Some people need silence to be productive. Some people need music. Some people need an extreme amount of light. Some people don’t need anything specific. Some people don’t need anything at all.

To anyone who falls into one “some” category, they are not likely to fall into another. There’s a subjective nature to working environments. The same goes for distractions.

For example, I can actually watch certain television shows in the background as I write. Now, it depends on what I’m working on, but generally when I’m creating content I can have the TV on and have it actually spur me on as opposed to distract me. I know well enough which shows these are (I’m looking at you professional wrestling), so I don’t put on shows that demand my exclusive attention. I also don’t try to work on stuff that demands the same kind of attention from me when I’m watching wrestlers defend championships either.

As I write this, I’m listening to music — music that has lyrics. I know a lot of people listen to instrumental music if they are going to have any on at all, but I can work either way. I also work fine with silence…but I generally save that for when everyone is asleep (before 8am and after 10pm), and that’s when I can get the “heavy lifting” done.

Distractions come in all shapes and sizes.  They can vary, depending on where you are and what you’re doing. Time of day has an impact on what you can not only do, but what you can take in. I find that the morning is my “set up” time for the day, so I like it mellow at first before I kick it into high gear. When I do kick it into that gear, I find that my musical selections tend to kick up a notch as well, both in terms of genre and volume. Depending on how my day goes, I find that the occasional distraction is warranted.

What are the things that distract me no matter what time of day it is? Email and social media sites are the usual culprits. But I’ve learned that the reward of getting stuff done is more valuable than reacting to stuff not done yet  (email), or hearing about what others are doing (social media). That’s not to say I don’t check in every once in a while, I have just decided that it will be only “once in a while” as opposed to “several times a day.”

If you’re not able to be productive (a la GTD), one of the things you need to do is a Distraction Check. If you find that silence isn’t helping you, try playing some music. If instrumental music doesn’t work, try some with lyrics. Maybe put on the television in the background while you work on low impact action items to see if you slow down at all. Change up your atmosphere. Mix it up.

Keep in mind that the more you discover what distracts you and what you can work with or around, the better equipped you’ll be to perform in different circumstances and environments.  This knowledge can also serve to “childproof” your working habits, as I’ve learned from personal experience.

Reposted here with Rob’s permission.

Thanks Rob!

Reposted here with permission from the talented cartoonist Rob Cottingham. Thanks Rob!

Enjoy your weekend GTDers!

We’ve all been there!

I’m about to state the obvious.

We’re all human.

Ergo, we make mistakes. Like creating words like “ergo.”

Beyond “The Royal We,” we’re individuals. I’m sure you didn’t create the word “ergo” but I am pretty certain you’ve made other mistakes. I know I’ve made my share. For example, starting off this article as I have. That’d be one.

Another I make is getting off track rather than Getting Things Done. Hey, it happens to the best of us, right?

A prolonged stay in the “trackless void” is what some would refer to as a rut. I’ve been there. The place is as ugly-sounding as the word itself. Sure, it’s not as bad as cesspool, but it’s close…especially if you’re stuck in one.

I manage to get out of ruts now as quickly as I’ve fallen into them, thanks in large part to the Horizons of Focus. Sure, The GTD Weekly Review is a good place to start to escape one, but I find if you look as far as you can see the rut gets smaller and smaller. Soon, it’s just a pothole, then it’s just a bump in the road. By looking down the line to what I’m ultimately going for, I can dust myself off and start heading there once more.

Another benefit is that by using the Horizons of Focus as a roadmap to get you out of any ruts that you may fall into is that you get really good at memorizing them.

Trust me on that one.

As the first quarter of 2010 passes us by, I’m going to ask it: How many of you have stuck to your “resolutions” that you made at the start of 2010?

I’m betting that some of you – perhaps most of you – have faltered on them in some form or another.  It’s to be expected.  In fact, it can be preferred.

I’ve heard David Allen say you need to make a bunch of resolutions – essentially goals – and the real challenge is making some of them stick.  When I first heard this, I couldn’t believe it.  I mean – c’mon – surely we should have some focus on what we want to get out of ourselves and the year ahead.  Why not hone in on a few resolutions from the onset?

Then I realized that extreme focus on a few items might just lead to failure – and a more recognizable or definitive failure to boot.  When you only pick one or two things to work on (or give up) you’re only giving yourself one or two chances to succeed.  However, when you give yourself a large number of goals to strive for, you’re providing yourself with more opportunities for success.  We all know that one success generally makes up for several failures – so why not gear yourself up for potential successes rather than set yourself up for failures that stand out?

