Making It All Work. Winning at the Game of Work and the Business of Life. David Allen. (Viking, 2008)
Is your mind like a murky attic?
No one has explored productivity with as much rigor and insight as David Allen. Every time he re-engages with the material from his first book, Getting Things Done, he advances the concepts. The core discussion in his third book, Making It All Work, is mind management. David Allen takes you through the steps of clearing the cobwebs by addressing the weighty matters lurking in the corners your mind.
Is there a reason to keep the box of mementoes from an ex-life partner?
Capturing and clarifying what gnaws on your attention is the pivotal first step. If you are controlled by a box in the closet, the mind-like-water state will elude you and keep you from your best work. To have a mind like water is to respond perfectly and appropriately to whatever you interact with, without stress, strain, or undue energy. To make that happen, Allen writes, “We need to fully understand, manage, and enhance our thinking process.”
The meaning-clarifying thought process is one of several that Allen pinpoints. Operational thinking is focused and intentional and comes into play in this example. With summer approaching it occurs to mom and dad that they need to research and set up their children’s activities. They put “Get the summer set up for the kids” on their project list. They write down their ideas, and start looking into (R&D in a business context) options as part of an on-going research project. Outcome thinking—working with positive images to define a course and stay on it—helps them see their wish list as a manageable project.
Test your own self-management skills: What’s your GTD IQ? This blog post takes you to a quick survey. Afterward, you can hone in on the cornerstone skills of perspective and control. If you lack control, turn to the chapters on capturing, clarifying, organizing, reflecting, and engaging. If perspective is your personal bugaboo, you can absorb the wisdom in chapters on purpose, vision, goals, areas of focus, projects and actions. David Allen describes the nuances of each, and how each is necessary in creating the ideal structure or framework to manage your world.
For the first twenty-five years of my life, I wanted freedom. For the next twenty-five years, I wanted order. For the next twenty-five years, I realized that order is freedom.
—Winston Churchill
In this fresh discussion of productivity, the author is concerned not so much with empty in-boxes and clean closets, but with freeing the psyche for more valuable pursuits. Before you throw yourself into achieving what you desire, create a structure for yourself to ensure that you won’t get swept away. To see the structure at work, flip to the chapter on Gracie’s Gardens. Apply it to your own business. Allen’s airtight, hard-edged structure functions much like a COO or an external, extended mind.
I’m using Making it all Work as a bridge for my clients to new dreams and desires. Check it out. Who knows what long-suppressed dreams will come out of a squeaky-clean attic.
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