Tag: “Work & Life”

I often receive emails from people who tell me the difficulties they find to implement GTD. I have detected a pattern that is repeated often enough, so I decided to write this article.

Something that all the people interested in the existing methods of personal organization and productivity have in common is a deep desire to reach a future state much better than today’s. These people have control over what is happening and, therefore, seek ways to do things better, faster or easier. They are people willing to admit that they might need to change some habits. This leads to a paradox: people who want to be more productive are actually those who need it the least.

Well, you should. Especially in these times. Because the current crisis is not going to leave things as before. Yes, some day it will end, but the way that companies and individuals look at each other will never be the same.

Routines are sets of actions we perform frequently, almost automatically, without much effort. They are mechanisms we devise to make our life easier. By turning many of the things we have to do into routines, we establish habits that allow us to free our brain, since they are tasks of which we do not have to think too much to carry them out.

One of the most frustrating things when you have managed to establish a personal productivity system that works for you, is to realize that the others do not give a damn about your productivity. You just need to decide to tackle a task that requires total concentration and an idle co-worker will come and start telling you whatever story. You just need to decide to sort out your personal finances and your partner will tell you she feels like going out for a walk and, of course, what you are doing can wait.