Teh scary place ...

[Anonymous]

There used to be an article somewhere on this site about the scary space you reach when all your open loops are nailed down, and suddenly your mind is your own again. When you get there you have to start figuring out what your life is about– you’ve got out of the forest, you’re on the open plains, and it’s your call …

Anyone ever find this a little too scary? Does a cluttered mind help you avoid thinking about the big questions? I mean, the really big questions? :shock:

We might find that our lives now consist of the cumulative effect of all our compromising, and realise there might not be a way back.

Some might call this denial; others might call it the gentle reassurance of the mundane …


DFE

[spring]

There used to be an article somewhere on this site about the scary space you reach when all your open loops are nailed down, and suddenly your mind is your own again. When you get there you have to start figuring out what your life is about– you’ve got out of the forest, you’re on the open plains, and it’s your call …

Anyone ever find this a little too scary? Does a cluttered mind help you avoid thinking about the big questions? I mean, the really big questions? :shock:


Good news! If this state is too terrifying for you, you can always go back. These easy steps can provide you with a quick return to your pre-GTD state of innocence:

Get three free wall calendars from somewhere (insurance agents are good for this). Copy each time-sensitive commitment from your GTD master calendar onto exactly one of your free wall calendars, choosing a new calendar for each successive commitment. Now put one of your new wall calendars up at work, put one up at home, lose the third, and throw away your GTD calendar.
Throw away your next-action lists. You won't be needing them now. See? Your life is getting simpler already!
Divide your projects list into five sublists. Memorize the first sublist, prepending "I gotta" to each one. Give the second sublist to your spouse, telling him or her, "Make sure I remember to do these." Give the third sublist to your boss. Transcribe the fourth sublist onto sticky notes, which you should then distribute equally between your monitor, your wallet, your car, and your refrigerator. The fifth sublist you can throw away; if they are really important, they'll come back to you.
No more weekly reviews! Hallelujah!
Take all your papers out of your file folders. Put the papers in stacks on and around your desk. Grab a double handfull to throw in the back seat of your car. These will be useful for keeping you warm in case of emergencies on the road.
Ritualistically yet enthusiastically destroy your Inbox. Suggested phrases: "Curse you, Inbox!" "You've given me your last task!" "You can dish it out, but you can't take it, can you?" "A ha ha ha ha ha ha!" etc.
Let your e-mail pile up. When your mailbox reaches its space limit, delete them all unread. Repeat as necessary. If somebody asks whether you have received his or her e-mail, suggest that the sender is somehow to blame.

I hope this helps. Remember: GTD is one case where you absolutely can go home again.

[randystokes]

I laughed out loud when I read this last post. It's actually a great way to show someone why they should adopt the GTD system. I hope Jason or someone else at davidco sees the post -- I'm sure they could use it for their seminars and coaching!

Randy Stokes
randystokes@cox.net

[apinaud]

Dear Spring:

After a hard morning (some bad issues at work) you save the day!

I laugh loud but was exactly what I need...

I put a copy of your post in my memos at my palm (I hope you do not mind)

Next time I am thinking on skip my weekly review, I will read this...

have a nice day!

[Anonymous]

Ha ha. I forgot how to laugh. (As Sid says in “Ice Age”).

Maybe it’s more of a mid-life thing. It’s a time when something inside forces your gaze in the direction of where you are, what you never got to do, and the scaled down version of ambitions that lie ahead.

Some of us males take refuge in sports cars/dyed hair/rock anthems (“hey I’m still young you know, honest!”). Others amongst us simply lower our gaze so that the horizon is very near, no further away than the end of the week – we just don’t want to look at the bigger picture.

GTD can have the unnerving side-effect of taking us away from the coal-face and lifting us up to see all around. But as the song says, our response could easily be “Is That All There Is?”

(This downer has been brought to you by DFE).

[Anonymous]

I've been 'trying' and 'planning' to implement GTD for months... and still have the stacks, the multiple lists, etc. (Though I have made huge progress on my 3-year backlog of filing!)

