I was talking to my friend Randy yesterday and he mentioned this book he was reading about being super productive. "What's it called?" I asked. "How To Get Things Done Fast." I would have never picked out a book like this in a million years; I'd rather get things done well then fast plus the whole thing sounds really gimicky, at least at first glance.
The basic idea is that initially (usually in a few seperate sessions) you write down everything that is preoccupying you and eventually empty your brain. After having things down on paper, you divide things logically into tasks and projects. Things that take less then two minutes, you do right away and you organize everything else in order of importance.
Randy realized that all the ideas he had been thinking of over and over that seemed really kind of random and unrelated were actually all working towards the larger goal of making money back to pay his student loans.
The idea of emptying your mind and working everyday with a clean slate allows you to (apparently) be superproductive. And organizing ideas as they happen takes discipline but keeps you from mentally spinning your wheels about the same old stuff.
I have a sticky note on my Google homepage for those exact thoughts during the day (library books due January 27, pay cell phone bill) but I think a great cleaning out of my brain and an organizing of these thoughts would be pretty fantastic. Despite seeming organized and carefree, I actually spend a lot of time spinning my wheels mentally about money and other matters as I keep revisiting thoughts.
So the book is "How To Get Things Done Fast" by David Allen if you are interested but if you want to dip your toe into the pond of this organizational system before diving in:
Visit David Allen's website…
Do some David Allen brain cleaning out exercises…
I checked out the sites you linked to and it seems pretty interesting. I’ll see if the library has a copy and skim through it as I’m always looking for ways to be more productive. Some of what he’s talking about really just sounds like a to-do list, though – which I already do. I need to get better at prioritizing my lists and separating them by day. Currently, I sit down once a week and write out a master list, then check stuff off as I go. I’m finding that stresses me out because if I don’t get to something, then I’m worried about it. I’ll see if Mr. Allen’s techniques are any better. Thanks for sharing!
I spurred a posting! How did you find that downloadable document with David’s exercises? I’ve been looking for something like that to compliment his audio book seminar. I really like his personal “trigger lists” that help you get rid of stuff locked up in your brain (p. 10,11). I also plan on using the processing flowchart (p.14) in my master’s essay on social bookmarking. That flowchart is not something I’ve been able to do instinctively. I think it’s genius.