Photo by JustaBoy
Recently I connected with an old mate from High School days who I haven’t seen for over 30 years. We were great mates at the time that Bobby Fischer beat Boris Spassky in 1972. We used to play against each other, both of us fighting to be Bobby Fischer this time. Alas, no matter whose name I was playing under, the result was normally a win for my opponent!
I’ve been playing a bit of chess via the internet with him recently, (He’s moved to Florida and just become a US citizen), but the results haven’t changed. But getting back into chess after a good break, it’s highlighted the need for any action to be preceded by some good hard thinking.
As I was trolling through some of my “starred” reading I came across a post by Danny Bader on this very subject. He says,
One of the most frequently expressed challenges by people beginning to work GTD is they do not have the time to Process and Organize. When I describe Processing and Organizing generically, I say it is the act of looking at new inputs (emails, meeting notes, mail, memos, receipts, etc), trying to figure out what to do with/about them and then organizing them appropriately. I then ask folks, "Ok, if we were to follow you around for a day, how much time would we see you looking at new inputs – sometimes for the second time, trying to figure out what to do with/about them and then organizing them appropriately?" Many in the group – especially those open to growth – usually get a smirk on their face as the proverbial light bulb goes on.
It reminded me of the time someone challenged me to do the following after I had said, “I don’t have time to process and organise” He looked me in the eye and asked was I up to it, as he would prove to me how much time I was wasting, and that proof wouldn’t involve any extra time on my part.
Interested? Will you accept the challenge?
If you feel you don’t have the time to organise, (my favourite is, “Let me just get this all urgent stuff done first, then I’ll try your system”), try this…
I’m posting mostly about GTD and eProductivity. If you want to join with me in this journey you can follow me by rss feed, by email or through Twitter
For one week, every time you handle a piece of paper, tear of one corner. If you handle it again, tear another, and another and so on. Once all four corners are gone, you have to ask yourself, “Have I seriously progressed this?”
You’ll be surprised how many times you handle each piece without doing anything. Improvise with your emails (add different coloured flags each time you look or something) and the wasted time will simply blow your mind.
Yes, taking the time to actually think about the next action for each piece of input does take time… but not nearly as much as not thinking!
Tags: chess, Danny Bader, David Allen, eProductivity, Eric Mack, GTD, Productivity
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Very clever way to address a common problem with GTD. I think as you say most people will quickly realize the benefit of processing and organizing after they see corners disappearing.
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