Motivation and GTD

[Danny Hardesty]

I am reading a fascinating book on motivation (always helpful in "getting things done") entitled "Unleash the Warrior Within" by Richard Machowicz, a former navy seal.

Basically, he uses the paradigm of target, weapons, and movement, i.e. the target dictates the weapon which dictates the movement necessary to hit the target. Although he comes from a military background, his advice seems helpful in business too.

He discusses positive and negative "self-talk", motivation, goals, working through fear, etc. A fascinating read and a very good book on motivation and a fine supplement to GTD.

Danny Hardesty

www.dannyhardesty.com

 

[cornell]

thanks for the pointer

Sounds like an interesting book. Your post reminded me of something I read in GTD that I think applies: At one point Allen talks about addressing two kinds of problems with taking action. I don't recall the exact wording, but the basic idea is this: If you're avoiding next actions, it's because either a) they're too vague and not concrete enough or b) you're not motivated enough to overcome whatever resistance they have. His solutions are (typically) clear and powerful: For the first case, break it down even further, and for the second, focus on the positive outcome (you're doing it for a reason - harness that to work around the avoidance). In other words, ask: "What is the next action?" or "What is the desired outcome?"

matt

http://ideamatt.blogspot.com/

 

[Gator Ash]

I thought it was an excellent book as well and it does mesh well with GTD. I especially like the sections where the author talks about focus and how it's created by thinking only about the target, which is eqivalent to the next action in GTD. I also like his ideas about distinguishing between primary and secondary targets which could be useful advice for GTD people who are looking for a matrix on how to decide which next action to take.