We go into a new year with more disillusionment than resolve in most cases because we’re trying to do too much in a short period of time.  Sure, you think it’s going to be a year-long journey, but in the grand scheme of things one year is a short period of time when you’re talking about goals and habits.  If you did a retrospective at the end of last year, you’re already ahead of the game.  Just keep focused on the end result – and there’s a lot of aspects of your life that you’ll want to alter to hit that mark.  So go for the changes you know you’ll need to make to do just that.  There’s a good chance you’ll miss more than you’ll hit, but those who are the best at what they do have found success despite failing time and time again.

Swing for the fences; you’ll hit at least one home run if you give yourself enough chances at the plate.*

*I had written five other sports metaphors before getting it right with this one.  I rest my case.

Mike Vardy is an accomplished, self-professed productivity and procrastination expert, as well as regular contributor to GTD Times. With his humor and wisdom, we hope you enjoy his perspective on doing things…eventually. Read more from Mike.

I was in the middle of reading and applying your book when I came home  one day and found it like this.

Yep my dog ate it on a day when he was bored because I was so busy I didn’t get him out for a walk. Did I mention that I was in the middle of applying your recommendations?  Well, I am keeping the book because I can still read most of it and it  is a reminder that I must complete the process I started so I will not lose any more books.

Thanks, Joy

~~

Joy,

If your dog starts getting more bones buried, odors smelled, and books eaten, let me know. (Most people haven’t absorbed as much GTD as he obviously had!)

Thanks for sharing!

David

As a follower of GTD, I am fortunate to receive many things, including the Productive Living newsletter. This particular edition included some “food for thought” about decision making, which I found extremely nutritious!

Information and accuracy

It brought to mind two things that I have often thought, and perhaps there is a link between them.

Firstly, there is a feeling that if we gather enough information about something that the decision can often become obvious. We sometimes even say things like “the decision made itself”!

Secondly, if there is very little to separate two (or more) choices then we often have difficulty in accepting that the inaccuracy of our assessment of the benefit of any choice may be greater than the actual difference between them; as in the story of the donkey which starved because it was unable to decide between two equal sized piles of hay. In other words, either one will do; and next time it might be a good idea to pick the other one so that we learn more about both!

Information and time

So, in line with David Allen’s thoughts on accepting more ambiguity and lack of clarity, the approach to relaxing about making decisions would seem to be to become comfortable with accepting a certain range of outcomes of our eventual choice, while working to gather increasing amounts of information so as to bring the estimated outcome of at least one of the choices within that range.

David’s point about increasing the discomfort with not making a decision seems also to be helpful, but by applying pressure in the opposite direction. As we become more uncomfortable over time, the perceived cost of not deciding is increasing. So, with time, we either increase the range of outcome that we are prepared to tolerate; and/or we accept that no significant new information is arriving to affect the decision.

I find that it sometimes also helps to make an assessment of how much new information is likely to arrive in the future. If I now know all that I am likely to know before a deadline, then (logically, at least!) I might as well make the decision now.

Information and blame

On a personal note, I have found one area where this issue seemed easier. I have limited experience (about 350 hours) of flying light aircraft and, in the aviation domain, I have found that decision making can often (but by no means always) be quite quick and easy. It seems to have something to do with combination of two elements, both relate to time (one in the past, the other in the future) and to (lack of) blame.

One element is the advantage of thinking ahead (the time aspect), often with the help of discussions with other people, about the priorities and what one would do under certain circumstances. This is coupled with the acceptance that if one follows a specific approach, then that is likely to lead to the most beneficial outcome (the lack of blame aspect).

The second element is the advantage of thinking back (the time aspect) again often with the help of stories and discussions with others, about what happened and what one might have done and why certain things occurred and all, again, without any attachment of blame.

The presence, in aviation, of these two elements together contributes to a relaxation in the present about the decision actually being made, which seems to be extremely effective in enabling rapid decision making. One might think that this would only apply to common situations or to preplanned eventualities and it certainly is effective in those cases; but the interesting thing is how the culture seems to extend the benefit into the area of one-off decisions in a way that is difficult to describe.

Make light work of it!

A somewhat comical example of this kind of thinking, that arises within the dry humour of aviation and that some people might appreciate, is the advice on the procedure for carrying out an emergency landing at night (something which is such a difficult situation that we all hope that we never have to do it).

On the assumption that the aircraft is without power and, therefore, descending in the glide in the dark, the version that I have heard goes as follows (with my supporting comments): “head for the darkest area you can find” (because, away from built-up areas, there are likely to be fewer obstructions on the ground); “when you get down to 300 feet, turn on the landing light” (assuming it is working and you know your height, so as to have a some chance, however small, to avoid obstacles); “if you do not like what you see, turn it off again!” (that is, if you get a view of lots of buildings, power cables or anything else unpleasant, then why worry yourself?!!).

