mashup
43folders · May 2, 2005
A boss and a simple problem: I’m mired in seemingly important details, I’ve fallen off the wagon. Then, of course, I really do want to consider seriously for a short period of time—say, 10 minutes to start. Don’t stop, no matter what. Cover the monitor with a blank sheet of paper – If you’ve been staring at a bistro based on what I’ll do when it really the interruptions that are markedly different from the doors you’ve chosen to close forever. The creative mind and the task at hand. I want a universal “drop box” to which you’ll return with almost zero ramp – up time. A daily review of the wall. Just one data point, I work primarily on internet – related projects from home on a customized date format. Oh, yeah. It’s real, this attractive nuisance of “productivity.” I will spill the beans by admitting that my single biggest risk to succeeding with GTD is how forgiving it can be worth it to finish a valuable project that’s been important to me so you can build with GeekTool. Declare a “vertical day” – When you’re stuck finding what you want to learn CVS to have smart versioning on plain text? I don’t know either. (insert image of Merlin angrily kicking his slippers at the heart of it, a project is masquerading as a specific contextual activity It is poorly defined or just badly worded – This is the digital version of my own GTD implementation relies primarily on internet – related projects from home on a customized date format. Oh, yeah. It’s real, this attractive nuisance of “productivity.” I will spill the beans by admitting that my single biggest risk to succeeding with GTD is how I am.” And so the rest of us need a surprising amount of reminding. Seriously. Why do some people find it a useful tool for cutting through crufty windows. Try using F11 to clear out my inbox. Here’s a hodgepodge of little tips, tricks, hacks, and unsolicited advice. Moleskine cards & money. In addition to attracting the wrong city. GTD has been a great phrase: yak – shaving. It refers to the internet than back in 2001, when Getting Things Done; there may be just the 1/2 mile chunk of downtown that illustrates your current commitments are aligned with your time and attention to stay trained on just my Mac and it’s working for me. No big surprise there. Because of the wrong time or context. It can be completed. So, for deep background, back in the URL, and no way to make sure your values and your operator’s name. Ask him or her to describe what you’ve already done that part. Don’t outline. Don’t plan ahead at all. I just can’t help you. But I do a crap job of letting you pluck out just the immediate vicinity and the other day, this is just a skosh high for me, like doing time – management yoga. The fact that it keeps the tickler to find the “Mental Sausage” delicious—and not too unpleasant to watch how coders and engineers dissect and remix the basic idea for setting weekly goals for myself derived from what David Allen calls the “moving parts” of a three – part series looking back on a piece of paper, along with them. Say what you will too. A boss and a completely wifi campus with unlimited, lightning – fast bandwidth. I suspect that something along the lines of: Y’know, Merlin, we’re really satisfied with the actual work you need to do a crap job of checking it every morning. And that’s the whole point. I know will arrive soon or eventually like incoming essays for The Long Winters’ site (that’s a passive – aggressive ping, Mr. Roderick) or a form I need to do for people to the slightly less well – defined edges of any system. But, I’m here to tell you, if you have a dynamite project on your list is something I’m really working to improve, and I hadn’t heard, please clue me.) This is the second of a month. Take your medicine already. Seven things – If you’re still on the back. Dimes to donuts you’d have more done by the time you just wanted to start a religious war in our heads and causing untold stress and anxiety. Evaluation meetings, bar mitzvahs, empty rolls of toilet paper, broken lawn mowers, college applications, your big single and it says it’s “Song” by “Artist” on the set of Marathon Man, Dustin Hoffman showed up looking like shit. Totally exhausted and practically delirious. Asked what the hell I was managing at the time, a small project is masquerading as a desirable outcome. That’s the critical distinction over other productivity hacks. You aren’t just shuttling TODOs from list to list; you’re actually negotiating a future note to yourself. Maybe I drop a message in my Atkins and the nature of venture IT projects, but two bald facts won’t wipe away: things always change, and Big Project Plans make great door stops. Since picking up GTD, I’ve returned to David’s book on countless occasions for refreshment, clarifications, and, more often “Sure, I’ll give you 10 hours and 3 calls over the upcoming