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April 21, 2009
Ready for change
When I'm at my worst, my system needs to be at its best. When stress/change/conflict/challenge is upon me, I don't want to be thinking about my system. More than ever, those are the times when my system needs to be rock solid, leak-proof and absolutely clear about my next actions and outcomes if I want to stay productive. I want to have a place to drop stuff into and get stuff out with as little effort and thinking as possible.
I've said it before, and it's worth repeating: if you want a GTD system that will actually stick, don't create a list manager for yourself that you would only feel like maintaining when you are at your best. A simple system, as long as it matches the sophistication of what you need to track, will shine. Time and time again, over the years, I have seen people create elaborate list managers and GTD systems that require so much thinking, detail, criteria and cross referencing, that they can't maintain it as soon as stress or change hits them.
These past two months have been some of the most stressful times in my life. My job was completely redefined (although bigger and better) and a family member passed away. Through it all, a few things from GTD kept me sane:
- Weekly Reviews every few days, especially if I was going to need to unhook and hand-off at a moment's notice
- Daily mind sweeps
- A projects list to drop in new problems and challenges that included outcomes such as "Resolve", "Look into", "...Up & Running"
- Extremely hard edges on the calendar so I knew exactly what had to get done on any day and quickly renegotiate as needed
- Checklists to remind me of the obvious when my brain wasn't always firing (like a travel checklist when I had 4-hours notice to buy a plane ticket and get to the airport)
Almost no one likes change done to them. Almost everyone likes change done by them. - Carol Kinsey Goman
Posted by Kelly at April 21, 2009 11:07 AM
Comments
You are absolutely right; K.I.S.S. "Keep it short and simple" Thank you for reminding me!
Posted by: Kim Nielsen at April 21, 2009 03:47 PM
Thanks so much Kelly. I really needed the reminder and reinforcement today. Today it has been exactly 5 months without any business for our management consulting firm. Now, more than ever, I have to be productive and have every activity contributing to all levels of my horizons of focus.
As anxieties crept in I noticed I was still staying very busy but not productive. Heck, I was even relatively stress-free. Well, for now I am not totally stress-free but heeding your advice on keeping my system as simple as possible. Doing so is enabling me to continue a positive systematic GTD approach with improved control and perspective.
Thank you so much for your candid sharing. I am sorry for your loss.
Posted by: Grant Hiesterman at April 21, 2009 06:04 PM
It is surprising that a simple system can often be the most productive and the most sophisticated. Sometimes we try so hard to get the right system set up for GTD that we miss the point of being productive with as little stress in our lives as possible.
Thank you for the post.
Posted by: Michael Crouse at April 23, 2009 04:38 PM
