Get Everything Done

I bought DIT last week, and, by now, would normally have finished a book of this size if it was any good. Paradoxically, it is precisely because it so brilliant that I have not yet got beyond page 86. It is such a clear 'call to arms' that I can't read it for long without setting about getting another aspect of my previously disastrous time management in order. None of the ideas make initial sense to a time management delinquent like me, but then, making sense to me would have been evidence that they weren't going to work. Having applied the principle of sealing off my backlog, both in my paperwork and my e-mail, I am suddenly on top of my daily work and steadily chipping away at the backlog. I'm actually asking for paperwork that I could previously have avoided. I could not have believed it would be so simple, and so motivating. If the rest of the book has this much to offer, I can't wait. I thought it would be fun to write periodically as I go through the process. As Adam said to Eve "Stand back, I'm not sure how big this thing will get!" Let's see how it develops....

I'm now up to page 138 in DIT and am enjoying all the practical stuff in the latter half of the book. I went out and bought a 2008 diary today after some deliberation with respect to paper vs electronic diaries. On the strength of the fact that Mark uses a traditional diary, I thougtht it the best way to start off applying the ideas. As the book says, there is something magical about actually writing something down. As far as my progress is concerned, my desk remains clear, my backlog gets smaller by the day, my e-mail Inbox is empty (or rather, emptied daily). Early days, granted, but, so far, it feels good to now be on top of my work.

Now up to page 168, on top of everything else (no, I'm not on holiday), and my backlog has shrunk from a pile of papers and journals about two feet high to just a few inches. For the first time since buying the book, I read the blurb on the back cover. It promised that the book covered 'to do' lists (as distinct from closed lists) and prioritisation as methods of time management. My reading of the book is that, while this is what you might expect from such a book, this is precisely what it is not about. It seems an opportunity was missed to trumpet the fact that the book will show why to do lists and prioritisation don't work.