50,000 10,000 feet - non runway items

[bunglenzippy]

There is quite a lot of talk here on low-level detailed practicalities - which is good - but I'm also interested in how to drive life from the higher level meaning and fulfillment issues. I know David says this comes from working on smaller issues but well....

Perhaps his system is designed to cope with stuff coming at ya. maybe we need a system for stuff going out to the world, not reacting to it (ok I know that was slightly unfair - but you see my point I hope.)

I have started with an "aspects of life" card and generating projects and next actions but I'd like to see how far other people have got.

What are other people doing?

 

[mcogilvie]

It's a common misperception that GTD is reactive. It is designed to handle the small things that we need/want to do, so that we can aim our focus higher. I use the GTD 10K-50K structure, which keeps things real. If you want a structured evaluation of where you are, how you got there, where you want to go, and how to get there, I recommend the book "Your Best Year Yet" as being as good an anything I've seen. My experience suggests that most of the material on "finding your inner purpose/fire/geek" through "discovering your mission/values/local pizza parlor" is of limited and transient value.

 

[kewms]

My experience suggests that most of the material on "finding your inner purpose/fire/geek" through "discovering your mission/values/local pizza parlor" is of limited and transient value.

I disagree. However, it's not an exercise that needs to be done often -- maybe once a decade or so -- and it's only valuable if it spawns tangible actions directed toward defined outcomes. "I want to be a writer" is useless. "I want to write 1000 words every day in 2006" is potentially very powerful.

(I think this goes back to the discussion of choices elsewhere. Making big choices, like changing careers, requires a fair amount of planning and lead time. "Finding your mission" is the easy part.)

Katherine

 

[mcogilvie]

I disagree.

Please read my words carefully, in context. I was not making a statement about the value of determining roles, goals, et cetera, but rather a statement about the value of most of the material, e.g., self-help books, that claim to help you determine those roles, goals, et cetera. I agree with your comments otherwise.

 

[kewms]

Please read my words carefully, in context. I was not making a statement about the value of determining roles, goals, et cetera, but rather a statement about the value of most of the material, e.g., self-help books, that claim to help you determine those roles, goals, et cetera.

That statement is precisely the one with which I disagree. Plenty of helpful "vision" oriented self-help literature exists.

It's just that none of it will change your life without action on your part.

Katherine

 

[mcogilvie]

That statement is precisely the one with which I disagree. Plenty of helpful "vision" oriented self-help literature exists.

I suppose we do disagree, then. I think most of the books I have seen are forgettable and derivative. Which books do you like?

 

[kewms]

The ones that I've kept are:

What Color is Your Parachute?
7 Habits
Finding Your Perfect Work

I also have a Bible, though I suspect that wasn't one of the books you had in mind.

Katherine

 

[mcogilvie]

The ones that I've kept are:

What Color is Your Parachute?
7 Habits
Finding Your Perfect Work

Katherine

I don't know Finding Your Perfect Work, but the other two are very well-known books, bestsellers that represent the best books available of their types. There are so many books in the Self-Help and Business sections of bookstores, and only a few are that good.

I also have a Bible, though I suspect that wasn't one of the books you had in mind.
Katherine

Actually, I was going to mention it earlier in this thread, but decided not to bring it up. Apart from its religious significance, the Bible offers a rich and varied perspective on life's issues. I am thinking particularly of the wisdom literature, such as Ecclesiastes and Job, but other books too. (BTW, I have many bibles at home, including hebrew, greek, and latin.)

I don't much care for books with titles like "Moses is my CFO" or "Management Lessons from King David" ("No sexual harassment of employee spouses!") which seem, at best, simplistic. I would argue that reading widely and well is one of the best ways to gain perspective and insight into life. But it's not a quick fix for life's problems.

 

[mcogilvie]

I have started with an "aspects of life" card and generating projects and next actions but I'd like to see how far other people have got.

What are other people doing?

Now that Katherine and I have taken your question off towards the great books of the western world, I am feeling a bit guilty that your perfectly reasonable question didn't get answered to your satisfaction.

I have a category (context) called Review 20K-50K on my computer and my palm. It looks like:

20K FOCUS AREAS (ROLES)
20K: Chair XYZZY Committee
20K: Albanian Book Club
30K 1-2 YEAR GOALS
30K: Find Sucker To Take Over XYZZY Committee
40K 3-5 YEAR GOALS
40K: Regime Change
50K LIFE GOALS
50K: Financial Security

The extra colon just sorts items alphabetically under each heading, which is in capitals to make it stand out. I don't keep separate lists because (as DA says) things at these levels blend together and overlap. I don't put in roles like "Good Father" because: a) such roles are really deeply ingrained in me by now, and I don't need the reminder; b) they distracted me from the roles I do need concrete reminders for; c) they seemed phony to me. Does anyone have "be an awful parent" on a list? That's just me. I know other people derive benefit from listing them.

I want to make two points about this list. First, in some sense, it's just another list to review. An important list, but I don't want to resist looking at it because it is painful, filled with unreachable goals and/or unkept promises. Second, with every list, at every level, I get to choose: do I keep the agreement, cancel it, or change it? I am free at all times to act appropriately, as I see fit. Reactive and proactivie behavior can occur at all levels. What I think is true is that you can often gain clarity as needed by moving upward.

I hope this example is helpful.

 

[cornell]

There is quite a lot of talk here on low-level detailed practicalities - which is good - but I'm also interested in how to drive life from the higher level meaning and fulfillment issues. I know David says this comes from working on smaller issues but well....Perhaps his system is designed to cope with stuff coming at ya.

I think this is one of the big holes in Allen's work. I think GTD is fantastic for the lower-level "coming at you" stuff - it's really made a huge improvement in my life. However, I've come to believe the higher levels, while crucial, just aren't there in his work. I was told that "Ready for Anything" was to address this, but for whatever reasons it didn't happen. I think Steve Pavlina does a nice treatment of the issue in The Essential Missing Half of Getting Things Done. (I talk a little about the issue in It's not about productivity....)

 

[stargazer_rick]

However, I've come to believe the higher levels, while crucial, just aren't there in his work.

If I remember correctly David says in the Getting Things Done...FAST CDs that Covey and others have done a great job of writing about the 20,000'-50,000' levels and he therefore doesn't see any reason cover it all again since there is already so much other good stuff out there. GTD is designed to allow you to get control of the runway and 10,000' levels so your mind is free to focus on the higher altitudes.

I was told that "Ready for Anything" was to address this, but for whatever reasons it didn't happen.

Actually, Ready for Anything is just a compilation of previously released newsletters, not necessarily with a purpose of addressing the 20,000'-50,000' levels.