Gettings Things Done

Lisa here - feeling overwhelmed. Since returning from the good old US of A, I have been feeling the pressure of a million things to do and not enough time in which to do them. I have been reading a book called, "Getting Things Done" by David Allen. The basic premise is "get everything out of your head and on to a list somewhere" - but not just random lists and pieces of paper all over your desk (like I tend to do) but context based, project linked, organized lists that focus solely on documenting "next actions". The technique (is that what it is?) also gives you permission to ignore priorities with the assumption that as long as you have followed the gathering, processing and organizing steps, things will get done at exactly the right time to do them. For me this took away the pressure of feeling as though I should be doing the most important things, constantly, until all the most important things are done. This, of course, is a self-defeating concept.

Sundie brought with her a huge a difficult jigsaw puzzle. When I first arrived home there it was in all its overwhelming confusion, lying on the table in a bazillion pieces. In my "coming home" state of mind just looking at that puzzle almost gave me an anxiety attack. Yesterday I sat down at the table, and instead of focusing on the sections that were already started and looked as though they needed to be finished (my usual approach) I looked for the piece of the puzzle that appealed to me most and just focused on getting one single piece in place. After a few minutes I found one and what occurred to me in that moment was how many opportunities had been opened up by fitting in that one piece. Look, I could finish that flower part on the left side of the piece. I could finish the butterfly who just touched the bottom of the piece with the tip of a feathery wing. I could concentrate on the fern patch growing out of the right side of the piece.

With a clear mind once you get stuck in and simply do the "next action" so many creative and exciting ideas and opportunities are revealed to you. Here's to "Getting Things Done."