GTD lite

Image by AWWS via Flickr

That is what I suggest, re-think Getting Things Done, take it lite.

In the online and technology community GTD, an approach to self management invented and named by David Allen is a huge trend. One of the biggest fans and evangelists is Merlin Mann. Read a part of his blog post Whining, White Smoke & the Mechanics of Getting Unstuck:

“… But, second, and perhaps more importantly, that whining should be telling you something. Whining is the white smoke in your tailpipe that lets you know you’re burning mental oil. It means you’re unconsciously devoting cycles to something that you can’t, won’t, or shouldn’t be spending time thinking about. Otherwise, why would it be bothering you, right? You’d be either extricated or done with it.

Once you pinpoint where that whine’s coming from, that’s the perfect opportunity to decide what the hell the hang-up is. Because if it’s worth whining and fussing about, it’s worth deciding what obstacle (obstruction?) in either the Real World or your own mind is keeping something from happening. …

Put automotively? Obsessively adding a new quart of oil every day not only doesn’t fix your smoke problem: it feeds it. Instead, just use the smoke as a warning that it’s nigh time to trace the cracks in your engine.”

My experience as coach: I never go with a client where the whine comes from, there is trouble and more whine. Never ask the question ‘why’. Then you get sucked in the story, drama, even your own one. The coaching tool is ‘follow the energy’.

If I research the cause of the whine I get in my head, start thinking. What I need is to go in action, just for the fun of it. Start playing.

What works for me always when I am in the whiny mode: I distract myself from it, getting out of the office, change the rhythm, the environment. I go where the energy is. Than I find my game again and start playing.

The issues I got stuck with, which are really important, they come back and than I deal with them fast and effective with energy.