Let me start off by saying that once I figure out what is going on with the picture, I'll get it fixed. (See below - it's a great shot, you will have to trust me!)
It's the time of year that I never plan for well enough. We always go away for the holidays, as we have family both back east and out west, so getting ready to go away, especially at work, is hectic. Shopping this year was easy and done early. Shipping was done not-too-early, but was cheap. I can't figure out from Canada Post if the delivery of both items was made, but oh well.
I managed not just to un-stick a major project, but to work on it for about 5 hours yesterday. That got it to the point where I could hand it up the food chain for approval, which was like a monkey off my back. It meant I had to do a proposal tonight, while on vacation, but the thing is done. Handed off to one of our support folks for printing.
I'm through to Chapter 10 in my re-read of GTD. I fully expect to finish the book before Christmas, and also have "Ready for Anything" with me, which is perfect - 52 chapters, 52 weeks in a year.
I won't be posting much over the coming few days, but I will still do so occasionally. Have a Merry Christmas and all the best for 2006.
Dec 23, 2005
Dec 20, 2005
Dec 19, 2005
Busy day
Today, SWMBO flew to the We(s)t Coast in order to visit with her Mom and Dad. I'm joining her in a few days, which will give me a little r&r - I haven't really had any time off since our youngest was born in July. I'm looking forward to it.
Today started by taking them to the airport, which in itself is always a bit frustrating with two little kids. We did it, but not without some needless stressing out on my part. Hopefully, SWMBO will forgive me. However, that was just the start to a fairly crazy day. Sent off the Christmas cards, went to the bank to get the cash for the staff Christmas bonuses, then off to a holiday lunch - just plain busy. But - and here is the important part - I whittle through my inbox today until it was clear. I dealt with my e-mail inbox today, until it was clear. And I left my desk clear before I walked out the door. It feels great to walk into a neat office every day, and I am already feeling more in control.
I told SWMBO that I was having a love affair with my label maker. She laughed, but gave me a look that said she thought that there might be more truth than fiction in the joke. Ah, let her figure it out. I am in love with it, but I'm not obsessive about it - much. Just don't ask to borrow it.
Today started by taking them to the airport, which in itself is always a bit frustrating with two little kids. We did it, but not without some needless stressing out on my part. Hopefully, SWMBO will forgive me
I told SWMBO that I was having a love affair with my label maker. She laughed, but gave me a look that said she thought that there might be more truth than fiction in the joke. Ah, let her figure it out. I am in love with it, but I'm not obsessive about it - much. Just don't ask to borrow it.
Dec 18, 2005
The word of the day is "Purge".
The word of the day is “PURGE”
So today, I have been very very productive on the purging and shredding front. There was another guy in the office today, and he nicknamed me “Enron”. I have filed files, created labels with my label maker, and shredded junk that I should never have kept in the first place. It feels great.
My twinboxes (my e-mail inbox and my physical inbox) are both clear. I am looking around deciding on what to do next. Getting prepared to do some major work on some major things. Getting some of my energy back by knowing where stuff is. It feels outstanding.
I’ve mentioned before Stephanie Winston’s The Organized Executive, which has a similar purge to David Allen’s in Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, the difference being that Winston’s strategy on the purge is to do it in chunks. Recover an area of desktop real estate, and then move on. It seems to meld well with Allen’s system, even though he bemoans doing it in chunks as something to be done “only if you have to”. I totally understand his logic and reasoning, but I’m trying to do it a slightly different way.
Speaking of different ways, GTD has leant itself to “hacks” of all kinds. Merlin Mann over at 43 Folders has documented several of them, including how to implement it using a notebook, a bunch of 3x5 index cards and a binder clip, etc., etc. The site is well worth spending a good piece of time on.
I’m getting things ready to take some work home on my major project, trying to get un-stuck. Ugh. I’m going to use the 10x2x5 hack, if I can, and I’ll hopefully get to the point where I’ve been able to get it unstuck and successfully sent off.
I’m now tidying things up, getting ready to leave the office and head home. I’ve worked every day since December 5th, and SWMBO is rightfully frustrated. The holidays are close at hand, so I will be around a lot then. Rest and renewal, and maybe a drink or two - I’m looking forward to it.