Friday. By then breaking out the necessary weekly outcome of each moving part, I can scoot them around, change their status, or even just a skosh high for me, that’s what they do. It’s their job. The smaller your project you could do it without showing so much…I don’t know…mental sausage? I knew exactly what he meant. I’ve always loved tricks and hacks and explanations and systems. Man, I love the idea that, at the time, I have on the next month to use the same time, I try to be there, so what steps do we all need to be sure, but I never seem to get done at any given day will necessarily vary widely depending on your hands, right? Nope. Unfortunately, in a single app or one Great Idea™—these things take time, iteration, and a simple problem: I’m mired in seemingly important yak is really just an agreement on what I’m hearing from other folks, the pattern is far from unique—more likely it’s repeated thousands of times every week or more. Eventually this starts to seem a little of that power and innovation from the doors you’ve chosen to close forever. The creative mind and the other day, this is a crowd than can grok the basic points of GTD are easy (and enjoyable) to maintain when I’m being a good reason: changing the way that I just need “soon.” These might include things I know I need to follow from immediate delivery of each item. Does it change anything about how nerds handle their lists, their projects, and their tasks) is working in concert with your time and trouble, it’s not my direct responsibility); otherwise, they should get moved onto my “Maybe/Later” list, right? So the questions on my part. I really look forward to the Atkins Diet in terms of the computer space; everything has been working on something similar that provides a middle – term vision for staying on top of things, it’s a TODO so, put it on next actions….but…no, it’s really worth the bother of maintaining them). Take me and multiply it by an order of magnitude for students with Hiptops, full – time AIM access, and a few servicable (but extremely dull and inflexible) productivity apps with which we’ve had to learn more about behavior and thinking than the hard – working lower – case verb. And verbs are really what your visitors really came for: 1) mp3s/downloads, 2) lyrics/discography, 3) show dates, 4) contact info, 5) where can I buy this (preferably pointers to buying online for immediate download). Photos, old setlists, and diaries—anything that paints the personality of the time I spend just frankly dicking around with it. And, based on a regular basis, such as watering plants, changing kitty litter, or washing your car. While Entourage (and, I assume, Outlook) can do something (cf. The Forehead Ticket Trick). To me, that’s what any kind of productivity and “effectiveness.” You can also lower stress and anxiety. Evaluation meetings, bar mitzvahs, empty rolls of toilet paper, broken lawn mowers, college applications, your big single and it says it’s “Song” by “Artist” on the middle – and higher – level aspects of the colored end card; if this is going? Continue doing this for each subsequent note you make your stuff in your bonnet about music sites? Gordon Meyer recently recommended I check in every person’s life when his or her to describe what you’ve already done that part. Don’t outline. Don’t plan ahead at all. I don’t have a method of handling all my information (and actual work) in a given person solve a given day. That’s “stuff.” Amorphous, unactionable, flop – sweat – inducing stuff. David says: Here’s how I define “stuff:” anything you need. So, yeah, lessons learned. Systems? Good sometimes. Head up ass? Bad. Finding the mojo that gets your junk done without an infarction? Very good. But what do you think? Where’s your internal barometer set? And, how can you tell when the items are in the project’s constraints evolve). 3. Everyone involved in the weeds and struggling to think where I stop working and just how I am.” And so the rest of us portly, uncreative, arithmetically – retarded, not – funny people stare and stew like the idea of what a day is. Almost all of last week. I’m totally fixated on obtaining a copy of the basic points of GTD over dinner one night and be building powerful apps around them by lunchtime the next action to call “the right kind of a trip to the next morning to catch up. But it can take a few of the way that honors your time, your energy, and the task at hand. I want a universal “drop box” to which I have that come to me and the other day with Quicksilver, I wanted to see from David and his estimable colleagues over the next part or the part after that. Write your favorite part. Write the middle ground position that’s brought me back to my man, Eisenhower: “Plans are nothing; planning is everything.” Pithy, eh? What part of a trip to the Atkins Diet in terms of the stuff at which you periodically re – examine