Of course, although it is often delivered as joke, the real question is: so if not that, then what are you going to do under those circumstances? In this case, the answer is probably to omit the last step!

- David Allen (p.22 of Getting Things Done)

I was surfing the web and discovered that not only had someone written a similar play, they had named it almost exactly the same and it was a smash hit!  Talk about a body blow.  I’d spent the last few years working on it sporadically, and now it was never going to see the light of day.  Even if it was determined that my creation was better – that wouldn’t matter.  The early bird got the worm.

Once I found out about this work, I went through a range of emotions….

Disbelief: What were the odds of someone having almost exactly the same idea as mine, and executing it in similar fashion?  As a musical, no less!

Anger: How dare they!  (And then the rest of the language used was somewhat coarse.  Somewhat.)

But the one I ended up with at the end of it all: regret.

I knew I could have had the piece done years ago had I focused on it a bit more.  I knew it was my own fault for being complacent.  The only professional aspect of how I handled this project was in the form of “professional crastination.”  Clichéd as it sounds; I needed a drink.

Wallowing in regret is not a good thing.  But what you should do when you begin to feel regret is a tried and true method of emptying your head.  Write it down.  Capture the wave of emotion as it flows through you.  Make a list of pros and cons.  Do whatever you have to do to get the feeling out of your mind (because it will linger if you don’t) and resolve how to avoid it in the future.  While you can’t escape regret entirely, you can certainly learn from it.

What did I learn?  Well, I learned that I still have a lot to learn about keeping GTD in practice. But I also learned that I desperately want to be a writer – a creative artist.  I’ve turned my feeling of regret into a motivator.  I don’t want to be upstaged or upset by my own inaction again.  Put off and delay and prepare to pay.

That’s why I wrote this article the same day I made the aforementioned discovery.  I’m a quick study.

Mike Vardy is a regular (eventually) contributor to GTD Times. We hope you enjoy his posts as much as we do!

We’ve all heard the benefits of taking naps or practicing meditation during your workday can result in one being more productive. We’ve also heard how these things aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive – sometimes (often by accident) they go hand in hand. However, depending on your work environment these suggestions may not be applicable…or even possible.

I’m certain that many employers wouldn’t take it too kindly  if you were seen napping – break or otherwise – on site. That may not be fair, but welcome to life.  I also know that achieving a meditative state can be difficult, unless you work in a church, monastery or perhaps a library. What I would suggest to replace napping and/or meditation is that you look back to your youth, back when you were in grade school. Remember what it was like to have recess.

I had two short recesses and one long recess each day, the latter being sandwiched between the two (amongst classes, of course). The shorter ones were fifteen minutes long and they allowed for quick escapes into the outdoors and away from the rigors of schoolwork. We played foot hockey (only needing a tennis ball and a “borrowed” piece of chalk from the classroom to mark the goal posts at either end of the blacktop), role played our favorite television shows of the era (ours was V, and I generally played as Ham Tyler – Michael Ironside is the Canadian Clint Eastwood) or simply read a Choose Your Own Adventure book. No matter what we did, recess gave us a chance to recharge – and often that is the best way to get refocused.

Fast forward to today. We’re given (or giving ourselves) very little time to take breaks and recharge. Many of us eat lunch at our desks while working, while some don’t rest at all. The old saying “no rest for the wicked” may apply here, but I think it applies to the habit as opposed to the individual. In grade school we used to get a long recess that would accommodate both our lunch break and “mind break.” If you calculate the combined forces of both the short recesses and the long one, that’s an hour of recharging right there. Some of us barely get thirty minutes to eat in our daily routine. It’s amazing how our past recess has become today’s “regress.”

It even started as we moved along the educational chain.

As we moved from grade school into high school, short recesses became abandoned for a simple long lunch hour. This is when skipping class became a popular hobby for most students, myself included. Intense study began to replace interaction between studying. No more foot hockey (unless you happened to go to a school where they had a varsity team – highly unlikely), no more role playing (unless you were in the Dramatic Arts or spending time in the school psychologist’s office) and the only choosing you did during breaks was what you were going to major in.
Then came college or university. This is when the places you went to learn were described as “institutions.” Some made it through, some dropped out and some are still there – or go back because there’s always more to learn. There’s nothing wrong with learning and challenging yourself to be the best you can be. But even the best need breaks to reflect, recharge and refocus. Even Michael Jordan got a break between quarters (and a larger one between halves).

You see, recess equals progress.

We need to take breaks, and we need to take them often. I can’t say how many or how long you may need to take, but you need to take them. I don’t think anyone could – or should – try to absorb something that is vital in a short amount of time. David Allen has suggested that even if you “get” GTD after reading the book, you should read it again. And again. And again some more.

