(This post is part of a series called The Mind of GTD where I examine the thought processes and attitudes that make up a “mind like water”)
In the previous post, I talked about the notion of “reflexive capture”, or the training of one’s brain to automatically record (in some fashion) anything that needs recording, when it needs it. All that is great and everything, provided you actually revisit your captured material at some point in the distant future.
Another fundamental aspect of GTD is that of review. And I’m not speaking solely of the weekly review, but of processing in general. When you peer over to see a mound of stuff in your in-basket, your mind can holler out any number of responses. For some of us (myself included), sometimes you know there’s that one thing in there that you know you need to move on. Be it a document you need to read, a person you need to call, whatever – but you don’t want to deal with it. How do you proceed? Do you take heed of that little voice in your head telling you “You need to get to work on the TPS reports – process the in-basket later”? Because at that point, you’re willing to accept any reason or excuse to do something else.
When this type of situation presents itself, it’s imperative that (assuming you’re not due in a meeting or something) you forge ahead. Just like the book saith, one item at a time. And while you’re rolling along, making decisions, assigning next actions, and generally kicking ass – you arrive at the thing you were avoiding in the first place. In the end, you’re going to have to deal with it at some point, so it might as well be now. Pick it up, look at it, and think. That’s what this GTD stuff is all about, really. Looking at inputs and making decisions. So, as much as you dreaded this moment, embrace it as an opportunity to improve. And you know what? You’ll feel much better once you’ve put that little nuisance in its proper place.
The weekly review will often avail similar instances of fish-or-cut-bait-edness. You’ll be going over your list of projects and one of them, which you haven’t moved on in weeks, will look back at you like a 2-year-old who just responded with an emphatic and attitude-laden “No.”. You’ll spend several minutes wondering if you really want to do it – or if you need to. Of course, in my humble opinion, this type of thing would either get a hearty strikeout line through it, or be relocated to the Someday/Maybe list where it will be revisited later. The point is, you need to decide.
Being able to quickly evaluate a piece of input and make a firm decision is something that comes over time, if you ask me. Much like the capture reflex, you’ll notice yourself improving in this regard over time as you force yourself to not dilly-dally around and just make something happen (or nothing happen, as the case may be).
Technorati Tags: gtd, weekly review, inbox, projects
Written by Brett Kelly
GTD