![]() ![]() I can’t be the only person who didn’t know about Microsoft OneNote. I could keep everything together (in a searchable format) rather than shuffling through notebooks to find that note containing what that guy said in that meeting two (or was it three) weeks ago. I created another document to capture meeting notes after experiencing the benefit of keeping notes electronically. Already, I felt more in control of what I needed and wanted to do. The more I captured, the more open loops sprang to mind (a benefit of distributed cognition) and the more confident I felt that tasks wouldn’t fall through the cracks. So I set to capture every “open loop” from my mind, scrap of paper or lingering list with Allen’s instruction. That is precisely what was happening to me, but with work thoughts. You spring up in the middle of the night afraid you overslept and have little peace of mind. is like going to bed without an alarm clock. Not capturing these thoughts, to-dos, actions, etc. Everything from planning a vacation, emailing an agenda in advance of tomorrow’s meeting, or picking up milk. The first tactic I implemented that immediately paid dividends when it came to my productivity and reducing my stress was capturing my “open loops.” Allen defines open loops as “anything pulling at your attention that doesn’t belong where it is, the way it is.” Open loops are the thoughts that leap out at you at seemingly random times when you’re least likely to be able to act on them. I took what I wanted from the book and left what I didn’t. The book delves into painstaking detail at times and probably could have been shorter, but with thirty-five years of experience as a management consultant and executive coach, Allen knows his stuff. Getting Things Done is an organization and productivity system. That’s where David Allen’s book, and Microsoft’s OneNote, came in and saved me. Unfortunately, my external mind was a disorganized shit show of handwritten notes, lists - so many lists - references, and sticky notes. Thanks to my habit of writing everything down, I had already built a sort of external mind. But go with an external list and your mind has the freedom to wander. Need to go to the grocery store? Try memorizing the five things you need and most likely there won’t be room for the thought that you’re also low on eggs. You repeat it in your head over and over, solely focused on this one thing. Store thoughts in your mind and you’re likely to forget them or limit the flow of other ideas, ultimately limiting your productivity and creativity.įor example, you’ve surely needed to memorize a long number for a few moments. #Evernote onenote together gtd freeThis process of getting things out of your head and into objective, reviewable formats is referred to as “distributed cognition.” By capturing thoughts externally, you free up space in your mind for other ideas. Because of this, I’ve been building an external mind to capture and store information. I know better than to rely on my memory for ideas, reminders, and action items. My life raft came in the form of David Allen’s Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-free Productivity, and Microsoft OneNote. Burned out and overwhelmed, I desperately needed a system to help me organize my work. I knew I was working harder than I should to achieve less than my workload demanded. Stressed and anxious, I was afraid I would drop one of the dozens of balls I struggled to keep in the air. ![]() I had lost the ability to be proactive or think past the most urgent task in front of me. The added volume of email, meetings and chat messages weighed me down even more. But with a cluttered desk comes a cluttered mind. Handwritten notes, lists - so many lists - references, and sticky notes accumulated around me faster than time and mental capacity could process. #Evernote onenote together gtd fullAfter nine months working remotely full time, I found myself drowning in paper. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |