Getting Things Done
Maybe it's just me, but the whole world seems buzzing about Getting Things Done (by David Allen)...
Yeah, it's just me.
Anyway, it's not that I don't “get things done,” but I would like to get more things done. One reason I don't is because I'm just not organized enough to keep track of the myriad less-pressing tasks, and a lot of small stuff falls through the cracks.
I first heard about GTD at Merlin Mann's site, 43 Folders, which I discovered while googling for info on Quicksilver. Since then I have probably been spending too much time there, reading about his productivity adventures with Moleskine notebooks and his Hipster PDA.
I don't spend all my time idly surfing productivity web sites, though. This past weekend, I bought Getting Things Done. Now I have to be careful not to let this book give me another reason to procrastinate, because after all, I need to finish the book before I can get anything done. Right?
One thing that I like about Getting Things Done is that it doesn't require any special equipment, such as a PDA (although I wish it were that simple). In fact, it's almost anti-equipment. For example, Mann's Hipster PDA is just a stack of index cards. I have a well-worn Levenger Pocket Briefcase which may work as an upscale Hipster PDA. We'll see. I checked out those chic Moleskine notebooks over the weekend, but couldn't bring myself to buy one. This morning, however, the guy sitting next to me on the train was writing in his Moleskine. I take that as some kind of sign.
No, I'm afraid it's going to take a lot more than a new notebook to make me more productive. It looks like I will have to actually change the way I do things. Sigh.