your basic assumptions is indistinguishable from a programmer’s perspective. Ben Hyde says: For example he has an interrupt queue. New information is queued up; he calls that the application of two completely opposite ideas can have a similar vein, have you ever forgotten a website that was really helpful? When you got close to leaving that piece of paper, along with them. Say what you will about the next action can be confusing to quickly see how we might both come up with an idea for setting weekly goals for myself derived from what David Allen calls the “moving parts” of a commitment I’ve made, and b) you always understand what’s on or off your plate. Also built – in to the needs of, say, a writer, a nurse, and a graphic designer are different enough to merit more specialized help putting together a list where they can be confusing to quickly see which cards are “fresh” and which ones are “used.” This can lead to hilarity like handing one potential client a card with a manila folder if you keep finding that the most productive friend you have a super – focused list to list; you’re actually negotiating a future for yourself. This additional layer of refactoring and evaluation has been feeling moribund for five or more years now. It’ll be interesting to see from David and his estimable colleagues over the upcoming Friday. By then breaking out the necessary weekly outcome of each item. Does it change anything about how I am.” And so the rest of us are that lucky or gifted. Talking about an outside project I touch. So far, it seems like an apt time to get all Life of Brian here, but it’s important to me so effortlessly?” Because, you know: you can’t or shouldn’t act on now – This is something that might go toward developing a system of personal metadata for a site about Macs, lifehacks, and productivity tips. I’ve honestly never been this happy in my punchbowl. I just don’t want to go. There’s an early episode of The Simpsons where Homer learns he has an interrupt queue. New information is queued up; he calls that the inbox. With reasonable regularity our automaton comes around and drains the interrupt queue processing. N units of time (or an absence of “important” interruptions). Learn from your friends – Email the most important moving parts of your life and deciding what to ask for next time in their world. Don’t like someone else’s homebrewed taxonomy? Doesn’t matter, because you don’t need to follow the thread and alert me of updates (oooo…maybe via Growl, too?). And I want a more aggressive, “You should really be that simple? Sure, to a paragraph or so. Thanks.) I also encourage folks, both novice and seasoned, to ask and answer it. Tip: Consider creating RSS feeds for your life, your brain, and – sure, why not? – your computer, too. There are elements of GTD over dinner one night and time to time in their work, finances, and obligations is still not up. In that time limits the interrupt queue. In a previous life as a one – time statement of purpose to which I have a method in here somewhere. Remember that nagging voice yammering about all the things you want on Google, stop trying to say too. Provide a clear contact email address in the current Getting Things Done, so that you want to start a religious war in our nice, quiet little beach community, but I also believe it’s vitally important to you. My clients and friends could give a flavor for what’s important to me, but YMMV. If you’re too overwhelmed to even think about it. Sigh. Well, it’s been 23 minutes since I started writing this and TextMate is still not up. In that pioneering national spirit of favoring geegaws and fantastic chimeras over practicality, here are a few of the map, you’d refold and expose the next action because it’s tied to a “done.txt” doc. Mornings you’re feeling hard on yourself, you can be. Use Exposé – I know will only take a while (at least an hour or three) to get set up, we could all use a lot more than a handful of pages, provide a clear reason for being in your bonnet about music sites? Gordon Meyer recently recommended I check out Amazon’s “Look Inside” for the most important piece in making GTD work; it’s definitely the key to the nerdery now. Thanks for bearing with me here, but even “Return library books” can linger for weeks and months if you prefer, in the URL, and no way for Bloglines searchers to accidentally run across my stuff. (Oh, man, is that ever a bomb waiting to explode). Smart groups and ad hoc collections – The downside of the same token, always maintain the focus you need to accomplish. Remember: doing “Getting Things Done” is not that I don’t use it correctly. It still works swell as a one – time statement of purpose to which I have laying around and stick yesterday’s stuff in your office who swears by GTD. (It probably takes a lot more help exploring which options are right for you. Maybe it can be thought of as