Noisy Deadlines

“I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” – Douglas Adams

This is a series of posts with reading notes of the book “Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity” by David Allen.

Chapter 15 – The Path of GTD Mastery

The GTD methodology is a lifelong practice. David noticed that people can have different levels of maturity:

  1. Employing the fundamentals of managing workflow.

  2. Implementing a more elevated and integrated total life management system.

  3. Leveraging skills to create clear space and get things done for an ever expansive expression and manifestation.

We start with the basics, making small adjustments, dealing with our day-to-day reality, and then we progress to look at higher horizons (long term goals and objectives, vision and life purpose).

Mastering the Basics

  • Learning to capture EVERYTHING, big or small, into a trusted system
  • Using a “Waiting For” category for deliverables
  • Using “Agendas” lists to capture and manage communication with others
  • Keeping a simple and easy to use reference system
  • Keeping the Calendar as “hard landscape”
  • Doing Weekly Reviews

Graduate Level – Integrated Life Management

  • A complete, current, and clear inventory of projects
  • A working map of one’s roles, accountabilities, and interest both personally and professionally
  • An integrated total life management system. Custom tailored to one’s current needs and direction, and utilized to dynamically steer out beyond the day-to-day
  • Challenges and surprises trigger your utilization of this methodology instead of throwing you out of it

At some point, David says, “projects will become the heartbeat of your operational system”. They will be a reflection of our roles, areas of focus and interests. You might start customizing your system to better fit your needs.

Post Graduate – Focus Direction and Creativity

  • Utilizing your freed up focus to explore the more elevated aspects of your commitments and values
  • Leveraging your external mind to produce novel value

Once the details of our daily lives are taken care of, there will be more space and focus for more creative thinking. A good example is unearthing items from our Someday/Maybe lists when we feel we are ready.

Conclusion

As David Allen mentions at the end of the book, the GTD methodology validates much of what is common sense. The merit of this book is that it is extremely practical while at the same time explaining the principles behind the methodology. Plus, the GTD methodology is super flexible and can be tailored to fit our own needs and preferences.

After 10 years applying this methodology, I can confidently say that it has had a powerful impact on my life. It has helped me manage day-to-day mental clutter and execute significant, life-changing projects. All of my major life changes were once captured in a Someday/Maybe list.

For me, GTD goes beyond task and project management. It's more about figuring out what makes my work meaningful, living mindfully, and keeping my head in a good space. It's not just about being super productive—it's about making life feel worthwhile.

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

This is a series of posts with reading notes of the book “Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity” by David Allen.

Chapter 14 – GTD and Cognitive Science

In this chapter, the focus is on the intersection of cognitive science and the Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology.

This chapter cites a Belgium academic study that analyzed the GTD methodology using working theories from cognitive science. Essentially, our minds are designed to have ideas based on pattern recognition, but not to remember everything.

The book “The Organized Mind” by Daniel Levitin is also mentioned to illustrate why we need an “external brain” to help store and maintain huge amounts of data. When we use our memory as our organization system, our minds will become overwhelmed.

The Belgium academic paper describes the science behind the act of externalizing our thoughts so that our minds are more effective. Externalizing information, such as using lists and reminders, can offload cognitive demands on memory, allowing the mind to focus on higher-level thinking.

“Your mind is for having ideas, not for holding them.” — David Allen

Another point that has been studied is the relieving cognitive load of incompletions. Uncompleted tasks take up room in the mind, which then limits clarity and focus (scientific paper here). The paper also proves that the completion of the tasks are not required to relieve that burden on our minds: what is needed is a trusted system that guarantees the tasks will be triggered when appropriate.

GTD helps in managing cognitive load by providing a systematic approach to externalize and organize thoughts, reducing mental clutter and enhancing cognitive performance.

David Allen also discusses that the Flow state (or “being in the zone”) is facilitated when we use the GTD approach: having clarity, clear goals, and single-tasking. Other psychological benefits of the methodology involve goal-striving (desired outcomes) and psychological capital (PsyCap). Using the GTD methodology sets us up for more optimism, a sense of self-efficacy, hope and resilience.

Wrapping up, the chapter shows how GTD is like our personal brain manager, helping us sort out our thoughts, clear up mental mess, and boost how well our brain works.

” ... when all of our potentially meaningful things are captured, clarified, organized, and reflected upon, the more mature, elegant, and intelligent part of who we really are can show up at the table. That produces experiences and results that can't be beat.” — David Allen

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

This is a series of posts with reading notes of the book “Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity” by David Allen.

In Part 3, Chapters 11, 12 & 14 David Allen gives more insights about the power of the key principles: capturing, next-actions and outcome focusing.

Chapter 11 – The Power of the Capturing Habit

One of the most powerful habits I've learned with GTD is writing things down, either manually or digitally. In this chapter, David lists all the benefits of this practice and explain why uncaptured open loops take up mental space. We feel negative feelings (overwhelm, anxiety, guilt) when we see our incomplete to-dos because we are breaking agreements with ourselves. And the book presents ways to prevent these broken agreements:

  • Don't make the agreement: in short, just make fewer commitments, practice saying “no”
  • Complete the agreement: just do it! Use the 2-minute rule as much as you can
  • Renegotiate the agreement: lower your standards, keep the agreement, put it on a someday/maybe list

“A renegotiated agreement is not a broken one.” — David Allen

The act of doing a mind sweep always make me feel better. And that's because when I unload all those thoughts, I'm automatically renegotiating my agreements with myself. I probably didn't notice the full potential of this habit when I started, but now I know how valuable it is. I've recently discovered that if I do a quick mind sweep at the end of my work day, I feel much better! As David Allen suggests:

“I suggest that you use your mind to think about things, rather than think of them”. — David Allen

Chapter 12 – The Power of the Next-Action Decision

Always ask this question: “What's the next action?” Why? Because if forces:

  • Clarity
  • Accountability
  • Productivity
  • Empowerment

It's a quick exercise to define what doing looks like. I identified myself when David Allen mentions that the most creative, sensitive and intelligent people are the ones who procrastinate the most. Because we tend to fantasize scenarios about what is needed to complete that project, along with all the negative possible outcomes! We freak out and give up!

Another interesting note is that we might be repelled by our to-do lists:

“… not because of the contents per se, but rather because sufficient appropriate thinking has yet to be applied to them.” — David Allen

Chapter 13 – The Power of Outcome Focusing

The key message of this chapter is that we can't define the next action until we know what is the desired outcome in the end.

And it can apply to small, mundane things or to big life goals. Some good questions to always have in mind:

  • What does this mean to me?
  • Why is it here?
  • What do I want to have be true about this? What's the desired outcome?
  • How do I now make this happen?
  • What resources do I need to allocate to make it happen (What's the next action?“)

The challenge will always be: defining what done means and what doing looks like.

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

So, back in 2021, I waved goodbye to Goodreads and went on a hunt for new book tracking apps. That's when I stumbled upon The Storygraph. A year later, I discovered BookWyrm — a federated social network for book lovers. Being the curious soul that I am, I decided to use both at the same time to figure out which one I liked better.

Yep, I was doing the double-entry thing for a while, but it got old quick. At some point I stopped logging my books in BookWyrm because I clearly preferred doing that using The Storygraph. I just looked at my BookWyrm account today and noticed I missed logging more than 20 books this year. In the end, I realized I didn't want to waste any more time double-logging books.

After some soul-searching, I've decided to keep all my book-tracking action in one place. The Storygraph has won me over with its sleek interface, awesome book database and cool stats. It’s easy to search books by title, author or book series, it has different book editions to choose from, it has a content warning section and I really love the “Up-Next” feature. The Storygraph has become my books’ haven.

Now, my BookWyrm account is at a crossroads, and after much thought, I've decided it's time to part ways. The Storygraph has won me over, and to streamline my bookish life, I'm hitting that delete button on BookWyrm. It's been a good run, but it's time to bid farewell. Here's to new beginnings! 📚

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

This is a series of posts with reading notes of the book “Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity” by David Allen.

Chapter 10 – Getting Projects Under Control

This chapter is all about informal, straightforward planning and the tools that can assist us in this process.

David identifies 2 types of projects:

  • Projects that Retain Attention: These are projects that continue to demand attention even after determining their next actions. They require a bit more advance planning.
  • Projects for which ideas just show up, ad hoc: These are projects where ideas spontaneously emerge. They need a designated space to store these ideas for later use.

Next Actions about Planning

Some projects will need next actions to trigger more in depth planning. David outlines potential next planning steps:

  • Brainstorming: Useful when the project is unclear. A potential next action might be on the @computer or @anywhere list: “Draft ideas about Project X.”
  • Organizing: If there are scattered notes about the project, the next action could be: “Organize Project X notes.”
  • Setting Up Meetings: Often, scheduling a meeting with involved parties is the next action that propels the project forward.
  • Gathering information: Sometimes, reaching out to someone or researching a topic is crucial. Next actions like “Call X regarding his thoughts on...,” “Look into the topic of X...,” or “Review reports understanding X...” can capture these tasks.

Thinking Tools

Write things down!

Regardless of the method, it's important we have a means to capture thoughts. David suggests various options: paper and pads, easels and whiteboards, digital tools (text, outliner, mind mapping apps, spreadsheets, etc).

An interesting point from David Allen is that larger screens are better for planning:

“I suggest, however, that the value of smartphones and the like is for the execution of the results of thinking – not for generating creative thought. For that I want more space, not less.” — David Allen

Project notes can be stored in various locations, from a paper folder for loose-leaf pages to digital tools like mind mapping and outlining apps or the Notes section of a task manager. Whatever works!

My thoughts and lessons learned

I've always struggled a bit with project planning and notes. I tended to skip the “planning” step and jump into execution right away. Format and location were challenges too; I thought I needed a rigid process for capturing thoughts. I believed that all projects should have a Master Project Note, in a specific format, stored in a specific folder.

However, I've learned that project planning can take various forms, depending on the project. Sometimes, jotting down ideas by hand on a notepad works best, while other times, creating an outline with the necessary steps is more effective. The key is flexibility. This took some time for me to learn.

Now, for more complex projects, I still create a Master Project Note. It includes the project's start/end dates, related focus areas, and notes using the Natural Planning Model as needed. However, for most projects, I rely on notes in Nirvana or none at all. It's all about using the available tools as we see fit.

I think the ending of this chapter encapsulates the idea:

“The key is to get comfortable with having and using your ideas. And to acquire the habit of focusing your energy constructively, on intended outcomes and open loops before you have to.” — David Allen

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

After spending some time using a Time Block planner and paying closer attention to how I kick off and wrap up my workdays, I've had some cool insights:

  • Apps Aren’t the Culprit: The problem is almost never the apps I'm using, it is how I'm using the system and my own habits.
  • Review Regularly: Things will fall through the cracks if I don’t do my reviews periodically.
  • Time Blocker Magic: Planning the day with the Time Blocker has been a game-changer for maintaining focus. It’s totally fine to tweak the plan multiple times during the day (just like Cal Newport suggests).
  • Shutdown Ritual: The end of day shutdown routine is non-negotiable—it guarantees a smooth transition from work mode to relaxation.
  • The Nirvana app works like a charm for me, it's distraction-free, simple, light and powerful.

I renamed my start and end of day routines and now they look like this:

Morning: Plan the Day (do my Daily Review)

  • ☀ Open physical notebook and insert the day
  • ◕ Check Calendar: what do I need to do today? is there anything I need to prepare for?
  • ⛳ Process Inboxes (E-mail, NirvanaHQ): Clarify: Is it actionable? What is the context – Organize: is it part of a project? Energy? Time?
  • ✅ Check Next Actions List and move items to Focus list
  • ⭐ Check and update my Focus List
  • ⏰ Open my Time Block Planner and plan the day. Schedule time for defining work if needed
  • ⚡ Engage: Filter context and begin work!

End of Day: Shutdown Routine

  • Capture: Quick mind-sweep of tasks I failed to capture and add them to the Inbox.
  • Process: Meeting Notes from the day.
  • Check off any completed tasks.
  • Review my Calendar for tomorrow: Do I need to prepare anything? What things do I want to achieve tomorrow? (Flag them to the ⭐Focus list, add notes on my Time Block Planner)
  • Say to myself “Shutdown Complete!” and mark the checkbox on the Time Block Planner.

I added the morning Daily Review and the Shutdown routine to Nirvana as a daily recurring task. They show up in my Focus list every day:

Snapshot in time: What is on my Focus list today

These routines are inside the notes section in Nirvana as a checklist so I can check them off if I want to:

On some days, things go smoothly, and on others, chaos reigns.

On the good days, I take a solid 30 minutes to plan my schedule down to the nitty-gritty. But when chaos strikes on the bad days, I glance at my calendar, block off meeting times, and dive headfirst into urgent tasks. After lunch, I do a quick ‘post-mortem’ assessment, tweak my time blocker, and figure out where to focus my energy for the rest of the day.

I’ve learned that aiming for perfection is counterproductive. While checklists serve as a helpful template, I play it by ear and adapt as necessary.

One of the best insights I had this year is to embrace flexibility while still having some structure.

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

I've had a morning routine for years now. This routine hasn't changed much over time, and I consider it to be key to my mental health and wellbeing.

This year, I focused on continuing to do the work to become more centered and grounded. I started regular therapy sessions, and they helped me a lot! This journey made me understand which habits were essential to me. I knew they were important because I've been practising it for years, but what changed this year was my mindset towards them.

