I think I need to start getting into the GTD methodology, because for quite a while I’ve had so much stuff on my plate that it’s impossible to do it all. It’s all stuff that I want to do, but there just doesn’t seem to be enough time.
At some point in the distant past I think I must have known what it felt like to be bored, but I think I’ve forgotten that now; it’s been too long.
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My GTD philosophy is “I’m too busy”.
Maybe it’s not a matter of over extending yourself but it is for me. It’s funny because when I wasn’t so busy at work I was continually overwhelmed after work. Now that work is crazy I’ve been free after work. I contribute it to being home late and leaving early and telling the few “Sorry…”.
I’ve also been deliberately analyzing what I want to do in my free time. For example, I haven’t written any plugins lately because I can barely maintain what I have. I wanted the aTV when I first saw the hacks come out but I waited until it was easy. Sorry about that aTV reference but my point is I’m being selective in my hobbies.
Maybe your case isn’t overextending or taking too much on but organization. If that’s the case I recommend a very simple GTD plan, like labeling e-mails or prioritizing your content. Because IMHO true GTD takes more time to keep up than it saves.
Jason should comment on this since he’s a big GTD guy.
I’ve flirted with GTD for 2+ years. Picking up a thing or 2. Reading, listening to tons of stuff. And I would say this last month or so I’ve finally committed to picking a GTD app/method and just doing it. GTD is something that is endlessly tinkerable, which actually defeats the purpose of “Getting Things Done.”
So we can talk further about it. But lately I’m sleeping much better at night knowing that my head is free of remembering random crap at 4 in the morning. (Which has been cured by me putting all my thoughts and projects in a trusted system.) The trick here is the weekly review and truly “trusting” your system. If you mind doesn’t believe that there is a trusted place you can access to re-engage these things, then the worrying and sense of forgetting will return. Going over your list of things and prioritizing on a weekly basis is the biggest trick to making it all work. I’ve got a few weeks under my belt and feel clear. Able to be in the moment more without trying to remember what I should be doing….anyhow, I could go on.
Good to hear; I knew you’ve been into that for a while, so it’s good to know that it’s working out for you. I’ll have to talk with you about the specifics sometime.
Ok girls, what the heck? Are we talking about writing things down? Is that it?
No, it’s more like a structured way of managing tasks. It has a cult-like following and some of the hard core fanatics do actually consider things like carrying around a pad of paper to be revolutionary ideas, but it does seem to be based on some good principles that can be effective, like Jason described.
I think part of the challenge in getting into it (and the reason I haven’t so far) is that there can be a tendency to get so wrapped up in learning and exploring the GTD methodology itself that it really defeats the goal of saving time. For me, I know that as soon as I start to look at it, I will want to write my own software to manage the process, which is exactly what I don’t need to do right now.
I did download the original book this whole thing was based on in audio format (since I don’t have time to read books), so I might listen to that and then go from there.