Comments on: Things I’ve learned about Time Management

By: GTD

GTD — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 12:08:26 +0000

[...] http://compoundthinking.com/blog/index.php/2009/12/01/things-ive-learned-about-time-management/ [...]

By: Felix

Felix — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 11:45:51 +0000

Im so confuse about time manage,thx

By: Dave Allan

Dave Allan — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 10:35:27 +0000

Good tips. I definitley agree with leaving a little slack in your life. I did the opposite for along time and learned the hard way as well. Does anyone know about scheduling/ calendar programs? I know of meebee.com and meet-0-matic.com. Do you think they’re worth using? Thanks

By: Bonne Vie - Wholestyle on the Web: Week of 12/11/2009

Bonne Vie - Wholestyle on the Web: Week of 12/11/2009 — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 19:24:01 +0000

[...] Compound Thinking: Things I’ve Learned about Time Management Don’t do it, avoid thrashing, and how saying “no” lets you say “yes” [...]

By: Things I’ve learned about Time Management « Paulmanac

Things I’ve learned about Time Management « Paulmanac — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 05:41:48 +0000

[...] Things I’ve learned about Time Management Filed under: Links No Comments Comments (0) Trackbacks (0) ( subscribe to comments on this post [...]

By: Mark Ramm

Mark Ramm — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:28:00 +0000

Really, I don’t think the “is it actionable” question is functionally equivalent to “should I take action on this?”

By: Craig Maloney

Craig Maloney — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 05:41:41 +0000

Also, I’ve found the opposite of thrash in my process, and that’s resource starvation. I’ve become so engrossed with something that I don’t allow myself to unhook and take care of other things that need some attention. It’s like I need a little bell or something to ding and say “OK, enough on this, move on to something else”.

By: Craig Maloney

Craig Maloney — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 05:39:55 +0000

Actually, on the workflow diagram, there’s an initial step of asking if it’s actionable. If it’s not, then there’s the Eliminate (throw it out), Incubate (save it for later), or Reference (file it). It’s only after deciding if it’s actionable that the Do it, Defer it, or Delegate it comes into play. And even at the Do it level, the next action may be to respond to the person asking for something to “go fly a kite”.

It’s not a perfect system (I’m still trying to figure out how to get GTD to manage an ever-changing ticket list), but it does manage some of the stress.

Also, if you’re not doing the Weekly Review, you’re already in a world of hurt. Been there way too many times. :)

By: Chris Mahan

Chris Mahan — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 01:34:09 +0000

Outstanding!

I completely agree.

The quote that comes to mind:

Diplomacy is the art of saying “go to hell” in a way that makes them look forward to it.

I think there should be a quote that goes like this:

Saying No in a way that makes them feel you still want to be friends.

By: Mark Ramm

Mark Ramm — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:28:38 +0000

I understand that GTD doesn’t really mean that you can’t say no. But the “Do It, Defer It, or Delegate It” mantra certainly doesn’t promote the idea that you have to say no, or highlight the importance of constraining the work that flows into the system.

And David Allen certainly never discusses the costs of thrash, or any of the queue theory stuff that made me realize how important managing the flow of work through my personal schedule is.

By: Thinking about the Dip | Compound Thinking

Thinking about the Dip | Compound Thinking — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:52:04 +0000

[...] Thinking about programming in new ways « Things I’ve learned about Time Management [...]

By: Kevin Horn

Kevin Horn — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:41:28 +0000

Great ideas here, Mark. The same “slack in the system” idea could also be applied to just about anything…money comes to mind.

By: DaveO

DaveO — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:32:14 +0000

Good article. I agree with the others that saying no is a part of the GTD workflow, but there’s an understated assumption about that workflow that’s relevant here: you gotta know what your goals are. Also, GTD isn’t about time management. It’s worth picking up some time management techniques, like Pomodoro, to augment GTD.

By: zoredache

zoredache — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:12:10 +0000

The fourth option you are trying to add is really part of the first. The first option isn’t really ‘do it’. More accurately it is ‘process it’. Choosing to immediately decline a request is part of that option.

By: Pistahh

Pistahh — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:33:51 +0000

Actually “don’t do it” or “throw it away” is part of the original GTD process. It was not David Allen leading you wrong. ;)