Being a
GTD fan for over six months, I have to admit it works. Things doesn't always get done as fast as I wish but it does what the definition promises: "transforms personal overwhelm and overload into an integrated system of stress-free productivity". So now I really have an integrated system and I'm almost stress-free. (or at least I'm free of stress caused by the huuuuge amount of the tasks that need to be done).
I have built my own
Hipster PDA for the purpose. Douglas Johnston over at DIY*Planner has created a
Hipster PDA Edition of his DIY*Planner templates. I use the 4up version so I can use standard A4-sized papers.
What I have in my Hipster PDA is this:
- 2 weekly planning forms (for the next 14 days)
- notes of habits which I'd like to establish
- around 60 project sheets in 6 folders
- a calendar of 2006
I had much more earlier (next action cards, agendas, todo lists etc) but they didn't fit my current lifestyle.
The 6 project folders are the following:
1. Routine - Predefined tasks for the sleepy mornings
2. Lifehacks - Preview before starting the day
3. Waiting for - I prefer reviewing this daily
4. Survive - Covey Q1 tasks [
explanation]
5. Grow - Covey Q2 tasks
6. Someday/Maybe - Review weekly
There are two bad smells/habits I often encounter:
1. forgetting about the Hipster habit
I often find myself forgetting about the Hipster completely; then some hours go by and I start feeling depressed because I know that I am not doing the things I should. Unluckily it takes some time to realize that I'm not using the Hipster where everything is organized. I am surprised because I have been using it every single day for 6 months. Hopefully I just need some more time, at least I'm getting better every day.
2. not using the Inbox habit
In every 5-15 minutes somebody/something interrupts me. Many times I found myself acting/replying immediately instead of putting the task to the inbox and processing it when the time arrives.
If I can successfully get rid of these bad habits, things will surely be great (but its okay now too).
Anyways, using the Hipster is so much fun. Reminds me of my early school years. In this digital age its truly a gift, I'd warmly recommend a Hipster to anybody.
