OK, I've eliminated the index cards. I've got everything I can think of on some neat list in some neat Filofax somewhere. So why did I just miss paying a bill on time? Why do I look at a To Do list, even on a little pocket size page, and feel overwhelmed? Who wrote that list, but me? How can I be overwhelmed by a list I wrote of things that I want to do? So, should I write them all on index cards, because I find them less intimidating when I only have to look at one at a time? Well, I could do that...except that some of them started out on index cards in the first place.
Or, I could cut the BS.
If I have a phone call that's not getting done, is it because I feel awkward talking on the phone for other reasons? Or because I get overfocused sometimes and forget to pick up the phone? Or is it because a phone call isn't the best way for that particular communication, and I need to wait until I see that person in person next week, or see whether I have the person's email address so I can write my thoughts out clearly?
In any case, the list isn't the problem. Me is the problem. My system is as perfect as it's ever going to get. Deal with it.
There, I've said it.
P. S. You can read my notes about the above photo, and view all the philophotos I've posted to this blog on my flickr page.
I read a quote at 43 Folders that really rang true for me: It is more fun to shop for running shoes than it is to run. I find myself in that trap all the time. Not just in Filo-matters, but in everything. I obsess over the right vacuum cleaner, research it, buy it, then never use it. Similarly, I obsess over the right planner system, but then still leave tasks undone and goals unmet. Damn this whole "being human" thing.
ReplyDeleteThat's why I don't want to start doing GTD. From what I've read, I'd spend more time planning on how to get things done than I would actually getting them done.
DeleteAh, a quote from the great Merlin! Gotta love it.
ReplyDeleteBut when it comes to vacuuming, you're several steps ahead of me. I've rewritten "Buy Oreck vacuum; get free iron" in three different places now, and the brochure and order form are in one of the stacks of papers on the dining room table. (You know, that thing you're supposed to use for eating?)
But hey, I have a great excuse for not vacuuming the house: I don't have a decent vacuum at home.
Hello from another former PDA user who has returned to paper & pen goodness. On the subject of drawing in a Filofax, this is an enjoyable link: http://www.filofax.de/famous/
ReplyDeleteI think there's a post over at PigPog about the GTD system (and by extension, any "ideal" planning system) - the user has to want to do the tasks, and GTD or any planning system cannot make us do a task if we don't want to do it.
ReplyDeleteI also think there's really no such thing as time management, only self management.