Like many people I’m a fan of David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD) organisation and productivity system. However it’s not quite perfect for me - fortunately it’s flexible enough to be personalised.

The problem I have is with “Context”, and from what I’ve read I’m not the only one. The idea of the Context is a good one that probably works well in a traditional office. It might be a place you need to be (eg client site or broom cupboard) a person you need to see (eg boss or someone important) or an object you need to have (monthly sales figures, key to stationery cupboard, etc). This model doesn’t work so well for those of us who work at home for ourselves. My main conext for the day is simply “Mac”. I’ve tried splitting this into things like “Mac: research”, “Mac: email”, “Mac: fun” etc but this feels like a fudge.

I could just drop the idea of context completely, however most of the GTD software tools out there support it so it seemed more sensible to try and make some use of it.

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Photo Credit: g-hat
(Creative Commons)

External events have meant I haven’t had time to update this blog recently. Which is a rather embarrassing failure of my own productivity systems. I had - still have - many ideas and draft articles for this blog, unfortunately none were in a suitably complete state to post. Lesson learned: in future I’ll try to make sure I have not only draft entries but also completed ones that simply require posting.

There’s also a wider point here: compensate for future situational volatility by optimising temporal resource allocation.

Which is management-speak gobbledygook for: “Make hay while the sun shines”.

Many workers in traditional day jobs are highly inefficient. Not through any fault of their own but through systems that force them to do certain things at certain times - even if that isn’t the optimal use of that time. So periods of creativity are interrupted by deaing with trivial telephone calls and stifling meetings. Brainstorming sessions are called at a time when many of the participants are still half asleep. Detailed jobs requiring concentration are scheduled for the post-lunch dip.
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I’m a great believer in the power of the keyboard as a productivity tool. Mice are great pointing devices, and if you spend your day working with graphics then they’re probably your best friend. But for people like me who mainly deal in words, whenever our hands leave the keyboard it’s both a waste of time and an interruption to the flow of thought.

Another criticism of the mouse as a control device is that it’s fundamentally serial access rather than random access. To perform a function you need to move the pointer from A to B via all pixels in between. Keyboard shortcuts allow you to effectively jump through a wormhole to your destination.

As a Mac user I’m pretty lucky, OSX supports the keyboard pretty well out of the box. However not quite well enough for me, so I looked for ways to make it even better.
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I do some of my best work with my eyes closed. I know, I know - pull the other one. OK so I admit that sometimes I also need to rest, however the fact remains that some of my best idea moments come when my eyes are shut.

Being focused on actions and tasks is usually a great way of maximising productivity. However there are times during any day when I feel the need to step back. This might be to consider a particular issue in depth, to brainstorm ideas, to take time to get the big picture, etc. All valuable actions that rarely appear on the standard “To Do” list.

For me the best way to do this is to put on some light classical music and close my eyes. The cynics can tell I’m not asleep by the way I’ll frequently be mouthing what I’m thinking or opening my eyes to jot down a note.

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I love games of all sorts, from abstract board games like Go to console based shoot-em-ups. One of my favourites remains Grand Theft Auto 3 (GTA3). Despite having played it through numerous times it’s still one I go back to.

What’s this got to do with personal productivity? The other day I was playing when it struck me just how well I knew the game world. I recognise landmarks, have a mental map of the city and can easily navigate from one location to another. I know the virtual world better than my own neighbourhood!

That realisation led me to wonder how much time and brain power I’d spent becoming an expert on one silly little computer game. It’s a lot.

What a waste.

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Since you’re visiting this site then you’ve probably already read Getting Things Done by David Allen . If you haven’t then I suggest you take a look.

Unlike some people I’m not a GTD “groupie”, however I do think it’s an excellent book with some great ideas. Just as important than the practical advice is the philosophy of GTD.

GTD is, at heart, about making lists. Lists of actions. I’m a great believer in the power of lists and of taking action, so it fits naturally into my approach to life.

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