Getting Things Done Reflection

After going through the GTD process and analyzing the mastering workflow, I like to think I am working hard towards developing these type of processes and making my life a lot more organized and efficient.  The steps of collect, process, organize, review and do are steps I use, but in my own way that I know how to work with.

My collect process really is extreme when they talk about capture anything and everything that has my attention.  I really do write down and organize EVERYTHING and ANYTHING (or I will forget it) - definite downfall!  This definitely helps me remove things from my 'short term' memory and make sure that they do not get forgotten in the process.  

My process is mostly made up of my email for work and my iPhone for work and personal organization.  Within my email particularly, I have many folders to organize all of the information that is thrown at us on a daily basis in the educational world.  This helps me keep important information organized, be able to delete things that are already taken care of, and leave my 'inbox' less cluttered and overwhelming!

Along with my email, the next biggest thing I rely on is my calendar.  I used to be very reliable on my paper and pencil calendar, but have slowly started getting used to keeping all of my calendars and to-do's on my iPhone that is always connected to me!  Both my email and my calendar are something I review daily!  I have gotten into the habit of checking my calendar first thing in the morning, so I know what my day looks like.  I put everything in my calendar I need for the individual days that must get done, meetings, dance team practice, tutoring, after school activities, and even personal tasks that need to be completed on a particular day.

These two things are very useful on a daily basis and with daily tasks that need to be completed by a particular time.  For long term goals that I have, or projects that are on my horizon (like lists for grocery shopping) I use my reminder app in my 'to do' list.  If there is something that needs to be completed by a certain time, I would set a reminder alert so I don't forget to check my reminders!

When going through this process, it was nice to see that I have trained myself to do much of these organizational tasks already.  I think that the GTD process has many beneficial ideas that you can take and make 'your own' to fit how strictly you want/need to follow this process.  I have found that this process really does help and has helped me keep my busy hectic life in order and able to accomplish what I need to accomplish, when I need to accomplish it!  I don't think I would be able to keep everything in my busy life straight if I did not have such a process and I plan to always try to use these things to help keep my life in order and productive!