I am on the brink of despair - please provide some advice

[alsa]

Thanks!

I really like that article.

It is alleviating my condition a lot. I read it twice and remind myself of the things I read and understood. I have had this urge to do about 3 things that I want to and that are important but instead I am choosing something else. The whole "levels" theory is described better in this article than in the book even. It has really struck a cord with me today.
Thanks again!

 

[alsa]

A glimpse of hope for me!

Well, I just had one of those situations where I normally would get all excited and jump right into this new project.

Well, it was a book I saw on Amazon that really falls into the category of books I like to read.

The decision for would have been to immediately run to Borders/order the book from Amazon and start reading it immediately.

Well, I really had to struggle with this but I just decided that this can wait as I am already reading several books simultaneously (one fiction book in Russian, one book on current events in English, one fiction book in English, and one book on economics/business in English - this is my usual regime and I usually finish this cycle every month. Right now I am closing in on the book in Russian and will have to just finish the other three books I am reading)

What I did with the book I just saw on Amazon is I just put it into my wish list site on there - I already have about 30 there that I am planning on reading in the next couple of years. So, a small step for me but the method of just saying no worked!. Now I can proceed with what I was doing before I saw that book

Another thing I am struggling with is David says that you feel good when you know what you are choosing NOT to do and just do what's on your plate. Well, for me, even when I narrow down what I have to do now (and I can tell you what I am NOT doing now) I still keep thinking about those things - they are not open loops at this point, I still can't get them off my mind.

I think what I am going to try to do is this Friday I will do nothing but sit down and meditate on all these things that I still consider open loops and decide what I need to do about them.

 

[alsa]

another suggestion I decided to pick up that I learned here is to do my daily journal in the morning.

I would normally do my jornal at night just before going to bed, but lately I have been just so exhausted from all my projects that I wouldn't even do the journal. Doing it in the morning (and also a quick 3 minute daily review on my Palm) jumpstarts my day much better. I was able to achieve almost everything today I set out today and brushed off distraction much easier because I knew what was on my agenda (and it was about 3 times less than usually). Maybe that's the key.

 

[intrigueme@aol.com]

Happy Thanksgiving Alsa!

Happy Thanksgiving Alsa !

This is now basically "The Alsa Post" - so I thought I would wish you the best for the holidays here.

Over the course of this thread - it "feels" like you are being weighed down by everything on your lists. This is definitely a "hazardous side effect" of the GTD system, because it breaks things down to the simplest level, which often means breaking it down into many pieces. The amount of those pieces can be overwhelming.

It seems though as if you are healing from this, and moving toward a better perspective. It feels like you need to shift your level of awareness up to the next level - that of the "Outcome" so that you can focus on what it is you really want. I think that one of the most helpful places to deal with that is actually Tony Robbin's work, in "OPA" or "RPM." It may help keep your focus above the minutia. There are also several things that he encourages, like journaling of "magic moments" and "Morning and Evening Questions" to ask yourself things like "What am I grateful for ?" This seems as if it would gel with your already existing habits.

This doesn't mean you have to "leave GTD" - just check it out, take what you like, and leave the rest....

It's my belief that GTD is strongly rooted in some of David's own experiences in Eastern Philosophy - including Meditation and Yoga (possibly).

In Meditation - the object is to "just be" and be totally aware of all levels of yourself, without the brain coming in and "thinking it" to an abstract concept. If a thought comes up - you (literally) "label it" (P-Touch Optional) as "A thought" (not good, bad, high priority or low priority) and put it off to the side to "Act On" later.

That is the purpose of David's Next Action Lists. To PREVENT you from Thinking - not to encourage you to "think about" what's on there. I believe this is why he does not encourage "Due Dates" or "Priorities" for anyting on there - because assigning those engages thinking, not "DOING."

At the risk of "genuflecting" to David (perhaps a respectful nod would be more appropriate) he said that it is OK to not be thinking about stuff - as long as you KNOW what you're not thinking about! Especially if you have stuff on your "Someday/Maybe" lists - it can sit there just fine, without any added analysis.

On this holiday, I would encourage you to "NOT DO" and "NOT THINK." Step away from all of your lists, and enjoy "Just Being" perhaps with friends and/or family that you feel grateful for. (If you are alone in your community, go out and give to someone else) I'll bet that NONE of the above was on any of your lists - but it is probably some of the most important stuff you could "do" or "be" today.

 

[alsa]

Well, actually I do try to incorporate my family and relatives and friends in the community into my life as much as other things. I do weekly service at my local congregation and am thankful for all the people I see and meet and encourage throughout the day. On this Thanksgiving I am grateful to many who made sense for me this year and tried to help me out with situations beyond my focus. Today I am having a wondeful meal with the family and all week I am spending a lot of time with kids like playing interactive games on the computer, watching cartoons and running around the house playing "monster"

Happy holidays everybody!

 

[Anonymous]

Alsa

You should be able to walk out the door, sit in the park, do nothing all day, and still feel excellent about yourself.

Don’t let your opinion of yourself be conditional. “I will like myself if I get this list of things done. Otherwise, I am not a likeable person.

The right way is to allow yourself to feel really happy about yourself, and THEN start on your list of things to do. You will be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to get things done when you feel happy. It will also be much easier to decide not to do the things that are seriously over-loading you.

Alsa, there are no rules. No one else on the entire planet is going to judge you by the amount of stuff you get done. They WILL judge you by how happy and centred you appear to be – that’s what attracts people. If you continue to set crazy workloads for yourself and let your entire self esteem depend on achieving those workloads, you will in fact spend the rest of your life on a tread mill without ever coming to any meaningful end.

Also, ask yourself this. EXACTLY why are you doing all the things you do? Are they all flowing towards some recognisable life plan? I went through a phase for several years of thinking I had to read all the great works of literature. Eventually, I forgot why I ever got this idea in the first place. Then I finally remembered that I thought it would make me a great writer. In fact, I should have spent most of that time writing, not reading. To this day I have little or nothing written.

DJF