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Getting Things Done in 2 Minutes

January 11, 2008

Recently we held our first Startup Princess Networking Tea Party of the year and we discussed the David Allen book, Getting Things Done. It’s already changing my life.

Warning! This is not a book for reading in your bathtub….it really is a book that requires digesting with high levels of energy to concentrate and take notes. But don’t get scared, I highly recommend the effort. It’s definitely a “must read” regarding personal organization and processes for managing “piles of stuff” so there’s a reliable system. Confession: I’ve been the “slightly scattered” Startup Princess and I’d really rather be the “organized and effective” type, so I’m on a quest to change my behavior and decrease my mental stress and burnout/ADD functions because “I have so much to do, if I can just concentrate on where to begin.”

Last Fall I digested Timothy Ferriss‘ “4 Hour Work Week” and it shifted my paradigm of hard work and enjoying life more fully and now I’m working 10 instead of 50, taking more time to do other things important to me, including vacations and family activities, service, etc. I’m over my email addiction (90%) and my obsession with checking my web traffic (getting a desktop computer and putting it in the basement was the secret there, instead of lugging my mac laptop wherever I went like it was my nursing babe). Now if I can just manage the 10 hours that I AM working with order instead of chaos, I think we’ll see great levels of effective outcomes in 2008!! So, I begin with Getting Things Done and have high expectations…afterall, it is a national bestseller, so I hope it will work for me too.

Because I am quite overwhelmed with the thought of tackling my messiness, I’ve decided to just take a new baby step each week. In the book there’s a workflow chart (you can download for free under “free articles” if you create an account on David Allen’s site).

In the book’s workflow chart it breaks down “what to do with stuff” by saying you should first (1) identify “what is it?” is it trash? is it something you need to keep for future as a reference? what do you need it for? Is it yours? Once you identify with the object and there’s an action associated with it (2) then you’re supposed to just do it then if it will take you less than 2 minutes. This is the teeny tiny baby step I’ve taken in the last several days and it’s really making a difference because I’ve realized how many quick and painless things I overlook often that I can get done in a heartbeat. I love it. Perhaps you will too…

images.jpgToday’s Magic Wand: If you’re looking at your “To Do” list or in box and you can “get it done in 2 minutes”, don’t put it off any longer. You’ll be amazed by how quickly things will start getting done and your mind will start feeling lighter because it’s such an easy thing to check off. You’ll start to feel energized and organized because you ARE…one baby step at a time.

What’s the NEXT Baby Step you’d recommend?? I’d love to hear your thoughts… what do you think is essential for reclaiming my space and my thoughts? If you’ve read the GTD book, what do you think I should focus on next? What has worked for you?Â

Written by startupprincess · Filed Under Life Balance, Startup & Grow 

  Startup Princess is an international network committed to empowering Women Entrepreneurs by offering resources for women in business to support, mentor, collaborate, learn from, and inspire one another. In 2006, after struggling to raise funding for an initial startup business venture, Kelly King Anderson recognized an important market niche existed for reliable resources educating women desiring to start and grow successful businesses, thus Startup Princess was developed.

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