Switching systems is very, very hard to do, especially when there is no understanding of the underlying fundamentals.

Most of us are confused when it comes to managing our time management systems, and we respond to the latest advertisements and hot trends only because we have don’t understand how our time management habits work.

Think of Michael Jordan, a player who had mastered the fundamentals of basketball, and could be found practicing them day after day, using many of the same drills he learned as a teenager.

Imagine him seeing an advertisement for some flashy new “tip.” I imagine that he would ask himself how it would improve his fundamental skill, and that he would ask that question first.

We, however, don’t have the benefit of knowing the fundamentals of the time management game, so when a new PDA, book, website of tips or software comes along we can see some value, but are unable to adapt it to our personal habits because we don’t know the fundamentals.

When we know them, it makes life much easier, as we can then do a proper evaluation of new doo-dahs that come along.

Also, the game of productivity is one that never ends. Habits become old, and users are always on the lookout to improve their current systems. The challenge is that there is no system that can encompass everyone from the very beginner to the expert, and everyone’s idiosyncratic way of managing their activities.

However, what they can come to understand is that the same practices underly ALL time management systems, and that moving from one system to another is really about changing habits in order to become more productive.

At that point, changing “systems” is trivial. Changing habits is what is really important, and when this is well understood, users are more kind to themselves, allowing themselves to do so slowly, gently and with great awareness.

Francis http://www.changethis.com/proposals (to help me expand this idea)