So today, I have been very very productive on the purging and shredding front. There was another guy in the office today, and he nicknamed me “Enron”. I have filed files, created labels with my label maker, and shredded junk that I should never have kept in the first place. It feels great.
My twinboxes (my e-mail inbox and my physical inbox) are both clear. I am looking around deciding on what to do next. Getting prepared to do some major work on some major things. Getting some of my energy back by knowing where stuff is. It feels outstanding.
I’ve mentioned before Stephanie Winston’s The Organized Executive, which has a similar purge to David Allen’s in Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, the difference being that Winston’s strategy on the purge is to do it in chunks. Recover an area of desktop real estate, and then move on. It seems to meld well with Allen’s system, even though he bemoans doing it in chunks as something to be done “only if you have to”. I totally understand his logic and reasoning, but I’m trying to do it a slightly different way.
Speaking of different ways, GTD has leant itself to “hacks” of all kinds. Merlin Mann over at 43 Folders has documented several of them, including how to implement it using a notebook, a bunch of 3x5 index cards and a binder clip, etc., etc. The site is well worth spending a good piece of time on.
I’m getting things ready to take some work home on my major project, trying to get un-stuck. Ugh. I’m going to use the 10x2x5 hack, if I can, and I’ll hopefully get to the point where I’ve been able to get it unstuck and successfully sent off.
I’m now tidying things up, getting ready to leave the office and head home. I’ve worked every day since December 5th, and SWMBO is rightfully frustrated. The holidays are close at hand, so I will be around a lot then. Rest and renewal, and maybe a drink or two - I’m looking forward to it.
Dec 17, 2005
My e-mail Inbox is Empty!
My e-mail Inbox is Empty!
I can’t remember the last time I had an empty Outlook Inbox. That inbox has been a ball-and-chain to me for a considerable period of time. And now it is empty!
I also have an empty inbox on my desk. Having kept that desk inbox empty for a week, by processing my stuff, has made me feel really good. I only emergency scanned once, on Friday, when I was in to pick up my stuff and leave for the day after having been out on appointments since 11 am. That, for me, is a minor miracle. I used to only emergency scan. More progress.
For many reasons, my implementation of GTD is unfortunately breaking David Allen’s convention of doing it all in one swell foop. I am doing it in chunks, which I know he disagrees with. However, in her book The Organized Executive, Stephanie Winston urged folks to work on one piece of real estate, until that was clear. Then work on another. Translating that into GTD parlance, put all the stuff on your desk into “in”, and process it. Then put all of the stuff on your credenza into “in”. Process that. Tackle one surface at a time.
I think that I can actually get to a full implementation of GTD this way, as I’m really being driven by the thought of GTD right now. I think the blog is helping to keep it forefront in my mind, even though I’m sure no one is reading it. However, over time I hope some folks will stumble across it. (If you are reading, please drop me a comment).
I’d especially like to hear from folks who have implemented GTD in chunks, if there is anyone out there. I’d like to feel less like the lone wolf in the wilderness. I’d also to know about any of the pitfalls that you stumbled on.
So far, this is working for me, as I do only have so much time to devote to this at this time of the year, and that time always comes in chunks. It also has the New Year’s feeling of rest and renewal, so I feel very productive when I’m doing it, and feel good when I get a large chunk done. We’ll see how well it goes – the unfortunate thing is that it will take me until after the holidays to complete, and I have to hope I don’t lose my drive for this during the downtime. A re-read of GTD will hopefully cure me of that.
Imagine, a clean e-mail in-box. It’s now almost as if I am waiting for someone to e-mail me so that I can process it!
I can’t remember the last time I had an empty Outlook Inbox. That inbox has been a ball-and-chain to me for a considerable period of time. And now it is empty!
I also have an empty inbox on my desk. Having kept that desk inbox empty for a week, by processing my stuff, has made me feel really good. I only emergency scanned once, on Friday, when I was in to pick up my stuff and leave for the day after having been out on appointments since 11 am. That, for me, is a minor miracle. I used to only emergency scan. More progress.
