Hello world. First post!
I have a huge addiction to what Merlin Mann at 43Folders calls Productivity Porn. Just about any program or technique will get a look from me. I started with DayTimers and graduated to Franklin Covey, thence to David Allen's "Getting Things Done". There are subtle hidden ideological constructs underlying a lot of these systems, usually in a sort of self-actualizing entrepreneur vein. I think that's their major weakness. I think part of GTD's appeal is that it posits that sometimes you can't control your life. Most folks in the cube farms of today, the actual freedom to organize one's day or week is pretty limited. GTD gives you some illusion that you can take some control back.
So I've just finished (yet another) book about being organized that's got a interesting take on getting organized. Actually a couple of ideas. The book is "Getting Organized in the Google Era" by Douglas Merrill and James Martin. It think part of the reason I get along with the book's ideas is that it crystalized some trends I've noticed in my own handling of information over the last few years.
The first theme and I think almost revolutionary idea is that we should use search and cloud-based information repositories to store our information. Douglas Merrill is particularly a fan of using Gmail. He used to work at Google, but he does make a pretty good case that the capabilities of Gmail make it a good personal information store. He also provides an interesting tutorial for the lesser known features of Gmail and how to use it. He also provides tips to do better searches. The effect of that is that you'll stress much less about organizing your information since you'll be able to find it when needed, fairly easily and quickly. It also streamlines how you handle information. For me, it aligns with how I almost never refer to any paper files from the recent past. Virtually everything I use at work is in an electronic form. I do very little actual filing into either paper or electronic folders except in very broad categories. I use Spotlight on my Mac a lot to find things. Moving stuff into the "cloud" just makes it available in more places independent of my laptop. I think this is an idea that needs to be pushed out there more.
The second theme, which I think is almost as powerful is to recognize your constraints and work around them. Douglas Merrill had to work around dyslexia growing up, which forced a lot of creativity in setting up systems to manage his information and an interest (and Ph.D) in cognitive science, so he knows the territory intimately. There's a refreshing sense of balance to create a reasonable personal life. So good enough to get by and have a fulfilling personal life is good enough. He's quite candid about his organizing failures and what he learned from them. His take on work-life "balance" strikes me as quite realistic. This allows his advice to breath. The biggest weakness of other systems is their rather rigid structures. The message is often that, if you fail, you haven't followed the "system". Merrill's advice is to look at the failure and try something new. It recognizes both internal and external constraints and life experiences have an impact your ability to organize. In other words, you have to adapt it for yourself. I think that's a much more empowering way to look at the problem.
Highly recommended for a modern take on organization that's applicable to many of us who work, live, and die by connected systems.
