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Small Things, Done Consistently, in Strategic Places

In my experience, the greatest successes don’t come from grandiose scenarios of good intentions engendered by temporarily pumped-up motivation. Rather, the most lasting and significant positive effects result from small things, done consistently, in strategic places.

—David Allen

(source)

The Bermuda Triangle of Productivity

(via: 99% )

The Size of My Post-It

If It Won't Fit on a Post-It (The 99 Percent)

Making Ideas Happen: Overcoming the Obstacles Between Vision and Reality

Breaking Through Roadblocks

The video below contains some tremendous advice from This American Life's Ira Glass. Essentially, Glass encourages creative professionals to persevere in their creative endeavors even when they know that the quality of their work isn't up to their own standards. The same advice could be applied to any profession or any endeavor we are passionate about. That is, if something is worth being done, it is worth being done poorly. Where the test comes is whether or not we're willing to continue doing it poorly until we find a way to do it well.

For those that have never listened to the Glass's This American Life, get in the archives and start seeing what you've been missing. Season 1 of the Showtime version of the show is phenomenal-- and you can buy it here: This American Life - Season 1. Those interested in Season 2 can check the official Showtime site

On a similar note, the best book I have ever read dealing with breaking through this type of resistance is Steven Pressfield's book, The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles. I think Pressfield should be required reading for everyone on the planet. It is one of the best books I've read in the past several years.

"I really meant to, but I didn't have the time..." Yeah. Right.

What do you have time for? (Slow Leadership)

What this statement actually means is either “I didn’t want to,“ or “I didn’t know how to,“ or “I spent the time doing something else more important to me.“

Lack of time is an attractive excuse, because it implies that you’re blameless—a helpless victim of stress, overwork, and external circumstances. Of course, you may object that you truly do have far too much to do and something had to be left out. But who decided what you did in the time available? Either you set those priorities yourself, or you’re the helpless slave of some all-consuming power that decides how you spend every moment of your time.

I’m much less interested in what people don’t have time for than what they do. (read more)

Jack Bauer, Blackberrys, & GTD...

I just received the following email from a friend:

So here's the deal: while I sit here watching last night's 24, I'm clearing email and Jack is torturing his brother. That sounds like productivity to me.

Any questions?

Michael Dolan: The Impact of GTD on Groups

Michael Dolan has a great article at David Allen's Coach's Corner entitled, The Impact of GTD on Groups (I would strongly encourage you to add this feed to your RSS reader if you haven't already). Dolan's point is that when groups collectively implement GTD, "they typically experience benefit in three key areas: Accountability, Focus, and Adaptability."

Oddly enough, I initially adopted GTD for myself for precisely this reason. Having left a church planting endeavor that lacked these elements in the realms of direction, organization and implementation, I saw the team-unifying potential of GTD-- especially for church planters and pastors.

Here is how Dolan sees the benefits of collective implementation paying off for groups:

Technorati Tags: Church Planting, churchplanting, DavidAllen, GTD, GTD CHURCHPLANTING, Leadership, lifehacks

The Metaphysical Foundation of GTD

David Allen, The Only Two Reasons To Be Efficient:

I have concluded that there are only two good reasons for handling this physical material world as efficiently as possible:

(1) The physical world is important, or

(2) The physical world is not important.

If you care a lot about material success or production, you will obviously want to maximize your output by minimizing your resource requirements to make them happen. If you make it easier to get from here to there, you can go from here to there more often. Or you can go from here to farther than there with the same investment.

And if you don't care about material success or production, because of a greater allegiance to spiritual or aesthetic values, you will obviously want to be distracted and engrossed as little as possible in the physical world you still have to negotiate. If you want the freedom to spend time being contemplative, meditative, or reflective, you will undoubtedly want things done here with maximum efficiency.

Either way, if you're going to do something at all, getting it done with as little effort as you can get by with should be the game.

For personal productivity at the more subtle levels, that means dealing with things that have your attention, as soon as they have your attention. It means clarifying your intentions, outcomes and projects and the actions needed to take to move them to closure. Thinking about things without actually finishing the thinking exercise and tracking the results is wasted energy.

I think efficiency has gotten a bit of bad rap in the last few years--in the equation of doing the right things and doing things right, the latter has gotten short shrift. But think about this: if you know what you're doing, efficiency is your only improvement opportunity. Getting it done with the minimal amount of resources.

And that's going to be true, no matter where you put your stores--here or in Heaven. Interesting that the people I know who are the most effective at getting things done with the least amount of energy are either the most materialistic, or the most spiritual.

(web archive via Ricky's RAM Dump)

Technorati Tags: DavidAllen, GTD