For many reasons, my implementation of GTD is unfortunately breaking David Allen’s convention of doing it all in one swell foop. I am doing it in chunks, which I know he disagrees with. However, in her book The Organized Executive, Stephanie Winston urged folks to work on one piece of real estate, until that was clear. Then work on another. Translating that into GTD parlance, put all the stuff on your desk into “in”, and process it. Then put all of the stuff on your credenza into “in”. Process that. Tackle one surface at a time.
I think that I can actually get to a full implementation of GTD this way, as I’m really being driven by the thought of GTD right now. I think the blog is helping to keep it forefront in my mind, even though I’m sure no one is reading it. However, over time I hope some folks will stumble across it. (If you are reading, please drop me a comment).
I’d especially like to hear from folks who have implemented GTD in chunks, if there is anyone out there. I’d like to feel less like the lone wolf in the wilderness. I’d also to know about any of the pitfalls that you stumbled on.
So far, this is working for me, as I do only have so much time to devote to this at this time of the year, and that time always comes in chunks. It also has the New Year’s feeling of rest and renewal, so I feel very productive when I’m doing it, and feel good when I get a large chunk done. We’ll see how well it goes – the unfortunate thing is that it will take me until after the holidays to complete, and I have to hope I don’t lose my drive for this during the downtime. A re-read of GTD will hopefully cure me of that.
Imagine, a clean e-mail in-box. It’s now almost as if I am waiting for someone to e-mail me so that I can process it!
Dec 15, 2005
Let your GTD slide
Today was a day filled with frustration. I had such high hopes – I even went a new route to the office that was suggested by a friend, and saved 10 minutes. How wonderful!
On arrival, our receptionist’s computer was dead, and I had to swap it for one of our spares, thank heaven we have them. Frustrating to lose time you had planned to spend doing other things, especially when the Christmas Crunch is looming. However, we got the problem resolved, and I spent the day essentially putting out fires, or trying to feel like I was being more productive. I did manage to process my "in".
SWMBO has long been searching for the "perfect" planner or notebook to jot her thoughts. After my reading several blogs on GTD (including Michael Hyatt's, which I've posted a permanent link to), I've read many people rave about the Moleskine (pronounced mole-ah-skein-ah) notebook. I found them at Notables, a gifty-type stationary store, and $15.00 I had another gift for my wife. I'll secretly have a good look to see what everyone is fussing about...
Personally, I've chosen a made-in-canada option - the Blueline A9 notebook. Great notebook, spiral bound, able to take a beating (it would seem), and perforated pages. The only thing missing is a built-in ribbon / bookmark, but I'm sure I will live with it. $8.95 at Grand and Toy. I am needing to admit, though, that for the luxury of it, I am sorely tempted with another Canaadian offering - one of the Pierre Belvedere notebooks (right below the Moleskine). Leather-look, perforated pages and a bookmark. Very nice looking, but at $17.95, I'm sticking with my Blueline A9.
FWIW, this relates because of an article I read at Michael Hyatt's site. He's right - I've only started taking notes on everything for a week, and alreadyd I've found them useful to refer to.
Tomorrow will be better.
On arrival, our receptionist’s computer was dead, and I had to swap it for one of our spares, thank heaven we have them. Frustrating to lose time you had planned to spend doing other things, especially when the Christmas Crunch is looming. However, we got the problem resolved, and I spent the day essentially putting out fires, or trying to feel like I was being more productive. I did manage to process my "in".
SWMBO has long been searching for the "perfect" planner or notebook to jot her thoughts. After my reading several blogs on GTD (including Michael Hyatt's, which I've posted a permanent link to), I've read many people rave about the Moleskine (pronounced mole-ah-skein-ah) notebook. I found them at Notables, a gifty-type stationary store, and $15.00 I had another gift for my wife. I'll secretly have a good look to see what everyone is fussing about...
Personally, I've chosen a made-in-canada option - the Blueline A9 notebook. Great notebook, spiral bound, able to take a beating (it would seem), and perforated pages. The only thing missing is a built-in ribbon / bookmark, but I'm sure I will live with it. $8.95 at Grand and Toy. I am needing to admit, though, that for the luxury of it, I am sorely tempted with another Canaadian offering - one of the Pierre Belvedere notebooks (right below the Moleskine). Leather-look, perforated pages and a bookmark. Very nice looking, but at $17.95, I'm sticking with my Blueline A9.
