Sunday, December 22, 2024
Life HacksProductivity

Getting Organized

I have long been a fan of David Allen’s productivity system called Getting Things Done. It’s not a to do list, it’s not your run of the mill organizational methodology, it’s a format for getting everything in your brain – and I mean EVERYTHING – into a system that you can trust to do your stuff for you. It really is revolutionary and has a huge following among those who have tasted and seen that the GTD is good. I very highly recommend the book.

However, even having been a fan for many years, I have historically had trouble making it happen. Like any other endeavor, you need to DO IT to make it work.

Well, I just started a new phase of my life that will require me to get organized in a new and powerful way. And, like GTD, there is another tool I have known about for a long time but have had trouble implementing, and that is a program for Mac called Omnifocus. But lately I’ve jumped back in the saddle, and have begun appreciating the incredible power of doing a GTD lifestyle through the lens of the very powerful Omnifocus app.

If your brain is clogged with concern about trying to remember every last little detail about your life, then it robs you of your creative power. And your peace. But if you can trust “your system” – whatever that looks like for you – then you can relax, and also be much more productive in the process. Sounds like an oxymoron – relax more but be more productive – but it’s not. It’s all about the old adage “work smarter not harder.”

Too bad Omnifocus is not available for Windows users. However, David Allen’s GTD system can be used by anyone, and it can be supported by a variety of methods. Use a paper planner, a notebook, a computer program…there’s even an add-on for Microsoft Outlook. However you slice it, I recommend GTD if you find things in your life spilling between the cracks.