Prokratzination
Okay, it's the beginning of a new year, so I'd like to put forth a simple, slightly heretical, and easy-to-implement technique to combat procrastination. Three easy steps:
1) Fully accept that your current understanding of GTD (and whatever other personal productivity methods you have studied) is good enough -- that means, unequivocally,
"enough already!"
2) Quit, completely, one-hundred-percent, totally (can I say it any other way), trying to improve, tweak, or change your methods, computer programs, pda setups, and whatever else you regard as necessary support systems.
3) Stop visiting, at least for a month or two (or more), this forum, all other sites and forums (including my GTD with Outlook site), and any other resources that you currently think help you get things done.
This is a cold-turkey approach. Be bold; go with it!
Look, procrastination is an illness, and addiction, just as debilitating as any other. I should know; I'm a recovering procrastinator, having struggled with the disease for at least forty years (okay, if you haven't caught it yet, go back to the subject of this post and find my "middle name".) All this "searching for the next good method or program" and tweaking of approaches is nothing more than feeding the addiction. We continually think that if we make this one more change to our system, or add this one more computer addin, we'll be ready to go. Come on, let's get real. That's like saying that we'll get drunk one more time tonight, because tomorrow we'll get sober once and for all. Come on, let's get real.
Go cold turkey! I can just about guarantee that what you already know and have in place in terms of systems is good enough to overcome ninety-nine percent of your productivity challenges (okay, maybe only 98%). Focus on what you already know how to accomplish. Apply what you already know (most importantly, the Next Action). You'll be amazed at where you can go. Come back in a week, a month, or six months, and report on your progress. I promise that you will say something like, "wow, what was I doing all that time. It's so simple; I just stopped tweaking, and I never stopped Getting Things Done!"
Best Wishes to All for a year full of getting things done and improving your outlook.....Bill Kratz ---
http://home.attbi.com/~whkratz/ (one last visit and then that's it if you're going cold turkey!!)