FWIW, this relates because of an article I read at Michael Hyatt's site. He's right - I've only started taking notes on everything for a week, and alreadyd I've found them useful to refer to.
Tomorrow will be better.
Dec 14, 2005
Task lists and label makers
Well, over the past three days, I was very successful in working through my task list. Naturally, I didn't get all of them done, but I did make progress on a big project that had been stuck, and got it moved. I whacked through a bunch of "Next Actions", hacked through my in-basket on both days, and felt like I got a lot accomplished in a short time. Too many out-of-office meetings the last two days means that I haven't had the chance to really move on stuff, but I've been keeping the incoming stuff under control. I'm very happy with where I am, but hope to make some larger breakthroughs soon, maybe this weekend.
In fact, I think that may be what keeps me motivated. I keep working, hoping that immediately before I feel the "mind like water", I have a "EUREKA!" moment. It's coming. I already feel like the rushing river has at least turned into a small lake, with defined edges. Yes, the wind ripples the water a lot, and the currents can still pull you under, but at least they aren't constantly visibile in a rushing torrent that threatens to pull me under. I consider that real progress.
I took David Allen's advice (surprise) on another issue - a labeller. Well, I sort of took his advice, I didn't buy the optional AC adapter that is the same price as the labeller that I got (*blink*). Admittedly, the unit I bought had a $30 inducement in the form of a mail-in rebate. I decided on the Brother P-Touch PT-1280, which has the rebate on it until December 31st, 2005. I had put off a buying decision for a bit, as I thoguht the best/easiest/quickest/most practical solution would have been a computer-based printer such as the PT-1500PC or the Dymo Labelwriter 330 Turbo. I think my PT-1280 is a wonder. It's right beside me in my desk drawer. It doesn't require that my laptop is up and running. It doesn't take up a USB port. I just pull it out, tap out the label on the QWERTY keyboard, hit Print, and cut the label. Done. I'm going to buy one of the PC connected ones for our receptionist, who has a desktop, but this little Brother unit is outstanding - any handheld is. 6 'AAA' batteries is a little much, but we'll see how long they last before I complain. The thing just works.
Now, here's the kicker. I have, so far, printed ONE LABEL. That's how effective this thing seems to be. It won me over immediately. I completedly understand why David Allen has recommend it in his book and recommend that you don't share.
I should mention something about Staples - they have a great online system for registering for "mail-in" rebates. You go online, follow the instructions, enter the information from the receipt, and you're done. Outstanding of them to make the wait the hardest part of the whole process.
In fact, I think that may be what keeps me motivated. I keep working, hoping that immediately before I feel the "mind like water", I have a "EUREKA!" moment. It's coming. I already feel like the rushing river has at least turned into a small lake, with defined edges. Yes, the wind ripples the water a lot, and the currents can still pull you under, but at least they aren't constantly visibile in a rushing torrent that threatens to pull me under. I consider that real progress.
I took David Allen's advice (surprise) on another issue - a labeller. Well, I sort of took his advice, I didn't buy the optional AC adapter that is the same price as the labeller that I got (*blink*). Admittedly, the unit I bought had a $30 inducement in the form of a mail-in rebate. I decided on the Brother P-Touch PT-1280, which has the rebate on it until December 31st, 2005. I had put off a buying decision for a bit, as I thoguht the best/easiest/quickest/most practical solution would have been a computer-based printer such as the PT-1500PC or the Dymo Labelwriter 330 Turbo. I think my PT-1280 is a wonder. It's right beside me in my desk drawer. It doesn't require that my laptop is up and running. It doesn't take up a USB port. I just pull it out, tap out the label on the QWERTY keyboard, hit Print, and cut the label. Done. I'm going to buy one of the PC connected ones for our receptionist, who has a desktop, but this little Brother unit is outstanding - any handheld is. 6 'AAA' batteries is a little much, but we'll see how long they last before I complain. The thing just works.
Now, here's the kicker. I have, so far, printed ONE LABEL. That's how effective this thing seems to be. It won me over immediately. I completedly understand why David Allen has recommend it in his book and recommend that you don't share.