My morning routine habit started when I read this book “The Miracle Morning” by Hal Elrod in 2016. It was life changing at the time, I followed all the exercises, and it stuck with me. The principle is to wake up early and focus on activities like: mindfulness, exercise, reading, journaling. I remember it was flexible, I could choose which activities best fit my needs. After years of trial and error, I ended up with my current morning routine, which includes:

  • Yoga
  • Meditation
  • Journaling
  • Reading

These became my “keystone habits” as Cal Newport would call them, and this year I realized that if I skip them for a day or two, I suffer the consequences. They have become part of my wellness maintenance routine.

With the help of therapy this year, I understood how important they are, but I also changed my mindset. I used to think that if I didn't do at least 30min of yoga that would be a useless session, so why bother? I held unrealistic expectations, thinking that if I couldn't dedicate a substantial amount of time to each activity, it was futile. It was a complicated relationship: I felt good when I completed some of my habits, but I was constantly frustrated because “I should have done more”.

So what changed?

After some trial and error and I ended up with my “sweet spot” routine: a minimum yet impactful sequence that aligns with my schedule. I can extend the durations over the weekend or on a day off work, but I always start with:

  • Wake up, use the bathroom, drink water, get to my yoga mat
  • Yoga: 15 min yoga + 3 min savasana (the yoga resting pose). I use the DownDog app.
  • Meditation: 10 min (I use the Daily Calm meditations on the Calm app
  • Have breakfast with my partner. Read a little bit while having breakfast.
  • Take a shower, brush teeth, get dressed for work.
  • Journaling: Sit down with my laptop and do a 10 to 30 min writing session.
  • Maybe read some more before leaving if I have time.

To be able to do that, I wake up at 5am, and I'm usually leaving for work at around 7:40am. It's been working great for me! I feel I have more energy, I am less anxious, and I start the day with a sense of accomplishment.

There are days when I only complete one or two of those activities because of an early appointment, or none at all because I'm sick or something, and that's okay! I know I will get back to them next time. I try not to skip more than twice in a row.

My yoga/meditation/exercise corner

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

So I started the 100 Days to Offload challenge in August 2023. My very ambitious goal was to have it completed by the end of 2023. At that time, there were still 144 days till the end of the year, so the goal was theoretically achievable.

But that meant I had to write almost every day. And I kept a steady rhythm in August and September. Then I realized I couldn't maintain that rhythm for too long. Work got busier, I got overwhelmed, and a little bit stressed out. My writing suffered. So I let go of that goal and reframed it.

My revised goal is: Write and publish 100 posts in 6 months (until the end of March 2024).

I still have 40+ posts to go, and I see that I'll have calmer weeks ahead, so I'm recommitting.

I still write privately in my journal semi-regularly, but not everything I write in my private journal I want to publish on my blog. I'll revisit this idea, maybe I can start publishing some deeper ramblings once in a while. I'll see how that goes.

Anyway, I'm super happy I started this challenge! It inspired me to write more, and I discovered a bunch of cool personal blogs out there along the way. I'm loving this journey!

Thanks for reading ☺️

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

These are some of the things that happened in my life lately:

  • ⛸️ Ice Skating lessons are over for this year, but I enrolled for the next sessions in January. For now, I'll keep on hitting the drop-in public skating sessions on Sundays in our neighbourhood ice rink.
  • 💪 I didn't go to the gym too much in the past 2 weeks. Both me and my partner caught a cold, and we didn't want to spread whatever it was. And also, we weren't feeling our best anyway. But we've been feeling well for the past few days.
  • 🏝️ I took 3 days off work last week to recharge. I basically spent the days reading, playing Assassin's Creed Odyssey and just relaxing at home. It was great! I still have some vacation days that I will use between Christmas and the New Year. I will be away from work from Dec 20th until Jan 1st. Yay!
  • 📖 I finished reading this urban fantasy book for my Book Club this week (“White Trash Warlock” by David R. Slayton). It was a light read, but I wasn't too invested in it. I picked up the second book of the Old Man's War series by John Scalzi now.
  • 🎉 We went to our work Holiday Party this Saturday. It was the first time in months that I stayed up late (went to bed at around 1am) and I felt like a zombie the next day. Not to mention the “introvert hangover” I usually get after big social events: extreme exhaustion. I just needed some quiet time to recover. I still managed to complete the minimum house chores (like cooking my meals for the week, doing laundry and groceries shopping) but I basically took naps the whole day. I tried to read, but I would easily fall asleep. I had fun at the party, but it always comes with the downside of needing a full day to unwind from an intense socializing experience.
  • 🌲 We went hiking on Saturday morning in a pleasant cloudy -4C day. Then the weather warmed up (reaching the high 6C), and we ended up getting rain over the Sunday. I've never seen rain in December like this!

Winter hiking scenery

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

I ended up getting into “Romantasy” vibes this month. It started with the first book of the “Blood And Ash” series, then I was intrigued to read the second book, and then I got into “The Fourth Wing” sensation. I listened to a non-fiction audiobook, and there was one fiction book I read for my book club that I didn’t enjoy. But overall, I had lots of fun with dragons and vampire-like folks!

  1. Still Distracted After All These Years: Help and Support for Older Adults with ADHD by Kathleen G. Nadeau, 288p (Audiobook): Good information, it brings successful examples of how to make life adjustments after retirement for people with ADHD. It mentions the importance of keeping a simple life, reaching out for help or support groups, exercising, diet, practising mindfulness and having social support. It gave me some insights on the difficulties adults with ADHD can face when getting older.

  2. Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro, 320p: The premise is beautiful, it hints at deep reflections about being human, but it didn't work for me. The dialogues were super weird and unnatural, they really bothered me. I missed more exploration of the technology behind the Artificial Friends (AF) and how they worked. Was Klara all mechanical? Was she an android? I wasn't convinced that AF's would find mystical significance in the Sun. The story hints at several themes but never really goes deep: environmental pollution, empathy, robots taking over human jobs, loneliness, gene editing, social class privilege. The plot is super simple and predictable, and the ending was very bleh.

  3. From Blood and Ash (Blood And Ash #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout, 613p: I just couldn't put this book down! Twisty tale. I enjoyed following the story through only one point of view (the female main character). I liked the level of suspense and how aspects of the world building are unveiled slowly. All is told through the point of view of The Maiden, our main character Poppy. She is a guarded figure in the realm, nobody can interact with her. So she doesn't know the world outside and we as readers are there with her discovering nasty secrets about the kingdom. The romance was interesting. It's not really enemies to lovers in the beginning, it's more like stranger-bodyguard romance (Hawke) that turns into enemies to lovers. [SPOILERS AHEAD! ] ===> This book had some plot twists that got me by surprise. I was expecting a typical “enemies to lovers” romance trope plot, but it actually had some surprising elements I was not expecting. The romance is not “happily ever after” in this one. I was not fully prepared for the ending. I was shocked by the final plot twist. We discover there are vampire-like and werewolf-like people in this world. Hawke was disguised as a royal guard all this time just to capture Poppy, and he is an Atlantian, aka “The Dark One” who basically wants to destroy Poppy's kingdom. Hawke turns out to be a ruthless, brutal killer. It's a very complicated relationship, and it got me curious to read the second book in the series. But I still enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would.

  4. A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire (Blood And Ash #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout, 531p: This second book continues right off where the first one ends. There is a lot of world building info dump as it explains a lot more about the Atlantians, wolven bonds and Vamprys. The world of politics and magic just continues to get more complex and nuanced. The pace slows down halfway through as there is a lot of travelling and lodging. [SPOILERS AHEAD! ] ===> The main characters are on their way to Atlantia and there is time for Poppy and Casteel to reconcile, so their “reunion” didn't feel rushed or forced. I was surprised at how I changed my mind about Casteel: he turned out to be a nice guy in light of all the terrible things happening in this world. Poppy discovers that her whole life was a lie, and we see her growing, regaining her confidence and being able to express her true self. It felt to me like a “second chance” type of romance, because now Poppy knows Casteel's true identity and there is relationship development all over again. It ends with a bang, and it seems the explanation of exactly what happened in the end is in the next book. I was intrigued again!

  5. Fourth Wing (The Empyrean #1) by Rebecca Yarros, 512p: Another book that I enjoyed more than I thought I would! We follow Violet SorrengaiI when she joins the Basgiath War College to become a dragonrider in the kingdom of Navarre. All she wanted was to become a scribe, but her mother, who is a war General, forces her to join the Dragonriders Quadrant, instead of the Scribe Quadrant. Just to keep family tradition (her older siblings were also dragonriders). I feel bad about the ruthlessness nature of this military school (there are zero concerns with safety and well-being of the cadets) but I got past that. Cadets die if they make mistakes or fail the crazy challenges and tests assigned to them. They are prepared to bond with a dragon and become a rider. The bond is strong, rider and dragons can telepathically communicate. And if you're a rider and your dragon dies, you die! I'm loving the mental banter-dialogues between the riders and the dragons. The romance is a slow burn, well-developed enemies-to-lovers. It's over the top and I loved it! I definitely want to check out the second book in the series.

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

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