Saturday, December 23, 2006

Getting Things Done

Michael has been teaching me the organizational system based on the book "Getting Things Done" by David Allen. He is convinced it is the answer to life itself, and I tend to agree with him. Yesterday we went to Staples and we bought the elements: a beautiful notebook case with a carrying handle, three hole punch, calendar insert, a contact list insert. Michael printed the sheets for me that he uses, and even bought me the pens that I write my lists with. Starting out with a "stuff" list on a small notebook, you then capture all the things that are taking up space on the great TODO list in your head, and write all that "stuff" into the project list, the action list, the waiting for list and the agenda list. Clicking things off your action list seems much simpler, and you move onto the next best action, until you check the project off as finished.

Does this sound like fun? It is! I am very excited about this and I haven't even read the book yet. I have already written four pages of stuff which is now safely ensconced in my new planner, with action lists ready to be acted upon. I finished two Christmas projects yesterday. The shopping list for the cookies we are baking today is in there. The list of what I would like to do while I am in Washington is in there, including a nice drive along embassy row to see the tasteful decorations.

The key is to carry the book with you and not be afraid to use it. I'm excited. Like mother, like son.

Have a great day.