Last night I did a GTD presentation. I was offering the basics: collection, processing, and action. I was speaking to a group of businesswomen, so I began with the observation that they had jobs, businesses, children, pregnancies, elderly parents, community involvement, and more to juggle. Even if you get everything done, I said, there are still days when you feel like you’re running around like a chicken with its head cut off. And when you feel like that and you don’t get everything done, it’s even more stressful.
The women were completely with me there.
I explained about Ubiquitous Capture. Then we moved on to processing.
I had brought a bunch of Stuff for them. I had gathered up random papers, and then I’d had them write down things that occurred to them while we were working on Ubiquitous Capture, so each woman had an in-box full of Stuff.
Here was the thing that really struck me: how stressed these ladies were by the piles of Stuff. There they were with my kid’s Governor’s School papers, my Free Panty coupons, my sheet music and junk mail and CAPS appointment reminders, and each of them had the tight back and shoulders, the dismayed expression, the squirming that goes with being confronted by piles of Stuff to Deal With.
It made the discussion much more effective.
I was happy to be able to shovel up all those papers and things at the end of the presentation and relieve their minds.
See, I don’t keep stuff. If I had paper, it would take over. So I do things when I think of them (something ADHD organizing people recommend, if you can.) And if I can’t do it in that moment, I write it in my little datebook on my list. I recycle the paper. No paper for me! Only absolute necessities, like forms that must be filled out, go in my box if I can’t take care of them immediately. But if they go in my box, they get covered up and I forget about them, and that’s no good either.
@alissasorenson – That’s the processing part. But if your system works, that’s great.
I like the subscription browser, too. I told you I have time issues with your site, so I can’t actually go there except when I feel really leisured. So this way I can comment to you at a distance as it were.
But chanthaboune says she doesn’t like these reply things cause they mess up the comments — her numbers aren’t as good as they used to be.
We are in constant threat of being completely covered in paper, so I need to pay more attention to your previous posts concerning this subject.
@fibermom – I think your loading time problem with my site is the playlist on the bottom. I don’t know if this will work for you, but if you can scroll down quickly and hit the pause button, it will stop playing, and may allow you to load the site faster.
I have considered getting rid of it. But sometimes I like to listen to it, so… There you have it.
How does the reply function affect numbers? I have more comments than ever! Ha. Or does it not count the hit as a visit to the site?
@alissasorenson – Oh, good. I will try that. When I reply to you here, it shows up as a comment for me, not for you. I think you always get more comments than Chanthaboune does. Maybe we should go comment her, so she won’t feel lonely.