43 Folders

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Merlin’s weekly podcast with Dan Benjamin. We talk about creativity, independence, and making things you love.

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43Folders.com is Merlin Mann’s website about finding the time and attention to do your best creative work.

Higher Level Open Loops

Folks

Thanks to Merlin's Podcasts, I've finally realized why I've been procastinating all over the place for the last few months.

The runway is sorted. The process works pretty well down there. Somewhere between there and 40,000 feet it all goes wrong.

It doesn't help that the company I work for got acquired this year. I know what job I'm going to be doing, but there's a lot of paperwork to be done before it happens. But the change of role brings lots of 10, 20 and 30,000 feet questions up.

I don't even know what the questions are, let alone the answers.

Does anyone have any good triggers for questions to ask, and thought processes, at the higher levels?

pooks's picture

I used to say that...

Flexiblefine;6891 wrote:
I used to say that I didn't want to go on a journey of personal discovery in order to learn how to use the Franklin Planner... and now I have the nagging feeling that I should go on one to learn the rest of GTD. :)

What I carried out of the Franklin Planner system that stuck with me was the concept of understanding the difference between vital and urgent. We usually respond to urgent (we have to) while vital gets buried.

Vital means those things that are vital to your existance. That make life worth living. That are as important to you as breathing.

To get the most of your "system" or your "life" you must find a way to satisfy both.

I liked the Franklin idea of a Personal Constitution, which is written in the highest of positives, as a goal to strive for.

I didn't spend a lot of time on it, but came up with about 10 things that were important to me and stated them in simple sentences. Family, health, career, travel, writing, etc.

I think it's a process that is helpful, but perhaps not for everybody.

Another one that is recommended a lot is WISHCRAFT by Barbara Sher.

I think the bottom line is that these goals/values/whatever you want to call them should inspire and excite you. And the most important point Hyrum Smith made was that according to Franklin, nobody can tell you what to value. You either do, or you don't. Values that are imposed upon you will never work for you as goals or inspiration. You have to find those things that are truly yours.

Some people will NEVER be frugal. Others will NEVER be athletic. So when you look at your goals/values/whatever, you make them true for you, not for what somebody else has decided you SHOULD be.

 
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