As I work through processing my inbox, it seems as though I have already implemented many of David Allen’s ideas in my own personal systems; usually I go through all my things, sort them out; and I have a well-developed filing system.<\/p>\n
But there is one area where I fall pitifully short: completion of projects. Luckily, I know that I am a procrastinator, so when other people depend on me for completion (like at work), I over-compensate and frequently develop a reputation for being very organized (ha!) and efficient (double ha!) It is with my personal projects where the worst of me takes over; I have dozens and dozens of unfinished projects lingering around my home office space – and uncovering them now is daunting, and making me feel queasy.<\/p>\n
When I come upon an un-fun project or even an un-fun piece of paper, I tend to stuff it back into the inbox at the bottom – so in other words, some things never make it out of my inbox; they just build a makeshift shelter and set up a life waiting for me to get around to them. Well, in Getting Things Done<\/strong> (or GTD), Allen insists that the inbox must be gone through – all the way to the bottom – razed to ground zero. That is hard. Really, really hard.<\/p>\n I have been working steadily all morning and making great progress; however, I have, one, two, three… yes, the equivalent of eleven boxes left to go. sheesh. I feel like I’ve been fighting all morning. I even have sweat on my brow.<\/p>\n And I just opened a box labeled “Office, misc” ; that’s the worst kind: bits of ribbon, ungiven gifts, mixed cassette tapes from college – sometimes, I literally have to close my eyes and put my hand in. I am only allowed to pull one thing out at a time.<\/p>\n If the action can be done in under two minutes, do it now. If not, figure out the next action, and put it on a list. Gulp. And tomorrow I give myself a break. I’m headed back out to the desert to meet my new tenant, see some friends, and attend the monthly Money Club.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As I work through processing my inbox, it seems as though I have already implemented many of David Allen’s ideas in my own personal systems; usually I go through all my things, sort them out; and I have a well-developed … Continue reading
\nBut, I finally have all the wedding gifts\/envelopes in one spot, and all the outstanding bills from my former life as unmarried me have been paid. That’s not a bad start.<\/p>\n