I've been thinking about your recent "Was Project Schedule the right thing for me?" post, and I think I'll make a few observations.

1. I think this is pretty "high school" in that you put together a schedule and expect to follow it in lockstep. While this may work for a high school administration trying to control hundreds of hormonal teenagers, I think this neither develops the discipline necessary for adult life, nor does it allow for unplanned events, proactive work or coping with crises. It Breaks too easily.


2. David Allen, in Getting Things Done has a good methodology for organization that roughly goes like this:
   
   
   • Gather tasks, using pen and paper, PDA, personal voice recorder, 3x5 cards, whatever works. Don't do ANYTHING other than collect stuff, keeping it together, all the time
   
   
   • Daily (I do it over coffee in the morning) sort and prioritize these tasks. Plan your week in an ongoing way - you won't buy a loaf of bread unless it gets from your list of things to do to your shopping list. This is when that sort of thing happens
   
   
   • Weekly, check your progress against your stated projects, add new tasks as they seem necessary
   
   It's a good book. I also like his Ready for Anything


3. You once posted a "kitchen timer" methodology. I've been using it since you mentioned it (and I happened upon a timer in a thrift store :) ) and it's helped me greatly.


4. In short, I think you may be concentrating too much on the grid-structure instead of developing the habits of organization.


5. Are you aware of lifehack.org? It's a "Daily digest and pointers on productivity, getting things done and lifehacks"

Your Mileage May, of course, Vary. The impression I get, though, is that you're trying to "flog" your way to productivity instead of re-educating your way there.

'sides, you could sit at coffee/tea/whatever in the am, pet the cat AND do your daily organizing all at once! I do it. :)

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You make a good deal of sense and say a good many needed things. Thank you.

I could attempt to excuse the structure of Project Schedule by stating that I've been thinking of going back to school. But in actuality that does not forgive it's flaws. Going back to school won't work for the same reason Project Schedule isn't working — I don't work well in a grid structure. Never have, and never will. I'm trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

Perhaps a middle approach is called for. Setting projects and creating goals on a daily or weekly basis without detailing a work schedule would work much better suited to how I function. Another advantage of that approach is that it would be more geared to getting things done, while Project Schedule is more geared toward keeping a schedule for schedule's sake.

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Exactly! IMO, you beat yourself up over enough already - a system you're not suited for is extraneous in so many ways.

Try the Allen book(s), I think you'll find them useful.

ff/m

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