Things I Got Done. Mostly.

What:   Contents of several file folders.
Origin:  See confession.
Usage:  Yes.  Until I stopped looking in the folders.
How long kept:   Some up to almost 3 years, I'm guessing.   Others much more recent.
Why kept:   Out of Sight, Out of Mind.   And files can be like storage boxes.   And our eight well loved and regular readers all know one of my more controversial views:  Storage Boxes Are Evil.
Destination:   Shredder, and then recycling.

Confession:  I'm a believer in, and regular but infrequent adherent to, David Allen's Getting Things Done.  

What this means is that I have a very well organized set of files.   Yay.    What it doesn't mean is that I plow through all of my projects with perfect efficiency, consistently achieving personal and professional pinnacles one after the other, each higher the last.

What it does mean that I recommit to this maddening but promising way of looking at my world, from time to time.   This is such a time.  

One interesting thing I keep on learning and re-learning:  writing down an objective a hugely empowering step along the way to achieving a goal.   These files contained various to-do items, of various level of importance and impact on the world.   Lots were done, despite the fact that my last GTD seizure was probably early this year.  Others completely irrelevant, and probably were when I put them into the box.

I've got to write down some better stuff. 

Guarantees Have Expired

What:  Guarantees and user manuals for stuff I no longer own.
Origin:  Files were a result of a GTD seizure, circa 2007? 
Last used:  Monday, I checked for the paperwork for the donated Crock Pot.  
Why kept:   I might need to know how to operate one of my appliances, thus They Might Be Useful; I Might Need Them. 
Destination:  Recycling.

Confession:  I neglected to check the files when blogging the Discman, various computers, and the flippin' meditation clock. 

I believe that the GTD methodology calls for regular file checks to see what you can release, so color me "done" on this one.

GTD, and I Mean It

GTD, and I Mean It
Originally uploaded by 365 Things

What: A large number of already read emails.
How long kept: Some since January 1, 2008 (my laptop's "birthday").
Usage: Sometimes, see "confession", below.
Why kept: They Might Be Useful; I Might Need Them.  But of course.
Destination: Some went into digital trash. Others are now subject to some new sorting mechanisms: some manual, others digital.

Confession: I save all emails. Ok, not Google Alerts, which I have for topical matters, and also my own name.  Everyone should set up a google alert on themselves, to see what they or their online doppelgangers are up to in the eyes of parents, partners, high school classmates, prospective employers and clients.

But I digress. If you wrote me an email in February, 2008 that said "LOL", chances are I have it. And I've been rewarded on enough occasions to keep it up -- I've been able to avoid duplicating work, found evidence of conversations, etc. needed in a business context.

It's not good, though, to have most of it mashed in one email box. (David Allen, of GTD fame, talks about the psychological cost of having an overflowing email in box. He's right.) I've set up a new process for getting, handling and archiving emails, and I'm committed to it.

Confession part 2: I found at least 3 emails in my in-box that I should have answered, one from late last year. D'oh. They got buried by other mails. I don't expect my new process to be perfect, but it will be better.

First Post: Why, and How

OK, here's the deal.

We've decluttered, fengshui'd, Gotten Things Done (and some of that actually works, but not for "stuff"), Fly Ladied...

...and we're still drowning in a sea of stuff that we never use, clothes we never wear, unitasking kitchen gear (and d'oh neither one of us actually cooks), and other stuff we don't part with.

Why?

Someone Might Need It.   It's Perfectly Good.   When I Fix It, It Will Be Useful.   It Was A Gift From (fill in the blank).  It Belonged To (add name of dead relative).  I Forgot That I Had It/Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind.  Someday It Will Be Fashionable Again.

(OK, that last one was apparently true with black leggings...but I digress.)

Meditation is the practice of letting go, over and over again.   As a meditator since some time in the late 90s, and a yoga student before that, I recently had an aha moment.

The only way to develop a meditation practice is to actually practice.   15 minutes a day is a different experience than an 8 hour workshop.   Over a course of a year, 15 minutes a day builds 90 hours of experience  (about what you might do at a 10 day retreat).   But you've also built a new behavioral muscle...

No "aha" for me here, on the topic of meditating.  

A weekend long closet purge may be beneficial, useful, or necessary.     

The "aha":  can what's taught about practice, about letting go of the breath, thoughts, etc. have a more worldly application?   What's the transformative possibility of letting go of something material, every day, day in and day out? 

(Sigh.   It took me a year to learn how to balance on one leg, too.)