The Art of Efficiency
April 28, 2010
Even the most outwardly neat individuals may still have cluttered minds. That's because most people haven't mastered how to consistently capture all of the incomplete items in their lives and plan how to handle them. How consistently organized are your thoughts? What system do you have for managing all you do?
One of the best books I've found on developing a complete system for personal productivity is "Getting Things Done" (aka GTD) by David Allen. In fact, I would probably say that I'm an informal GTD groupee. I love his process and like my coach did with me, I often suggest to my clients with time management or organizational woes to check out GTD.
In his book, "Getting Things Done", personal productivity guru David Allen stresses that "only when our minds are clear and our thoughts are organized can we achieve effective results and unleash our creative potential." Stress-free productivity is indeed an art.
Clear minds allow our ideas to bounce around freely without getting squelched by the clutter of the undone items we are trying not to forget. Additionally clear minds help us efficiently focus on the task at hand.
David Allen teaches the following core process for mastering workflow in any context, home or office:
When completely integrated, this process will alleviate stress because everything will be in its place, even our thoughts. Are you ready to learn the art of efficiency? I can give you an appetizer and whet your appetite for more while you learn some practical tips. If you want the main course, check out all David Allen has to offer.
What do you do for an organizational system? Share your thoughts in a comment!
Connecting learning to living and leading
Throughout your day, be aware of how many times you think of something you need to do but still haven't done. How many times did you have that same thought in your day? How much energy is this costing you? What can you do about it?
NEXT POST... Collecting the "stuff".
Are you overwhelmed with all you have to do? Contact me for a complimentary consultation today to get started on the path to stress-free productivity!