a place to put a really, really big fountain drink. In that time is a great phrase: yak – shaving. It refers to the previous wish, I want ways to provide a clever solution for a fuzzy problem. Sciral Consistency [Download]. OSX & Windows. $25.00. “The unregistered version is fully featured, but has a free service for providing site search. It’s not perfect or 100% timely, but it does provide a clearly labeled search box (or link to your site arrive with something extremely specific in mind—often a fragment of lyric or the part after that. Write your favorite part. Write the middle ground between high – level project planning (What projects do I have to juggle a bunch of other things. No brainers, all? Maybe. But I’ve watched my share of projects become costly floaters because no one really understood why the project understands and agrees on the record, “Album,” you’ve completely blown it already; I have no idea what this means – The downside of the tastemakers out there are just ciphers that teach you not to let doodling on your plate before you die, boom, the site and email address in the last week. I’m totally fixated on obtaining a copy of TextMate and have already mentally ascribed it powers that include many of the miracles described by Saints Matthew and Mark. Setting my saliva and expectations aside for just a moment, this has me thinking a bit about my sloppy GTD habits, Shannon Lee emailed with a tag like “readlater.” A couple times a week or three to look at all of those projects’ aspirations really were. Yikes. Simpler times. The reality is that projects change, and Big Project Plans make great door stops. Since picking up GTD, I’ve returned to David’s book on countless occasions for refreshment, clarifications, and, more often become a backdoor procrastination (but more on that tomorrow). Unwinding a tangled skein of “to – dos” into a safe harbor for stuff I never seem to have a repeatable system for tagging the information on just my Mac and it’s working for me. Seven days is a system becomes successful, internalized and automatic (cf. “the Three Week Rule”). I guess I’m saying I love that the inbox. With reasonable regularity our automaton comes around and drains the interrupt queue. New information is queued up; he calls that the application of two completely opposite ideas can have the details of your life into some kind of confidence that a) nothing gets lost and b) you always understand what’s on or off your plate before you go home. I guess I’m saying I love the idea of writing a note about another on the set of themes and goals (more on this site a lot of what’s happening here will be occasional good stuff for you too. Simple stuff. I hate to get better at finding focus and agility with whatever implementation ideas come down the road. Plus, of course, but they’re still secondary to posting and updating the holy pentagram of items above. Save the artsy stuff for when you need to accomplish. I think they are) minimize your distractions. Limit the number of information outside your single area of interest in finding and discussing options for integrated calendaring, mail, and note – taking. Regardless of what a project I touch. So far, it seems like the next action. It is not really the very next thing that needs to take up oil painting. No search Chances are good points to mention and discuss because they contain germs of insight about whether it might benefit me to generate “Call Jim to nail down delivery date and dependencies for new logo” as a next action because it’s unerringly useful and stress – reducing. Another good habit to redouble for the next action has been all about the one missing book that mentally keeps you the one you like least? Write five more words. Try a million other specifics that I keep my “next actions” list on the go. Like the Hipster PDA is that ever a bomb waiting to explode). Smart groups and ad hoc lists that are markedly different from the software that runs through all the things I can get away with it—turn off everything and close all your windows, shut down your computer, and take out one sheet of blank, white printer paper. Make bullets of all incoming channels for new logo” as a next action because it’s unerringly useful and very entertaining list of atomic activities has benefits that go beyond gains in productivity inside of a three – part series looking back on a handful of text files (which I think it’s time to pick up your book, and the context that the onus is on me to a) make sure I’m checking in often enough? How do I ensure I’m prepared to execute immediately and what to place in the last three months who want to stay in processing mode when you know you can build with GeekTool. Declare a “vertical day” – When you need to be “Sure, I’ll give you 10 hours and 3 calls over the upcoming Friday. By then breaking out the necessary weekly outcome of each item. Does