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self-improvement
Aug. 19th, 2008 01:41 pmOne of the more tragic things that I did on holiday was read the time management bible, Getting Things Done, as it has come to me that I am desperately inefficient and timewasting.
A while ago I spent 18 months working for a company who didn't really need me, and some of the more appalling work habits which dog me now and prevent me becoming CEO of a medium-sized enterprise really took hold about then. Like spinning tasks out, or spending 2 hours surfing the internet rather than doing my overdue expenses in half an hour.
I don't get my own mentality sometimes.
Anyway. I read Getting Things Done on the plane and under a sun umbrella. I read it on the beach and in my bed. I am learning, oh f-list. I have now learned that there are people out there in the world who write things down and then do the things they write down, by the time they said they would. God, this is strong stuff.
*f-list is confused and eyerolling*
So far, I have set up his 'Next Action' approach to writing to-do lists and made myself a planner with 12 index cards and a binder clip. *basks*
You do have to ignore all the stuff that assumes you are the CEO of a multinational (which I think is put in there deliberately to massage the egos of all we office droids who actually buy it). But still! It's strangely compelling. The best bit of advice I have gleaned from him so far is his advice on setting up a weekly self-review where you gather all your outstanding stuff together(like your receipts) and process it. My. Word. Who would have thought. I never do this. I leave all that boring stuff for three months' time, when I will have lost every single receipt and be rooting through old coat pockets. I like bustling onwards to the shiny New Stuff, not tying up loose ends and (ewww) purging my files.
Anyway. I make fun of it all, but it's bloody hard. It's worse than exercise. Still, tiny weeny little work muscles are very, very slowly developing. It will still be a long time before I see the floor of my home office, though, and my expenses are still a bastard.
PS On a related note, I am developing a growing addiction to Freecycle, the service which lets you get or give away stuff in your local area. My consignments are becoming more radical and lurid by the day. Broken printer? Yes! Broken LCD screen? Yay! Books, books and more books? *piles them up*
The non-functioning computer monitor has been desperately popular.
Anyway! Share with me your amazing time management secrets! I know about diaries already!
A while ago I spent 18 months working for a company who didn't really need me, and some of the more appalling work habits which dog me now
I don't get my own mentality sometimes.
Anyway. I read Getting Things Done on the plane and under a sun umbrella. I read it on the beach and in my bed. I am learning, oh f-list. I have now learned that there are people out there in the world who write things down and then do the things they write down, by the time they said they would. God, this is strong stuff.
*f-list is confused and eyerolling*
So far, I have set up his 'Next Action' approach to writing to-do lists and made myself a planner with 12 index cards and a binder clip. *basks*
You do have to ignore all the stuff that assumes you are the CEO of a multinational (which I think is put in there deliberately to massage the egos of all we office droids who actually buy it). But still! It's strangely compelling. The best bit of advice I have gleaned from him so far is his advice on setting up a weekly self-review where you gather all your outstanding stuff together(like your receipts) and process it. My. Word. Who would have thought. I never do this. I leave all that boring stuff for three months' time, when I will have lost every single receipt and be rooting through old coat pockets. I like bustling onwards to the shiny New Stuff, not tying up loose ends and (ewww) purging my files.
Anyway. I make fun of it all, but it's bloody hard. It's worse than exercise. Still, tiny weeny little work muscles are very, very slowly developing. It will still be a long time before I see the floor of my home office, though, and my expenses are still a bastard.
PS On a related note, I am developing a growing addiction to Freecycle, the service which lets you get or give away stuff in your local area. My consignments are becoming more radical and lurid by the day. Broken printer? Yes! Broken LCD screen? Yay! Books, books and more books? *piles them up*
The non-functioning computer monitor has been desperately popular.
Anyway! Share with me your amazing time management secrets! I know about diaries already!
