Is he speaking to me? Too much to handle and not enough time to get it all done? Can David Allen really help me get to a place where I no longer have to have a notepad sitting on my headboard for all the nights I wake up and must quickly jot down the things I am afraid I will forget? Ok, I am ready!
Chapter 1 has taught me that I must get everything out of my head and on paper. I should not leave all my “to dos” in my head taking up my RAM. I must start by developing a method for capturing anything and everything that is unfinished. Next I must clarify exactly what the commitment is and decide what must be done next, if anything, to make progress toward fulfilling it. Once I have decided on the actions to take, there has to be a way to keep reminders of them organized in some structure or system I will come back to and review regularly. One interesting thing I learned is a project is not something you do, but a series of tasks that must be accomplished to finish a project. Once I get everything out of my head and on paper, the idea is I should have a “mind like water”, well here I go.
I found some quiet time and started working on my collection of tasks, projects, home projects, etc., that need to be finished. Needless to say this is an ever-growing list. I do find it to be quite calming just getting all this information out of my head and on paper.