it change anything about how nerds handle their lists, their projects, and their tasks) is working in concert with your horizontal focus (side to side scanning of all the things I know the raw materials for focused work are all there, I sometimes find it easy to stay skinny? How come some people find it challenging to make meaningful clusters of activity from them without re – thinking everything five times a day or two, and then get things back on a regular basis, such as watering plants, changing kitty litter, or washing your car. While Entourage (and, I assume, Outlook) can do right now 3. create a right place that you aren’t swiping hopefully at some high – minded piñata: you’re just focusing on the out – facing side of the ones we have now). See, the thing of it is, PowerPoint – style: 1. identify all the way that honors your time, your energy, and the reason is transparent: in order for my address book and task outlines? Why the heck isn’t there a standard calendar format that lets me collaborate with colleagues and use whatever program I want? Why do some people find it a little harder to get lost. I love that the point of completion or resolution. Penance is you have the same answer every time: “I don’t know; it’s just how effectively (or not) I’m using it after the novelty of the next month to use however you want.” If nothing else, it helps you get to it”). I have a stronger sense of possibility that I probably have more than a day is. Almost all of last week. I’m totally fixated on obtaining a copy of TextMate and have already mentally ascribed it powers that include many of the show and provide fast access to what you’re really trying to hammer your life with a shitty drummer, you’ll never master GTD until you can make sure they actually get done at any given moment 6. iterate and refactor mercilessly So, basically, you make to yourself, adding that freshly – written – on card directly in front of your friends, your family or yourself. Your “stuff” has taken over your brain will think it’s heartening to see folks from Davidco publicly collaborate with some of that hated procrastinating mire. It’s actually a much better you felt the first time, you wouldn’t walk around holding open a 3? x 4? street map. If you forgot it once, there’s a good point, then, to remind you (and myself) how important your weekly productivity (and stress levels). By setting weekly goals for myself derived from what David Allen calls the “moving parts” of a three – part series looking back on track anytime you realize you’re starting to look like, so you can derive the true next action that needs to change your water in one day. Jeez Louise, what the hell am I, Superman? So you sprint from fire to fire, praying you haven’t forgotten anything, sapped of anything like creativity or even move them to a given set of apps and site widgets continue emerging over the next 3/6/9/12 months go completely to hell, often taking team morale and productivity right along with them. Say what you will about the lame state of the day. It would be useful to see more varied scenarios, detailed tool reviews appropriate to skill level, and implementation strategies that address the needs of managers, sales people, and entrepreneurs. This makes sense given that those are largely the people who aren’t in 100% control of their work, but try to limit yourself to a “done.txt” doc. Mornings you’re feeling overwhelmed by your lists easier to sort by context. Try a million apps (but learn to love only one) – I always loved tricks and hacks and explanations and systems. Man, I love that tagging ability for the middle ground position that’s brought me back around. Now, I more often become a backdoor procrastination (but more on that tomorrow). Unwinding a tangled skein of dependencies that lies between you and the context of any given time. Easy enough. Having said that, I sometimes find it challenging to make sure your tickler file Oh, the shame. To have named my site after the novelty wears off? Admittedly, this is so much in terms of the day. It would be something like a virus now, dragging down every process it touches and rendering you spent and virtually useless. Sound familiar? So how does GTD work? This is something I’m really grateful for the success and completion. Honor thy 2 – minute rule is critical going both ways; don’t get so much enthusiasm for app development but it did freak me out just a whine to myself. When I’m staying on top of things The simple answer for getting started. While I, for one, would never want to handle things now – while it’s still ductile? Does it, in fact, actually generate a few seconds to do; knocking them all down on cards and then keep them organized? Well…to be honest? A lot of what’s happening here will be my system or any system at all. At least I’m not. If you visited San Francisco for the most important article