Organize IT

We all have habits and behaviors that get in the way of being productive. Earlier in the week I wrote about getting back to GTD basics though to achieve that involves facing up to some of the hurdles in your path that caused you to neglect those basics in the first place. On Wednesday I revisited the vertical map. One of the reasons I dropped the ball with it in the past was because I got overly fussy about making sure everything connected up. I sometimes have to overcome the need to over-analyze everything and make it all just right.

At the moment I’m currently focusing on the vertical map (otherwise known as the horizons of focus). Bigger picture thinking is something I’ve neglected for a long time (I discussed why in my previous post) but now I want to get back on track with it. One of the problems I feel there is with the vertical map explanation in GTD is that it is tied to this whole horizons angle (going from the runway to 50,000ft levels, for instance). To me, this gave the impression that the items at one level had to tie neatly into the items on the next level, and so on. If you’ve ever had a dozen or so next actions at the runway level and tried to draw a clear line all the way to your long term goals at the 40,000ft level you’ll know how difficult it can be.

Now that all the new  years festivities are behind us I’ve noticed many people discussing their new years resolutions, updating their to-do lists and generally getting organized for a good 2009. For me, I’ve found it a good opportunity to revisit GTD. Over the last several months, opinion on the classic productivity methodology seems to have turned negative and it’s ironically encouraged me to take another look at it. I’m currently working my way through one of David Allen’s other book, Ready For Anything, and I think it covers many points GTD didn’t discuss so well. As a result certain elements that didn’t really make sense now do and I want to cover them in this post.

It’s the end of the year in a couple of days so it’s traditional to do one big recap of the last twelve months. I’ve said this before but with blogs, especially ones that get updated regularly, useful posts can quickly get pushed back by newer content. That’s why I believe this recap is a great opportunity to re-introduce some of my favorite posts from the year. Let me know if you find it useful! As ever, thanks to all my readers for continuing to read my posts and comment on them. Next Monday I will return to my regular posting schedule (if I’ve recovered from the hangover that is) so I hope you have a good new year!

I think for many of us (correct me if I’m wrong), each holiday season and new year represents the ideal time for a little introspection (I’m doing it with the blog, please leave your thoughts). It’s a chance to really recharge your batteries, figure out what you want in life and set goals for achieving it all… in theory anyways. You will probably read plenty of articles about how 2009 can be Your Best Year Yet but how many times have you heard that phrase before? What does it even mean?