Something about the posts in this thread (and my laughing out loud) snuck in and touched me in a different place. How utterly ridiculous it is that I've been choosing to live this way - a way that's not all that different from Spring's description? (Which I'm printing out and taping to my wall)

How bizarre that knowing I can go back to the 'old way' makes me feel better! Odd the things that free us up to take a giant step forward...

Thanks DFE for posting this question. And thank you Spring for your inspiring and hysterical answer. And CosmoGTDs equally hysterical additions. (You really hit home on the 52 voicemail thing! lol) And thanks to everyone else that posted on this thread. I think you may have changed my life today.

Love and Light,

Kim

[Anonymous]

I think that article (about the scary space) was written by Leslie, and I might have it somewhere on my harddrive, if you're still interested. Although, it appears the topic has been quite productive already!

Gordon

[Anonymous]

Kudzu62

Yes, please post.

Thanks

DFE

[Anonymous]

I suppose my opening post just leads to the question (beloved of goal-setters) what do you REALLY want from your life?

DFE

[ceehjay]

I think that article (about the scary space) was written by Leslie, and I might have it somewhere on my harddrive, if you're still interested. Although, it appears the topic has been quite productive already!
I suspect you are referring to the article Are You Comfortable with Space? (http://www.davidco.com/coaches_corner/Leslie_Boyer/article22.html) by Leslie Boyer. (It's still on the DA site.) If this isn't the one to which you referred, DFE, please let us know.

Carolyn

[Jason Womack]

Good news! If this state is too terrifying for you, you can always go back. These easy steps can provide you with a quick return to your pre-GTD state of innocence:

Get three free wall calendars from somewhere (insurance agents are good for this). Copy each time-sensitive commitment from your GTD master calendar onto exactly one of your free wall calendars, choosing a new calendar for each successive commitment. Now put one of your new wall calendars up at work, put one up at home, lose the third, and throw away your GTD calendar.
Throw away your next-action lists. You won't be needing them now. See? Your life is getting simpler already!
Divide your projects list into five sublists. Memorize the first sublist, prepending "I gotta" to each one. Give the second sublist to your spouse, telling him or her, "Make sure I remember to do these." Give the third sublist to your boss. Transcribe the fourth sublist onto sticky notes, which you should then distribute equally between your monitor, your wallet, your car, and your refrigerator. The fifth sublist you can throw away; if they are really important, they'll come back to you.
No more weekly reviews! Hallelujah!
Take all your papers out of your file folders. Put the papers in stacks on and around your desk. Grab a double handfull to throw in the back seat of your car. These will be useful for keeping you warm in case of emergencies on the road.
Ritualistically yet enthusiastically destroy your Inbox. Suggested phrases: "Curse you, Inbox!" "You've given me your last task!" "You can dish it out, but you can't take it, can you?" "A ha ha ha ha ha ha!" etc.
Let your e-mail pile up. When your mailbox reaches its space limit, delete them all unread. Repeat as necessary. If somebody asks whether you have received his or her e-mail, suggest that the sender is somehow to blame.

I hope this helps. Remember: GTD is one case where you absolutely can go home again.


Ok, this makes me giggle! Thanks SO much for this reminder...

[Anonymous]

Hi Carolyn

I think the item I am talking about was feedback from a client, probably part of the older website layout.

Thanks

DFE

[Anonymous]

I suppose my opening post just leads to the question (beloved of goal-setters) what do you REALLY want from your life?

DFE

And believe me, if you don't know the answer to this question, it is a REALLY scary place to be ... it will send you running to hide in the daily chaos/routine.

(The only thing worse than not knowing the answer is knowing the answer... and knowing you will never get what you really want).

DFE

[Anonymous]

Spring - loved the post on going back, the truth of it gave me a good laugh.
Life is full of logistics and maintenance, the sooner we acknowledge that, seems the easier it is to just do "the work" it takes and move on to having some fun. Thinking actions to outcomes is not more work, eventually we all go there to create the things we want. It is different and new at first, though just like the 6 speed, once you get it you never forget it, it becomes a spinal cord response.
I appreciate all of you who encourage folks to hang in there, it seems helpful.