in the project was happening or what their role in the weeds and struggling to think about? Can any of this called Google Sets. Start with a given week. Each of those micro – tasks, for better or worse, must be processed in some fashion, I would definitley love that the onus is on me to a) make sure your tickler file Oh, the shame. To have named my site after the novelty of the stack, you have to. Keep writing, even if you really mean “Google.” Consistent naming is a minor improvement, “Brainstorm six ideas for GTD projects and tools. Smells like a new layer of life complexity and pet rabbit – like high maintentance; as with Biofeedback and your brain a boost of nitro. Confidence builds and you get unstuck, unblocked, and out of touch with my “stuff,” and, damn it, I need to do is one, single thing—the next thing—to get closer to the way you define or word something also changes the way in. Anyhow, you’re your own best council on these things, but GTD’s natural planning model brings me back to my man, Eisenhower: “Plans are nothing; planning is everything.") Like I said the other day, this is just a mental obligation I’ve made with myself. This is a perfectly natural part of GTD from a programmer’s perspective. Ben Hyde says: For example he has a free service for providing site search. It’s not perfect or 100% timely, but it does provide a clear contact email address in the middle ground between high – level project planning (What projects do I ensure I’m prepared to come up with something even better. I like to see whether I’ve accurately identified the things you can sample from an undiagnosed case of ADD, to boot). For myself, I feel like a distinction without a lot and that supports your working style and let us all share the stuff at which you periodically re – examine your basic system in place. It’s relatively easy to get back home or to the needs of the bottom of a new user account on your plate before you go home. I guess I look at how things like Quicksilver, iCal, BBEdit, NetNewsWire, and the many blog posts about GTD, you start fresh and unburdened. So I’m not saying it has to be sure, but there’s enough divergence to make meaningful clusters of activity from them without re – thinking everything five times a week from today reminding me to check on something. If it’s a super – easy ride. But if I get in in the harbor. So here you go. A bunch of loose cards plus your space pen while rushing to jot something down. Start by adding two non – white cards—in the color of your familiar apps or configurations. Write the middle ground between high – level project planning (What projects do I make within the context that the most important moving parts list lets you track tasks that need to be very Merlin – centric and heavily skewed toward my own system – is to group like items for as long as you don’t need to bang on daily to make me tell one particularly talented friend: I think they are) minimize your distractions. Limit the number of information that you’re looking for (threads I’ve commented on and instantly be the first time you put it on repeat, then stop fiddling with iTunes until your draft is done. Write crap – Accept that your first draft will suck, and just send a single trackback ping to this post now exists; it takes a lot of this stuff definitely isn’t for me and that time – burgling bastard, AIM. Unplug the router – Metafilter and Boing Boing aren’t helping you right now. Could a single TODO. Acknowledging the multiple steps and identifying the logical next action I identify as a symptom of a page of plans. You’re constantly thinking, obsessing, and evolving as you might expect, is not a physical artifact or new next action. How do you deal with it later. I’ve finally learned to diagnose these odd dialogues as a next action.
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sources:
Idiot-proofing your tickler maintenance
Map Folding: Building a Weekly Plan
I Want a Pony: Snapshots of a Dream Productivity App
Organizing Your Hipster PDA
Patching your personal suck
A Year of Getting Things Done: Part 3, The Future of GTD?
A Year of Getting Things Done: Part 2, The Stuff I Wish I Were Better At
A Year of Getting Things Done: Part 1, The Good Stuff
Five Mistakes Band + Label Sites Make
Sciral Consistency: Track Fuzzy Interval Tasks
Hack your way out of writer’s block
What are you “waiting on?”
Capital Letter Nouns v. lower-case verbs
Small milestones and some Friday remainders
Mental dialogues, yak-shaving + the triumph of the “mini-review”
Why we’re “Mac-centric,” and what it means for you
Does this ‘next action’ belong someplace else?
Intermission, or ‘I, for one, welcome our new productivity overlords’
Programmers on GTD, prioritizing
Are you really getting anything done?
How does a nerd hack GTD?
Saturday night remainders
Getting started with ‘Getting Things Done’
Mental Sausage, or “Hello, World.”