Organize IT

Best comments roundup for 30th August 2007.

Though the original post was about about my thoughts on healthy eating, Insidemybrain makes a good point about needing to be motivated. You personally need to want it in the first place.

Insidemybrain: “It helped me to define a concrete goal to reach. I told myself ‘I’ll eat at least 3 different kinds of fruit every single day.’ The first day I was stuck with apples and chocolate, but missing my goal on the very first day made me so angry that I have not forgotten to buy enough fruit since.”

This month also saw Organize IT’s first birthday and I did a three part interview to celebrate the occasion. Rue left some good comments on the various topics covered:

Rue: “..it was realizing that GTD was a guideline, NOT a prescription. I use a great deal of it, but because of the nature of my work (I’m an academic) I have made changes to make it function better. And that’s ok.”

Remember the 9 questions I suggested you consider when developing your GTD system from a few weeks back? Rolf of Evomend made some great points.

Rolf: “If you choose heavyweight, how much of the ceremony could you impose on others? A heavyweight system may work for a freelancer who doesn’t join a customer’s team, eg since I’m collaborating a lot with such teams however, it’s mostly them who impose their system on me, so mine needs to be lightweight.”

A little over a week ago Lifehack.org had a very interesting article looking at five productivity ideas the author, Dustin Wax, was not yet buying into. I found it to be a very well written, intriguing read that encouraged a lot of thought. Here’s my opinions on the five ideas.

Seeing as it’s that time of year again when people start or return to university/college I thought I would share my ten comprehensive tips to get the most from your experience, whether it involves fun, work or finances.

Organize IT recap for 26th August 2007

• I hope you enjoyed the three part series where I interviewed a series of productivity bloggers, to celebrate the first birthday of Organize IT. I didn’t get many comments though, so if you have not read the posts yet, please do. There are a lot of interesting points.
• As part of the birthday celebrations I decided to put up a new design seeing as every other blog is doing it at the moment. Please let me know if you like it or not. I am wanting to go for a more polished, professional look than the patched together design I have had the for the last year.
• Lifehack.org has an interesting article covering five productivity ideas the author is not yet buying. It was such a good read I will be adding my own thoughts in a post sometime next week. Keep an eye out for it.
• An issue I have increasingly noticed getting written about is how to prune/trim your next actions. Getting Things Done blog has a great 10 point guide on how to deal with unwieldy next action lists.

Inspirational quotes for 25th August 2007.

Robert Stuberg: “The trouble with so many of us is that we underestimate the power of simplicity. We have a tendency it seems to over complicate our lives and forget what’s important and what’s not. We tend to mistake movement for achievement. We tend to focus on activities instead of results. And as the pace of life continues to race along in the outside world, we forget that we have the power to control our lives regardless of what’s going on outside.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Without ambition one starts nothing. Without work one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it. The man who knows how will always have a job. The man who also knows why will always be his boss.”

Pete Seeger: “Songs are funny things. They can slip across borders. Proliferate in prisons. Penetrate hard shells. I always believed that the right song at the right moment could change history.“