Jon Sampson

Ever have that feeling in life where you’re chasing after the car instead of riding inside it – let alone driving it? Everything’s moving along, but there’s that feeling that it’s just not totally under control or all within reach.

Yeah? I feel that way sometimes too. 🙂 Thing is, life is exciting. There are lots of good things happening. It’s just that there are lots of good things happening!

So, I’ve realized that I need to get more disciplined about how I organize my tasks and to-dos. I’ve always had a calendar and made lists, but it’s time for a more structured system.

I’m starting to use David Allen’s Getting Things Done system, with a little inspiration from the big-picture priority strengths of guys like Steven Covey. I’ve read them all before, but hadn’t done much with them because they seemed a little structured and intimidating. Well, now it’s time!

For those of you (geeks) who are interested in how I plan to do it, here’s what I’m using:

• Plain ol’ index cards to capture to-dos and notes to process later
• Vitalist for organizing next actions (to-dos) – free version
• iCal for the calendar (I usually print it out and write on it. Works better for me.)
• Mori to sort, file, and keep track of info, brainstorming, etc. for work, classes, and life.

There’s no perfect system, but I’m just going to start with something and stick with it. So feel free to ask me how it’s going. I’m sure you’ll see more posts on time management. I’ve just become convicted recently on how important it is to DO those things we value. We all talk about ’em, but are we really doing them? I want my life to reflect my values through and through – with more time for relationships and progress and less time spent with busyness or avoidance activities. The busier life gets, the more discipline that takes.