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September 06, 2005
GTD and "body projects"
People have always seemed at least slightly bemused in seminars when they see some "body project" on my list - fix this, finish up that, replace this, etc. But today I was inspired in a slightly unsettling way by someone who really has one. Kathryn and I had lunch here in London with a dear old friend and very senior professional who's been a champion of GTD and our work for years, who's dealing now with a rather rare form of cancer. He mentioned that one of the great things about the GTD thought process that's made a huge difference to him is in being able to relate to the cancer as a "project." There's so much negative mystique about cancer, apparently, that the more one can view the illness as simply something to be dealt with, with actions to be taken, the healthier it is for the psyche (and who knows, then, how much for the body?)
A savvy and awesomely sobering perspective, to be sure.
We are coming to understand health not as the absence of disease, but rather as the process by which individuals maintain their sense of coherence (i.e. sense that life is comprehensible, manageable, and meaningful) and ability to function in the face of changes in themselves and their relationships with their environment. - Aaron Antonovsky
Posted by David at September 6, 2005 01:54 PM
Comments
I agree that it is a good thing to view cancer and other life challenges as projects with goals, objectives,plans, steps etc.
There is evidence that suggests that those who want to live to be 100 have a better survival rate than those who don't.
daniel
Posted by: Daniel at September 6, 2005 06:31 PM
My five year old neice was recently diagnosed with moderate-severe aplastic anemia, a rare life-threatening blood disease.
After a day of sadness and anger, I entered a project in my GTD system entitled with her name. I immediately came up with a half-dozen things I could do to help her or her family in some small way - and her mother passed a small task to me as well. Obviously, with something like this, the 3 minute rule goes out the window and you just start DOING. Set up a web site for her family and friends to track her progress and encourage her and her family, get blood tested for possible bone marrow transplant, etc.
This simple inclusion in my normal GTD flow helped me get out of "helpless mode" - so common in these situations - and take some small concrete, immediate steps. Keeping her name on my "Projects" list is a reminder to me to visit her www.CaringBridge.com web site daily, write a note of encouragement to her, purchase a puzzle and send it, etc.
Posted by: Bob Kitzberger at September 9, 2005 01:02 AM
I really love that quote because our health is not just about having or not having illness and we should be cognizant of our responsibility with it regardless of how much actual control we have.
Posted by: Lorry Perez at September 14, 2005 10:21 AM
