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The Now Habit

I have worked with a lot of procrastinators over the years and from time to time I have fallen into the pattern myself. Niel Fiore's The Now Habit describes a deceptively simple formula for overcoming this problem. In pat, it involves: focusing on your Done list rather than your To Do list and recording how you actually spend your time, scheduling pleasurable activities so they immediately follow a small block of effective work, and reversing the power relationships we map out in our mind about large projects. Very good stuff. Posted: 9/27/05; 11:12:14 AM #

Getting Things Done

David Allen's Getting Things Done is incredibly popular these days. I can see why. He takes an honest approach to the workflow issues that keep people from being clearheaded enough to focus. He is weak on the big picture, but I agree with his central assertion that it's very hard to get a handle on the big picture, when we are struggling with hundreds of little tasks that, in essence, have no place to go. When I was teaching time management, I used to do this little exercise about focus. I asked people to look around their work station and count how many messages were coming at them with some kind of call to action, including their calendar and to do lists, post it notes, in boxes, random pieces of paper, project plans on the wall, and so forth. Allen's techniques tackle this confusion head on. Posted: 9/27/05; 11:07:45 AM #

Getting Things Done When You Are Not in Charge

I first read Getting Things Done When You Are Not in Charge, by Geoffrey Bellman, back when I was teaching Time Management and Burnout workshops at an agency I founded called GoodWorks. My approach to time management had grown to be fairly radical at this point, with a strong emphasis on the power relationships behind so-called time management issues. I had discovered that most people's issues were a kind of internalization of external disempowerment. In other words, managers will often send people to take a workshop when there are really more systemic problems to address. Bellman's book is full of great little tips and techniques, set firmly in the context of the person who is not fully in charge of their work life. Posted: 9/27/05; 11:01:19 AM #