Greetings and Salutations!

I just finished reading "Making it all work" by David Allen - a book on time management and priority setting. It's a follow-up to his book "Getting Things Done". I recommend both! They lay out great ideas for getting your life organized.

The gist is this. First, sit down and let your brain go wild. Write down on giant pads of paper EVERYTHING on your various to-do lists. The idea here is that your brain is wonderfully creative, and you should let it be free to be creative. Tying it up with trying to remember tasks is a waste of its valuable skills. Let calendars and paper and lists do that tedious work for your brain.

So get everything out. Mind-dump. List all tasks in all areas. Yes it'll be a large list! That's fine. That frees up your brain.

Then once it's all out, sort and sift the list. Are some things items you can, on reflection, just not do? Are some things able to be delegated? Figure out which items really belong on your list.

Now, organize into categories. Maybe some things are wish-list fantasies, and others are short-term urgent. It's OK to have multiple lists. In fact he recommends having a "brain dead" list - items that require no brainpower and can be done when you're just not able to think. I love this list myself - when we get hit with a heat wave and my brain shuts down, I can still work through some tasks.

Then you can start taking action!

Come on by the Self Development and Life Coaching forum areas, and we'll get you started! Even just the act of making that giant list can be quite freeing, because you see in one place all your various tasks and you can let your mind stop trying to remember them. It gives your brain a rest, and lets it do the fun, creative stuff!

Lisa Shea, owner
BellaOnline.com

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