SubscribeIt’s been several weeks since I’ve posted about my progress with David Allen’s “Getting Things Done†system. While I still haven’t had the opportunity to do my full-blown purge and brain dump, implementing even aspects of the system has helped to significantly shift in the way I manage my stuff. In the intervening weeks, I’ve implemented few more gems that have really helped me stay on top of things, one of which relates to filing.
There are several things that Allen’s suggests that really break some of my own organizational rules. I’m not sure where the rules came from (most likely from jobs in previous careers that involved organizing other people’s stuff), but they stuck and stuck hard. It’s such a relief to discover other ways that mesh much better with my natural way of being. The idea of buying hundreds of file folders and creating files on the fly was so freeing. For whatever reason, in my world, file folders were reserved for only the most permanent of files. Things I needed to retain indefinitely, like client records, tax documents, bank statements, restaurant menus, etc.
With my newly attained freedom, I’m working on my third box of file folders! Creating files for short term projects and miscellaneous information has a pretty fantastic impact. I feel like I’m on my way to building a system that I really trust. I realized this earlier in the week as I headed out various meetings or prepared for phone calls. I was able to make one pit stop and find all of the information I needed related to the topic at hand by just flipping through the alphabet. No sorting through stacks of papers, notebooks, binders, or looking through the desk and assorted in/out baskets. Everything I needed was just where I expected it to be and it felt grand!
The result has been a little extra bounce in my step. Like, I’m really pulling it together as I build a system I trust to manage my personal and business lives, and I’m creating better work/life balance in the process.
Tags: Getting Things Done, Organization, Productivity, Work/Life Balance
Thanks, Manny. I agree it’s one of this year’s best finds. I’m actually considering forming a mastermind group on using GTD because even in bits and pieces, it’s just so powerfully effective.
Thanks for writing about your GTD experience. It’s been about a year since I started GTD. I find it liberating not to have to remember all of the things that really should be in files and on lists. It’s definitely one of my top “finds” of the last year.
Manny
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