I should mention something about Staples - they have a great online system for registering for "mail-in" rebates. You go online, follow the instructions, enter the information from the receipt, and you're done. Outstanding of them to make the wait the hardest part of the whole process.
Dec 11, 2005
December 10, 2005 - The Start
So, I've started to re-read David Allen's "Getting Things Done" , which is an outstanding book, but needs you to take the first action before you see any results. I wasn't successful at implementing anything the first time around, so what do I figure will make the difference this time?
Well, to start with, I want to do it. I often purchase a book to read when I have downtime at home, and "alonetime" - that precious commodity when I'm on my one, such as having lunch when I'm on the road, when I'm on a plane, or in a hotel room. I purchased GTD about 2 years ago, and have never followed through with the implementation. Wanting to do it is the key here.
The other part of this is that I've been using a Palm for about 9 months now, and love it. I had a Palm III back in the late 1990s. It met its final demize in about 2000, when it had a fatal collision in the overhead bin on a flight back to Vancouver. Having a new Palm Tungsten E is a dream - it is still simple, no connectivity to distract me (although the darn games available now do the trick...), and it just works.
I have been using Agendus for Palm OS and Agendus for Windows - Palm Desktop Edition (they also have an Outlook integrated edition) for the past several months, and have been happy with them. In fact, I cannot recommend the program highly enough, although there are the typical development errors that are getting patched over time. I'm in a bit of a quandry, though, as my corporate environment runs Outlook over Citrix, which is neat, but difficult to integrate to. (I've resolved to getting all my contacts into the Palm Desktop, then firing them to Citrix via a vCard file.) So I need to use two programs - one for tasks and scheduling, and one for e-mail. So, I will also be trying to integrate GTD with Agendus - something not many people seem to have tried.
Now that the GTD bug has bitten again, and harder this time, I have begun to set up my GTD system. I came into my office today (Saturday) and processed my 3 in baskets. I converted one of them to a "pending bucket", and logged anything that I wasn't going to do right then. I purged the purgeable. I did the less-than-two-minute tasks. I haven't categorized the tasks, or set up my Outlook mail folders, or anything else yet - it will all come in time. I hope to have the task list framework completed by tomorrow, in time to do my first "Weekly Review". I'm getting ahead of where I am in the book, but really does it matter - as long as you're being proactive about it, I don't think so.
Wish me luck! I'll update my progress every couple of days!
Well, to start with, I want to do it. I often purchase a book to read when I have downtime at home, and "alonetime" - that precious commodity when I'm on my one, such as having lunch when I'm on the road, when I'm on a plane, or in a hotel room. I purchased GTD about 2 years ago, and have never followed through with the implementation. Wanting to do it is the key here.
The other part of this is that I've been using a Palm for about 9 months now, and love it. I had a Palm III back in the late 1990s. It met its final demize in about 2000, when it had a fatal collision in the overhead bin on a flight back to Vancouver. Having a new Palm Tungsten E is a dream - it is still simple, no connectivity to distract me (although the darn games available now do the trick...), and it just works.
I have been using Agendus for Palm OS and Agendus for Windows - Palm Desktop Edition (they also have an Outlook integrated edition) for the past several months, and have been happy with them. In fact, I cannot recommend the program highly enough, although there are the typical development errors that are getting patched over time. I'm in a bit of a quandry, though, as my corporate environment runs Outlook over Citrix, which is neat, but difficult to integrate to. (I've resolved to getting all my contacts into the Palm Desktop, then firing them to Citrix via a vCard file.) So I need to use two programs - one for tasks and scheduling, and one for e-mail. So, I will also be trying to integrate GTD with Agendus - something not many people seem to have tried.
Now that the GTD bug has bitten again, and harder this time, I have begun to set up my GTD system. I came into my office today (Saturday) and processed my 3 in baskets. I converted one of them to a "pending bucket", and logged anything that I wasn't going to do right then. I purged the purgeable. I did the less-than-two-minute tasks. I haven't categorized the tasks, or set up my Outlook mail folders, or anything else yet - it will all come in time. I hope to have the task list framework completed by tomorrow, in time to do my first "Weekly Review". I'm getting ahead of where I am in the book, but really does it matter - as long as you're being proactive about it, I don't think so.
Wish me luck! I'll update my progress every couple of days!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
