine to accommodate for this new system. For example, I’ve set aside my bus ride in the morning – when I usually mark papers – for making my task list.  The result, of course, is that the first thing on my list is “mark papers.” Still, with a bit of schedule reshuffling, this system will definitely make a huge change in my organization.

I will most certainly continue this process.  I’ll probably move back to the software after I get a bit more used to planning out a week.  Once I can do that, I’ll move on to planning for next month, next year, etc. My major problem right now is figuring out a way to do the tasks I don’t want to do.  No matter how organized I am, there’s still the procrastinator in me that moves the task off to the next day.  Please tell me when they make an app for that :)