Organize IT

Organize IT recap for 09th May 2008.

• The Growing Life has an alternative productivity manifesto which will really make you think about GTD, productivity, your job and how it all affects your life. The post says that since World War II productivity has doubled so we should be working twenty hour work weeks. Instead we’re working more than medieval peasants did. Scary.
• Scientific research into procrastination continues. Study Hacks has a look at current research and what advice it can give students on how to overcome burnout and mental malaise. Combined with the formula for procrastination, that should give you a strong base for better focus.
• Taking phone calls seems pretty simple right? However there are ten ways you should never answer the phone. I know a few people who ignore the phone when it rings. Very annoying. Do you ever make these mistakes?
• I’ve somehow amassed a small collection of binder clips from work over the last few months. I’ve never used them but I still feel the need to keep them because they just look so useful. Thanks to Cranking Widgets I may finally be able to put those clips to good use!

View original image

On Monday when I discussed how you can simplify the actual practise of Getting Things Done, rather than focusing on a GTD lite approach that misses the point, one suggestion was to stop messing around looking for the latest clever program and hi tech solution. Instead pick up a pen and paper and get on with it! If you need any more persuasion here are my top seven suggestions.

There are a lot of simplified versions of Getting Things Done out there, in response to a large number of people who think it is complicated or difficult to get into. However, the problem is GTD is already a very streamlined system and as is the case with simplifying anything you have to make considerable trade-offs to achieve it. Before you start looking elsewhere for answers consider simplifying your actual usage of GTD. A lot of people make it more complicated than it needs to be.

Good month for Organize IT. All stats continue to grow and it’s great to see you all leaving comments, subscribing to the RSS feed, talking to me on Twitter, etc. The community is growing! Remember, you can now contact me on LinkedIn and Facebook too. I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks for the support.

Organize IT recap for 02nd May 2008.

• The BBC is taking a look at how the internet has a potentially bleak future. The internet is such an integral part of my life nowadays. I’m on it everyday. I have this blog, I watch TV, listen to music, buy and sell, research and read… I could go on. It’s important that we don’t take the internet for granted.
• We are all familiar with financial budgets, but what about time budgets? Litemind has a good writeup describing how you can implement one. This approach gives you an objective way of assessing your life balance, and sounds much more practical to do than a time audit. Personally I try to pace myself as much as possible, mixing leisure with work as I go along. Ever tried a time budget? What were your experiences?
• Dumb Little Man has a ten point guide on how you can drop pounds and years off yourself. Normally I wouldn’t pay much attention to such posts but I liked this one for it’s practical and realistic advice. Start drinking green tea? Wow, I can do that right now. Cut out the white flour? That’s an easy habit to start developing. It’s not all about going to the gym every week, it’s also about your lifestyle.
• I like theories and formulas when it comes to the topics I write about, hence my formula for productivity and my procrastination guide. Productive Flourishing has a very intriguing theory of productivity that covers the time management loop alongside the principles of effective time management systems. Definitely worth an in-depth look. I’m going to see how my weekly planner stands up to it.