Getting Things...Stuck?

I'm noticing a proliferation of blog posts (for example, Punkey alludes to it,  as does Steve Pavlina) in which people talk about how they are "stuck" with GTD (David Allen's "Getting Things Done") or have some fundamental issue with keeping it going. What's up with that?

I've had my own challenges with this. I started out loving the GTD system, then got a bit "stuck" and started to feel like I had gotten a lot of things done, but wasn't feeling all that good about them because they didn't feel focused.

I think it's partially about rigor and consistency around GTD - that's hard to maintain sometimes. I also think the Weekly Review is a big part of making it work, and that's one of the first things to go when life gets hectic.

Without a Weekly Review, items get stagnant in my lists (and they begin to repel me, so it feeds on itself).

Another aspect of this challenge: I think you have to inject the higher calling into your processing of your lists and planning of your week. I totally neglected this for a while (David Allen's "50,000 foot view" is part of this, as is the Covey Mission Statement). That's so touchy feely and introspective, I figured I'd get to it later. Trouble is, it wasn't even on my Someday / Maybe list.

The price of freedom is eternal vigilance - and that applies for GTD, too. I am not giving up - just continuing to try to learn and improve.

What's your experience been like?

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In praise of Powell's

I was just reading a post over on Slacker Manager talking about how great Powell's book store is. I couldn't agree more.

Apparently Bren, the author of Slacker Manager, lives somewhere near me here in the Portland, Oregon area - I work about 2 blocks from Powell's Burnside location, and live about 4 miles from the Beaverton location he mentions.

As a voracious reader (as opposed to a friend of mine who's a ferocious reader), living near a Powell's has its advantages - when I want a book, I can look it up online at Powell's site, see which locations have it in stock, see which section it's located in, and run over and pick it up right now.

Even if you don't live near Powell's, you can take advantage of their mind-boggling selection and great prices. They'll ship stuff to you, of course.

Oh - and they buy and sell used books, too.

And, as Bren mentions, Powell's is now offering RSS feeds!

They don't call it the "City of Books" for nothing. Take the City Tour and check it out.

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Keeping score and self-improvement

In my last post, I wrote about how Benjamin Franklin recorded and focused on his Virtues. This was part of what he called his "Moral Perfection Project." Many of us who have goals, mission statements, and the like. But how can you tell if you're doing better or worse in moving toward those aspirations?

In Walter Isaacson's book, he describes the system Ben Franklin used to track his progress as he tried to improve himself - perhaps Ben's approach will work for you. On the pages of the notebook he carried with him everywhere, Franklin made a chart with seven red columns for the days of the week and thirteen rows labeled with each of his 13 Virtues.

Each week, he focused on one line without worrying about the other lines, moving through all of them in sequence. For example, in the first week of the cycle, he focused on temperance, and any infractions were marked with a black spot of ink. In the course of a year, he would complete the thirteen week cycle four times.

By choosing one focus area each week and tracking our own infractions against that focus areas in a similar way, we might derive some of the same benefits as Benjamin Franklin.

This is another instance in which we can take courage from the fact that Franklin himself struggled with self-improvement. In fact, Isaacson's book states, Franklin's book became full of holes as he erased the marks so he could reuse pages (he eventually moved to more durable materials that could withstand being wiped clean). Franklin is quoted as saying, 'I was surprised to find myself so much fuller of faults than I had imagined."

Hear, hear!

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Do you like a speckled ax?

I'm reading Walter Isaacson's "Benjamin Franklin: An American Life" right now, and it's interesting how relevant it is to some of the things I'm focusing on (and struggling with). I'd always heard that Franklin carried a notebook with him, and that he wrote down his virtues (core values) and systematically worked to improve himself in those specific areas.

What I didn't know was how tempted he was to not do those things. For example, one of the virtues he struggled with was:

"Order: Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time."

Hey - that sounds like something I'd like to do, and something I work on!

How relieved I was to find out that Franklin had trouble with that one, too. According to Isaacson's account:

[Franklin] likened himself to the hurried man who goes to have his ax polished but after a while loses patience and declares, "I think I like a speckled ax best."

I certainly identify with that one. Pick up this book (click on the title above to see it on Powell's, the best bookstore in the world) if you haven't read it - it's very well done, and great for aspiring productivity geeks like me.

Next time I'll talk about how Franklin kept score to track how well he did with his Virtues.

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The joy of emptiness

Whew. I just returned from a business trip and had a nice, long, 5+ hour flight home last night. It was great. Why?

That time gave me the chance to do a weekly review and get my inboxes to empty for the first time since... can you believe it... January 6. Man, that had been bugging me.

It's been a busy year both personally and professionally so far, and I kept putting off the core of David Allen's Getting Things Done - I wasn't doing my weekly review.

If you've never basked in the glow of an empty inbox, you don't know what you're missing. And the weekly review is the only way to get there feeling clean, fresh, and new. (The delete all method just makes you paranoid - trust me on that one.)

So why had I been so lame on weekly reviews? Clues were raining down on me - undoubtedly attracted by my guilty subconscious and aided by happenstance or divine intervention.

I was succumbing to the Resistance I'd read about in The War of Art, which someone happened to suggest to me when I really needed to read it. I found a nice diversion in trying out an Audiovox xv6600 Pocket PC in one of the "new device binges" I mentioned a while back (I just switched back to my trusty Treo 600 using GoodLink for mail and calendaring, and using Chapura's KeySuite for synching my notes and action lists with Outlook). Even as I wrote about them here, I was falling into the same old patterns.

Thank goodness for long flights with bad movies. Thank goodness for an empty inbox.

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Caveat Mentor

Along the lines of my last post, I've been talking with some folks about business mentoring. Based on those conversations, I have a strawman set of ideas I'd like to float out there:

Mentoring is about intent

Start the relationship with your mentor understanding what each of you intends to give and get in this equation. It is even more powerful if you write down the intended results and what each person is committing to do (or not do) in the relationship.

Mentoring is not aimless conversation

Mentoring is best when focused on a particular improvement area, or a series of finite focus areas. For example, if you have one aspect of your life or skills you'd like to be coached on, decide on a goal for that area and focus on it until you consider it "done enough" to close it off, then move to the next area of focus.

Mentoring is about openness

If you are the mentor, be open and direct with the "mentee." If you are the mentee, remember that you asked for this help and try to apply what your mentor is suggesting.

It may take a while to build mutual trust, so stick with it for a bit if it feels uncomfortable at first.

Mentoring should not be vague or scary

If you are seeking a mentor, don't get too caught up in the "I'm not worthy" trap. Writing down a specific thing (or things) you would like to learn from the mentor will make this easier for both parties.

Review your objectives with your prospective mentor so they can let you know whether they can really help. 

If you are asked to be a mentor, don't get too caught up in the "I'm not worthy" trap. You're being asked out of respect (and admiration), and you probably have some good perspective to share.

Mentoring is about commitment and mutual value

Don't enter into a mentoring relationship lightly. Both sides must commit to the relationship and do their part to keep it productive and on course. In a productive mentoring relationship, you should walk away from each meeting feeling energized and supported, even though you may also feel challenged and humble.

Those are some of my observations so far. I'd love your input  on other aspects, omissions, or things you think I've gotten wrong.

Also, one of the things I haven't cracked the code on just yet:

How do you find a great mentor?

I've been fortunate in my life in that I find myself in the midst of Great people and have been able to get some great mentoring along the way. Maybe it's just "tuning my radio to the right frequency" and I listen to the mentor channel. I don't know.

For those of you that have sought your own mentors and found them, what worked?

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