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Geoffrey Litwack: Tactical advice, observations on GTD implementation

Getting Things Done, OmniOutliner, and syncing to paper at Litwack.org

Really good post on a satisfying hybrid of paper and digital. Full of good insight and “what I’ve learned” observations. Best of many good lines: “The power of Greyskull is the power of the next action.” Word. Geoffrey says:

The two best insights working GTD has provided me with this year are:

I don’t enjoy 80% of the things I do. That’s average, I think. But by reflecting on what I do at the end of the week, I’m able to get a better handle on what to do in the future. I don’t like to grocery shop, so I’ve gotten it down to an exact science over time - not because I’m a listmaking control freak, but because it’s easier the way I do it now. Conversely, I’ve better able to recognize the things that give me joy and I’m trying to amplify them without breaking the spell. I think GTD increases awareness of what you’re doing with your time.

The other thing I always tell myself is: iterate. For most things, throwing yourself at the wall over and over is a better way to improve than thinking hard about the wall and taking pictures of it. I’m sensitive to criticism and failure, so this has been quite a lesson to learn, but I think I’ve got it now.

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About Merlin

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Merlin Mann is an independent writer, speaker, and broadcaster. He’s best known for being the guy who created the website you’re reading right now. He lives in San Francisco, does lots of public speaking, and helps make cool things like You Look Nice Today, Back to Work, and Kung Fu Grippe. Also? He’s writing this book, he lives with this face, he suffers from this hair, he answers these questions, and he’s had this life. So far.

Merlin’s favorite thing he’s written in the past few years is an essay entitled, “Cranking.”

 
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Cranking

Merlin used to crank. He’s not cranking any more.

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