I was talking to my friend Randy yesterday and he mentioned this book he was reading about being super productive. "What's it called?" I asked. "How To Get Things Done Fast." I would have never picked out a book like this in a million years; I'd rather get things done well then fast plus the whole thing sounds really gimicky, at least at first glance.
The basic idea is that initially (usually in a few seperate sessions) you write down everything that is preoccupying you and eventually empty your brain. After having things down on paper, you divide things logically into tasks and projects. Things that take less then two minutes, you do right away and you organize everything else in order of importance.
Randy realized that all the ideas he had been thinking of over and over that seemed really kind of random and unrelated were actually all working towards the larger goal of making money back to pay his student loans.
The idea of emptying your mind and working everyday with a clean slate allows you to (apparently) be superproductive. And organizing ideas as they happen takes discipline but keeps you from mentally spinning your wheels about the same old stuff.
I have a sticky note on my Google homepage for those exact thoughts during the day (library books due January 27, pay cell phone bill) but I think a great cleaning out of my brain and an organizing of these thoughts would be pretty fantastic. Despite seeming organized and carefree, I actually spend a lot of time spinning my wheels mentally about money and other matters as I keep revisiting thoughts.
So the book is "How To Get Things Done Fast" by David Allen if you are interested but if you want to dip your toe into the pond of this organizational system before diving in:
Visit David Allen's website…
Do some David Allen brain cleaning out exercises…