Thursday, September 14, 2006

Starting to use my brain again

I'd like to thank one of the smartest people I know, Mr. JR Hughson of Microsoft. Check out his blog BACKTALK. JR is a magician friend, we grew up together in Cincinnati. I'm not really sure when he became some sort of personal productivity guru to me, I'm guessing around 1999 or 2000. He started me on the Franklin Covey System and started me blogging well before it was trendy. More recently he sent me a book (which I never thanked him for, so I'm doing that here). The book by David Allen is titled Getting Things Done.

I was having trouble absorbing the new system of "Next Action" vs "Task List" as well as subcousiously fighting the need to overhaul my work space from a mess to an organized environment of productivity and efficient effectiveness. I bought the audio version from the iTunes Music Store and loaded it into my new 2 gig iPod Nano. After listening to it a couple of times, it is making the reading easier. Almost a month ago I bought a 2006-2007 refill for my Franklin Planner and I have been attempting to hose off that crap that's caked on the gears of my brian.

Buster started school last week. I'm going to bed earlier, I'm getting up earlier. After I drop Buster off at school, I start the day with a laser focused planning session. Incorporating Mr. Allen's approach is already showing some progress in my thinking.

So, here I am now. . . again. . . evaluating my life, my dreams and my desires. Looking, more realistically than ever, at my skills and attempting to align them with my goals.

But that's really the problem, for the last few years I haven't had many goals. One goal I did have was to get over the divorce, accept the loss of my children and move forward. Now that I have completed that phase, I'm starting to see a new type of future through the marine layer of my mind.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

3 comments:

J.R. said...

Why don't you fucking call me when you have questions??

Tom Frank said...

Didn't want to admit I was having trouble getting through a 250 page book. . . . with no big words -

Anonymous said...

Hi Tom and JR,
If you haven't checked out David Allen's "Ready for Anything" you should definitely invest in it!! I bought it several years ago, have given away a couple of copies and recommend it enthusiastically. When I really started the independent consulting thing, it gave me a lot of methods for building my confidence and getting things done, and being open to opportunities when they present themselves. Plus, his method has freed me up to be more creative and productive. I think you'd appreciate it. I especially like the his quotes throughout the book, like "If everything is under control, you're going too slow!" - Mario Andretti.

Let me know what you think! (and it doesn't use too many big words)

Much love,
M3