Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Day 14, GTD Implementation
David Allen reports in GTD, that between collecting and processing, plan for at least a few days, best done over a weekend or holiday. I suppose if I hadn't procrastinated over where to put my various categories of files, I might have been finished in 8 days, but I can't see how I could go much faster. It is very tedious, time consuming, but I see a light at the end of the tunnel and it’s a bright light indeed. I am gaining a sense of control over my "stuff" that I don't think I've ever felt before. Its really being master of my own ship, and I can tell there is smooth sailing ahead. Having solved the problem of why I was procrastinating yesterday while writing here, last night I was able to make a detailed plan of action and attack, and today I've been implementing the plan. It looks so haphazard while its in process, files all over the place, hanging folder, manila folders, labels as my labeling machine (Brothers as recommended) is putting out labels --not for every file, but for every main category. The way I figured out the plan last night was to assign a number to each file cabinet drawer (over 45 of them at last count). Then I made a massive list of all the categories the files would fold into. Then I sat and stared at the room plans I made specifically for this project on a wonderful Internet service called "Gliffy" http://www.gliffy.com/and tried to figure out what I need near me at all times, and what could be housed a greater distance from my main work space. Finally I began assigning categories to specific numbers (file drawers). It was a simple process, and it was indeed the hurdle that had held me up for almost a week.. I wonder if anyone else has had this particular problem. I have so many things I do --teach, research, write, see patients (or clients), supervise, work as a consultant and my research interests are widely distributed drawing on social, cognitive, personality and evolutionary psychology. My lab is called the Emotion, Personality & Altruism Research Group, www.eparg.org and that covers a lot of territory. So I have a whole lot of files. To cap the whole thing, I've been somewhat obsessed for almost two years now I guess it is, with the whole field of productivity. It’s that new interest that got me here, feeling like I'm finally going to be moving in exactly the way I want to be moving. However the downside, there are now almost as many files (articles, how to pieces, computer manuals) about productivity as there are about my scientific interests. Although I consider this GTD process to be highly scientific, and based on years of empirical observations. Maybe if I keep power whacking away at everything, filing, labeling, throwing away, then more filing, maybe I can finish by Thursday night or Friday. Maybe.
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2 comments:
HI Lynn,
Sounds as if you are making great headway. I have been working on things in my attic. I threw a few things away, took some old clothes to the salvation army, and opened a few boxes of photographs. I think for the photos to be of any interest to anyone but me they need to be heavily culled. That is tough to do as I am sure you can imagine. I think I have negatives from when I was 18 yrs. old for god sakes. The photos themselves are not holding up well, and the technology has improved even more than I realized. As I look at old pictures I can see frequently the exposures were fair to poor. Nowdays the camera does the light for you and you can still alter it some after the fact, all of which you know so I'll stop there.
Pam
Pam: I hadn't thought about the changes in photography concretely; it sounds like they have kept pace with the changes in writing via the computer. Spelling and grammar can be checked as we write, speed is everything and has made my brain keep up with it, and the end product is to say the least, what we used to call "professional quality." Considering the link between writing and taking photographs, it makes sense. Leonard drew and wrote all the time. I think sometimes about learning to take pictures, adding photographs to my writing but it seems more efficient to add your photographs to my writing. This gives me something to think about, "How would the "right" photograph enhance my message when writing? What would it look like?" How do you use photographs to encourage emotions to come forward out of writing? You do both, write and take pictures; do you ever think of adding photographs to your writing?
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