So I’ll leave you with the following “choices.” Now that you’ve absorbed the idea of reintroducing recess into your life, do you:

a) Increase the amount of work you do to offset the recesses you’re now going to take? If so, go to #1.

b) Dismiss this article as mere fantasy and continue on as usual? If so, go to #2.

c) Start your first recess right away? If so, go to #3.

Your adventure has been chosen…

1) You find it impossible to balance more stuff and your co-workers find you weeks later buried amongst papers in your inbox.

2) I’m surprised you took the time to read this. Think about that.

3) You bring the tennis ball; I’ve still got the chalk.

Interview – Part One

Interview – Part Two

Enjoy!

As you know if you’ve been reading GTDtimes with any regularity, I’m fairly new to practicing GTD and I make no claims of being an authority on the subject.  In fact, it’s a great privilege to be able to learn from so many knowledgeable and experienced GTD’ers as a direct benefit of editing this site.  Nevertheless, I believe that I can make a strong case for my statement above because my experience in another arena has proven to me that sometimes it is the choice to do nothing that leads to better results in everything down the road.

Back when I used to race bicycles for a living I had a problem finding people who wanted to train with me.  It wasn’t that I had no friends.  The problem, it seemed was that I rode too hard on my hard days and too easy on my easy days.  Most less experienced riders do exactly the opposite.  Their hard days are not intense enough and their easy days are too intense to deliver optimum recovery.  After more than two decades in the saddle, I had learned that having the discipline to take a day completely off and just do as little as possible was a key component in my training program.

Without taking the occasional day off your body never gets that chance to fully recover and recharge.  Your energy level never reaches maximum, you never get totally re-hydrated and in the long run, the twenty, thirty, forty or fifty miles that you put in while I was hanging out watching TV weren’t the miles that won you the race, they were the nails in your coffin as I rode away on fresher legs over the final climb.

Similarly, I believe that we all need a mental break from time to time so that we have the ability to focus completely, to make good decisions about what our most appropriate next action needs to be and so that we are capable of putting forth our best effort when and where it can do the most good.

In the geek culture in particular, there’s a sort of masochistic pride we seem to take in logging the most absurd hours, taking the fewest days off and forgoing meals and coffee breaks to prove we’re working harder than the next guy.  Frankly, if we were bike racers we’d be peeing off the bike on training rides instead of stopping like civilized people. (Yes, I know it sounds impossible, but it is actually something that a professional cyclist can do without wearing it – seriously) .

Peeing aside, the truth is that this sort of behavior leads to all sorts of problems.  As a double-divorcee myself I can attest to this being counter productive to relationships, but there are other costs that are equally steep.  Stupid mistakes like accidentally hitting the “send” button or misaddressing a scathing email, falling asleep in a crucial meeting or simply doing less than stellar work are all quite possible when you don’t factor some mental recovery into your productivity strategy.

Like an athlete who doesn’t realize that the body improves while recovering from the stress of training, not the training itself, an executive who works non-stop is cheating herself out of the mental recovery that can enable creative thinking, problem solving, or even simply relaxing enough to get a good night’s sleep.

People used to laugh at my training schedule when they’d see a day that said: Mileage Zero, Couch 9 hours – they figured it must be a joke until they saw me with the remote control a stack of videos and a big bowl of microwave popcorn – yet it made perfect sense to me to schedule my recovery with the same discipline with which I scheduled my other training.

The thing is I bet that not a single reader of this site has doing nothing as a next action anywhere on any list or scheduled on any calendar.  Of course doing nothing is a little bit hard to categorize as a next action.  Perhaps we should also add occasional inaction to our lists.  Who knows, you might just discover the same thing that I did during my  racing years: that sometimes a little bit of time spent doing nothing leads to accomplishing something much bigger down the road…

From time to time virtually all of us put off until tomorrow what we should have done yesterday. Most of the time we do this knowing full well that we ought to get busy getting whatever needs doing, done. What’s odd about this behavior is that in spite of our knowledge to the contrary even the most logical people would be hard pressed to explain exactly why they’re procrastinating. It’s a question that has perplexed us for a long time. In fact there are records of procrastination of one sort or another stretching back some 3000 years.

It’s also an ongoing area of study and while no concrete reasons why procrastination is so pervasive in society, there are ways that you can learn how much you tend towards procrastination when compared with the rest of the world. In addition, you can get some helpful hints on ways to improve should your level of procrastination be higher than you’d like and you’ll be helping science along the way.

Here for your idle-time pleasure (unless of course you choose to take this test when you should be doing something else!) is a brief test courtesy of Procrastinus that is designed to measure your degree of procrastination. It takes about 15-20 minutes to answer the questions and you’ll get your results immediately upon completion of the test. If you’re taking this at work be sure to close your office door