ConnorBryant;110212 said:
Interesting. Wow. I'm not even at the level of knowing which end of the spectrum I fall on.
I guess I fall into a natural balance as time dictates.
If I had lots of time and was bored (which hasn't happened to me for 20 odd years) then I would spend lots of time on GTD stuff.
Of course GTD saves time and stress in the long run...so I guess I naturally fall into a rhythm where the time I'm giving it is around that tipping point of how much pay-off I'm getting from it. Don't want to fall into that "doing it for it's own sake" trap
To this day I firmly hold the GTD methodology, with the assistance of OmniFocus, of having catapulted personal success in different areas of my life. This isn't to say I've always gotten it right, or that i've completed most of my successes. Conversely, GTD has allowed me to handle more on my plate, from helping me enroll and graduate from a top university, travel numerous corners of the world, embark on totally new endeavors from reading to drawing my own personal definition of success in different aspect; all by the age of 25. I'm not always "on" or on "fire" but throughout the years i've certainly seen the benefit this methodology will have impressed upon me within recent years (since I turned 18 ) and years to follow. I've taken GTD and OmniFocus with me from rural cities in China, to the highest peak in Japan and to the classroom in the U.S. on a daily basis. I feel i've learned a bit about constantly changing contexts and running on zombie mode from time to time.
Sometimes I'm on zombie mode, finishing actions and not having my mind focused on the action itself, but nonetheless getting it done. Other times on the opposite zombie spectrum, I'll avoid my action's list for weeks and at times a month or two at a time.
Realizing the set patterns as an individual that I fall under, and hence tricking my body, physiology to further get into the zone has been the biggest challenge. It happens, but I feel it comes down to believing that #1 you are your weekly review, and #2 you are not your weekly review:
#1 The reason I get up in the morning and do what I do is because of the items in my OmniFocus system. I've taken the time to predefine them. These predefined actions and accomplished have been placed by me to see success and reach purpose.
#2 I'm not my weekly review because at the end of the day the lesson is to not take it too seriously. As a human, I can and have had the freedom and confidence to shut off the GTD methodology and OmniFocus and just BE. Just go about in the moment and just do whatever it is I wish to do. If that is nothing, that's okay too... but too much of this thought isn't good, which is why #1 needs to be discussed with #2.
I believe as well GTD saves stress in the long run and there's a relaxed elegance i've noticed when it comes to tackling actions (essentially doing things and not seeming stressed cause you're in control; something I've noticed many people flatter me on. Some seek advice, others rebel at my ease). Finally, your last sentence,
"Don't want to fall into that "doing it for it's own sake" trap rang a bell of previous history in considering i've fallen in between the GTD wagon and a wall, in a sort of purgatory state where I tell myself that I should be doing GTD but am not really invested so i'll create pointless busywork; but that's a different topic.
Oogiem;110291 said:
My goal is to try to get closer to Captain and Commander more of the time. I'd love to feel I am not falling behind with more things to do that I have time to do them in.
So to get there, what are the secret dreams you have now or had as a kid on what you wanted to be? What hobbies do you enjoy now or think you might enjoy? What is the one thing you never did as a child that you wanted to? Can you do that thing now? Brainstorm the wild and crazy off the wall scenarios and then see if there are elemenets in there you want to actually do.
My personal current issue resides in wanting and having too many things I want to accomplish in the coming weeks and months. Depending on the day such actions will lead to a burnout, before of after being productive during any said day. Therefore, I've been placing some items on hold for the time being, wanting to focus on the most important/pressing. This includes looking for work, health aspects and some things w/ relationships. As an aside, I've Responsibilities - Maintanence folders that house recurring projects/actions; how do I maintain and manage the ship running. You don't finish these; it's maintenance; relationships, reviewing personal finances, health, meditation, exercise..etc.
HappyDude Micro Manager begins when I couldn't jump in Captain and Commander mode (because this is where anyone would want to be). Just out of habit I'll fall into Micro Manager mode hoping perhaps on some subconscious level that going back to the drawing board will be exactly the final touches I need before firing the pistol in C&C mode.
Oogiem Crazy Maker mode (and this will be general) comes in when you couldn't jump into C&C mode, and again just by random chance out of personal habit, you'll bring out your version of the drawing board and draw up ideas as high as the horizon can see with big color makers and pencils. The only difference being the Micro Manager is busy organizing the markers on the desk (thinking a clean desk is a clean mind).
Oogiem, if you'll allow continue within my example here, both you and I can easily fall into the bottom left quadrant of being a victim/responder; an easy feat if we turn off our systems, an inevitable result of slacking off and throwing our dreams and successes to the wind. Headache resides here in the bottom left quadrant cause sitting idly sucks, especially for one having ambitions and knowing of a foundational system such as GTD to use.
In my personal opinion, this whole topic is about the Captain and Commander mode. It's about pushing yourself into that quadrant from any of the other 3; and how in some ways the Micro Manager and Crazy Marker are in a more vulnerable position to be poisoned by these areas in the long run. A seasoned GTD user, in my opinion, recognizes that the push from these 2 quadrants is the final 10% in constantly hitting the mark every time. As mentioned, this whole topic is about C&C mode and different people fail to hit that level on a consistent basis; for different reasons from fear of failure, fear of success, lack of congruence/confidence, etc etc. - Not to mention most of us implement this methodology on a single basis, knowing of no one else in the physical world that take their productivity seriously. But to the point, hitting it hard so as to fall into the C&C mode, recognizing what attracts you and repels you to that mode and becoming aware of when you fall into the other quadrant traps is what this is about.
My current hurdle: Going for the big rocks first and letting the rest of the smaller rocks and pebbles fall in. Lately I've been nick-picking at the small projects in hopes it'll motivate me to go for the big ones. Long story short, this route doesn't work.
