GTD

Anyone follow this organization method? I’ve tried. It’s an acronym for Getting Things Done. There are a lot of people who swear by this. For those of you who don’t know me—which is probably most of you—as far as know me outside of these pages, I’m a pretty scattered individual. Millions of ideas and thoughts race through my head at any given time. Sometimes it’s very hard for me to focus on a project. It’s even harder for me to stay organized because I tend to move from one thing to the next rather quickly.

I decided to come into the office tonight to prep for the week and I’m a bit overwhelmed. Piles here. Stacks there. Things I forgot popping up as reminders in my inbox. Sunday night and I’m overwhelmed.

I’m a firm believer in being organized. However, I need to get from where I’m at today to a point where everything is better structured. I’m having a hard time dealing with that GTD purgatory.

Here are some things I’ve tried and some things that have prevented me from creating a better habit:

1. organize the next day the night before. (some nights I’m exhausted and this doesn’t get done)
2. get to the gym at least three days a week. This is proven to clear my mind and help me focus. (get busy as hell and this doesn’t get done)
3. eat better and eat in the office. Going out to lunch is not only time-consuming it gets expensive and the thing is it’s not even an “experience” worth paying for. (problem is, sometimes it’s quicker to grab something on the way in from a meeting.
4. pay people to do the things I despise. (delegation has been very difficult for me. Money is the second restraint)
5. Check email and Google Reader only twice a day. (Great. But when you subscribe to some outstanding blogs, you just can’t wait to see them. They’re addicting. RedHeadedTomboy is a great example of this. By the way RHT, thanks for the shout-out earlier. You’re blog is at the top of my list for many, many reasons. I love her voice.
6. Call people back quickly, but only during two time periods of the day—same time as checking email and blogs. (Another great idea, but tough to do when you’re wondering what the person wants, needs or has to say.)

So, I’m sitting here in my office on a Sunday night. The city is abuzz below and I’m spending time on this blog post. A spit in the wind to all the stuff I just wrote, you say? No, I call it therapy. Thanks for listening.