Get Everything Done

2mc wrote:
<<<Now, if you were talking with friends and you said that you like to take the bus, not a word of contradiction would be heard. But, if in talking with friends, you warned them against taking their car to work because it's complicated or they might drive around all day, wouldn't their derision be just?>>>

First, Mark and myself (and maybe others?) have said things like "in my experience...", the loose-leaf approach is too much like a distracting toy and takes away from time management. I don't think anyone was saying, "Hey everyone, WATCH OUT for those dangerous loose-leaf folders!!" I myself said, "If it works for you, great! But for me it can be a distraction."

Second, this sentiment about the trap of tinkering and optimizing, at the expense of getting things done, has been discussed in great depth and breadth on this site (and others). It's a common trait of procrastinators. It can "feel" like work but it's really just another way to avoid doing the work. If you don't have procrastination tendencies, this probably doesn't make sense to you. But for many people it's a real problem.

To use your car analogy: Let's say someone had a strong tendency to avoid going to the office, for whatever reason -- didn't want to deal with the work, or the stress, or the dysfunction, or whatever. But he also never really faced these issues head-on, and was an expert at finding ways to AVOID dealing with them, even doing this unconsciously.

And let's say the person always had an affinity for working on his car. To get his job done -- to go to work -- he really just needed a good basic commuter car. But instead, he got a specialized truck and was always in the habit of customizing it. Sometimes he would say to himself, "That commute is driving me crazy. What I really need is a better car stereo -- then the commute would be OK." So he calls in sick and spends the day shopping for and installing a new car stereo.

A couple weeks later, he is just ITCHING to get away from his office. On the way home from a stressful day, he hits a pothole on the highway, and the truck bounces a bit too much. He decides he really needs some new struts and shocks to deal with the stress of the commute. So he decides to take a three-day weekend, and spends it tinkering with the car, getting new wheels and larger tires in the process.

He never actually takes the time to enjoy the tinkering, and never drives for pleasure. He uses the truck only for commuting. But he keeps taking time off, making excuses that he just can't deal with the commute and "needs a break" or "needs this new thing" or "just wants to tweak the timing a little" or whatever. He's painted his truck a different color at least three times and he's only had it for two years.

His friends have seen him do this kind of thing for years, and see how it affects both his work and personal life in a negative way, but they can't understand what motivates him.

Underneath it all is a set of issues with work, commitment, being unable to finish things, fears, and other irrational behaviors that are hard to articulate and very hard for others to understand.

He himself secretly envies his friends who just get in their cars and go to work every day, and doesn't know why he himself can't bring himself to settle into such a simple routine. He is too unsettled to do that for too long at one stretch, and finds himself needing "breaks" all the time... which he spends on empty tinkering which he always says is really a kind of work, because it helps his commute and makes his workday easier. He never admits to taking a vacation -- it's always got to be disguised as work -- so in reality, he is never really focused on his work, and never really UNfocused on it either, never really taking a rest.

What would true friends do in this case? Would they deride, or empathize that there is a real problem here that isn't easily solved?

One of the geniuses of Mark's systems is his clear recognition of some of these (very) common forms of psychological resistance to doing one's work, and finding innovative and EFFECTIVE ways to overcome them. And not only overcome them, but truly change one's attitudes and behaviors, approaching something like a cure, so one can just be more effective, more purposeful, and more realistic about one's work.

Perhaps your "amazement" simply demonstrates that you haven't ever needed to deal with those kinds of internal struggles. Or have dealt with them in other ways. Or haven't used Mark's systems long enough to realize how well they deal with these issues and help people form better habits.

Matt,

I don't think there was any fault in my logic. In fact, you seemed to summarize my argument very well: the problem lies with the person.

Some good tools, in the wrong hands, tend to exasperate the problem. The same tools, in other hands, are effective tools. E.g., loose leaf.

Another set of tools can help the person with the problem, overcome the problem. But the person without the problem might feel hindered by the tool's limitations. E.g., fixed leaf.

I haven't been trying to convince you that loose leaf is "bad". I've been trying to convince you that some people find that loose leaf (etc.) exasperates their TM problems. You seemed astonished about that, and didn't believe it could be true.

Personally, I enthusiastically appreciate this aspect of Mark's AF systems, that they all use a simple, cheap notebook as the main tool. People can (and do) adjust to fit their own needs, but there's no requirement or pressure, as there is with some systems, to spend $50 on a "Workflow Map" or $100 on a specialized planner system or $300 on a PDA.

Allison - glad it was helpful! :-)