Simplify, Simplify

The sculptor produces the beautiful statue by chipping away such parts of the marble block as are not needed – it is a process of elimination.
Elbert Hubbard

My job offers a variety of training classes (like the one on resolutions, discussed here). Some are business related and some not (I am taking a History of Chocolate class and an Architecture Walking Tour of Park Avenue class later this summer – feel free to be jealous). So far I have enjoyed everything, and this week’s class on Getting Things Done (“GTD”) was no exception. At the surface, the class (and book by the same title) sounded like yet another dull please-just-kill-me-and-put-me-out-of-my-misery business diatribe on efficiency. However, to my surprise, the main message boils down to a thought-provoking dichotomy:

1. Simplicity – is it really necessary?

The first question is simplicity. There is a certain beauty to simplicity that our society has forgotten in its craze to acquire ‘stuff’ – both material items and career status symbols. When measuring success, more stuff is always better – but why is that? Why can’t we ascribe success to a few key things that really matter to us, like strong family relationships? We humans have a tendency to take the simple and make it unnecessarily complex; with that habit comes overburdened schedules and burn-out. The bottom line in GTD is that as things come on our ‘to do’ list radar, decide first if they’re really necessary. If they aren’t part of your core goals, don’t let them clutter up your list (or your life).

2.       2. Actionability – is there anything I can do about it?

The second point is actionability. Take the time to think about whether you can do anything about your goals/tasks… or if you are waiting for someone else… or if it simply isn’t the time and place to do anything. If the first scenario, create one small, concrete next step for yourself. Want to write a novel? Great, but if ‘write a novel’ is sitting on your to-do list, it’s just a huge, intimidating albatross that you’ll never do anything about. Instead, think to a specific next step. Perhaps you should start by taking a writing class, which means you need to find a writing class. So “Google to find writing class” goes on your list.

For goals/tasks where you are waiting on someone else, GTD suggests creating a ‘waiting on’ list that includes who/what you’re waiting on, and what time you expect to hear back. This keeps everything organized, and avoids that nagging feeling that you have to remember everything (or the panic of ‘Oops, I never heard back and I forgot to follow up with them so I missed  the deadline’).

The last scenario is a bit more subtle – those ideas that seem great but just don’t fit right now. Rather than lose track of the goals or chalk them up as impossible, GTD suggests a ‘sometime maybe’ list. Review this list weekly to see if any of the items are feasible to begin working on. If not, no worries; leave them on the list until circumstances change.

Well, that’s about it – GTD in a nutshell. But to borrow from our friend Thoreau, the real message here is: Simplify, simplify