garywilmot.net

I’ve recently started thinking (again) about improving my organisation, and generally keeping on top of things. It’s actually prompted me to re-think my attitude to “lists” but more on that shortly…

I have literally just caught myself wasting yet more precious time, Googling, digging up eBooks on my removable HDD and “agonising” over which system I should use to better organise the various strands of my life. I reckon I easily chewed up a good hour or so, supposedly with the aim of coming to a decision on the choice of tool, yet deep down I already knew exactly what I needed to be doing.

So, I ask again, is it just me?? Is this some symptom of a mental state specific to me, or does this betray some natural tendency of a larger group to waste time?

Let’s be clear here, in my mind I was doing exactly what I was supposed to be doing, and the stated aim was a noble one that would produce a valuable result. Yet in reality it was nothing but sophisticated time-wasting, brought into being (I imagine) by my subconscious mind. Why?

You see, when you get to the heart of the matter, I have just 2 core needs when it comes to keeping on top of the daily detail of things; getting things out of my head so they aren’t forgotten, and a way of helping keep me on track with the things that need doing (instead of spending time on pointless exercises).

Forget all the fancy tools, drag and drop “Web 2.0” style apps, PIMs, organisers, spreadsheets and databases… my trusty pocket book and pen are all that I need and the implementation is simple…

Whenever something occurs to me, it gets written down in the book at the end of the current list being maintained. If it’s a really simple task that can be done immediately, then it gets down immediately and gets crossed off. But in any case, the thought is out of my head, it cannot disappear down any of the crevices of the mind, and it’s not getting in the way of other, more useful, thought processes.

The other side of the equation is to have the discipline to constantly work down the list, ticking items off as they are done and, periodically starting a new list containing just those items that are still outstanding.

In many ways the underlying principles are similar to the famous “Getting Things Done” method, but the implementation is a whole lot simpler.

As implied earlier in this article, this approach requires me to reappraise the idea of “lists”. I’ve long held the view that if something is important, it will keep cropping up and automatically grab your attention. If something is not important, it will slowly fade into distant memory. This is the argument I would put forth against the use of lists, and in particular the use of “todo” lists in various personal organiser systems.

I was wrong. When I sat down recently to work out a number of things that needed doing, I started to experience the re-emergence of old thoughts and ideas that I had no idea were still lingering in the background. It took me by complete surprise, but what was even more surprising was how refreshing it was when I blasted out all those lingering thoughts into a written list. My mind literally felt as if it had been spring-cleaned.

And so that brings me back to the original question, again. Given the recent experience and change in attitude towards lists, given the fact that I have had it in mind to use a simple pocket book list system for a little while now, why why why did my mind take me down the path of looking at other “options”?

If you can answer this, then either you’ve cured my specific illness, or you may well have cracked a major cause of procrastination – either way I’m sure the answer is intriguing.