Getting Things Done

My Kitchen Table
Originally uploaded by mrswonderful.

I might be the last person to come upon this book and its impressive system for re-habbing and renewing how you get things done in your business and in life too.

Getting Things Done by David Allen

But so far, it's working. I'm still in the throes of collecting stuff and processing into my "IN" box, but I feel confident that this is working, and is going to work long term.

(Click through to Flickr to see the notes on the photo.)

I'm glossing over the process here, but will detail the different parts in upcoming entries.

1. Committment - I really did have to get sick and tired of being sick and tired, and make a deep committment to clearing the space for Life. Before I read this book, no matter how many times I've tried to declutter, I found myself filling my time off with housework or aborted attempts to Get Organized. Things still piled up. And guilt piled up too.

2. Tools - I had to assemble tools that would serve me, and it took a good three months to get them to be second nature and my friends. This also included reading GTD cover to cover (I started in the middle and worked in both directions, as usual. Doesn't everyone read that way?) The systems I employed also had to be "organic" in that they came from how I already think of things, with some tweaks based on the book.

3. Space and Time - I had to finish some really basic household stuff before I could get going on GTD. Laying a foundation (literally, ripping up carpet and tiling my house) and clearing, clearing, clearing. Time and elbow grease works well on all that mental grime.

4. Work Area - I finally got my work area at home clear enough to start piling up the stuff. The way you work through things requires a dedicated work area to mess up, work through, mess up again, etc. What better than the kitchen table which has to be cleared off for meals? This way, I could pile crap on the table, clean my desk (with a washrag, even), and then never have to pile up my desk again.

Only then did I get into the work from the book itself. After my first session last weekend, I felt a release. Not exactly a sense of peace but a freedom and forward momentum. And that release is building into a faith in myself, actually. I am actually going to do this, and make progress!

Photos and details of the steps in future entries!

It's, as we say around here, wonderful!