One of the parts of the Getting Things Done methodology that I found most difficult to apply at first was writing down “purposes and principles” for each project (a project, in GTD, is any desired result that requires more than a single action. Click here for my GTD summaries or search for more articles through the tags menu). Maybe because one of the effects of the book is that it leaves you hungry for action, maybe because that part was not very vastly defined in the first book, it always had a taste of “homework” to me.
(There were linguistic issues, too: the straight translation of “principles” in my language, “principios”, is not exact, because in Spanish, the word has a series of moral implications that were misleading. It is less accurate, but works much better, to translate it as “guidelines” or something of the kind.)
It took me some time to realize the importance of such clarification, theoretical as it seems, and making an art of it (I don’t claim to be perfect; like GTD’ers say, the good thing about GTD is that learning the technique is not the end but the beginning). Just like with the weekly review, the fact is, if you don’t find the time do it, in fact you’ll be doing it all the time. So is better to face it once and for all and then get moving. And oh yes, it does clarify your path of action. How many times, for tasks that seemed so straightforward, when the tide rises, I’ve found myself doing something strange and suddenly waken up: “hey, but wait a minute, wasn’t all of this supposed to be (unexpensive / funny / paperless / an opportunity to learn / whatever)?”…
So purposes and principles do matter. And the initial rejection they cause could probably be a lazy response, the unconscious opposition that all of us feel towards things that do not seem comfortable, or clear. But there is no growth without leaving our comfort zone.
Rising
The matter is just as bad with the 50,000 ft. perspective (again, for those who are not into GTD: the list of your core values, your personal affirmations, what makes your life worthwhile in the long run). Seemingly, this is the least operative element in GTD (”My purpose in life? You serious? I have to deliver this report by tomorrow morning!”), and the “Getting things done” book while remarking its importance, does not dedicate much space to it. But it is crucial.
In “Making it all work”, Allen does talk a lot about this horizon of focus. He even admits that, by the time when “Getting things done” was written, he had not explored the possibilities and consequences of his system to the fullest extent. Now several years, hundreds of hours of coaching, one more book and thousands of articles have passed by, and David Allen’s third works offers the delight of refinement, the pleasure of watching someone who has mastered his field and his materials.
No one but yourself can decide the meaning of your life, of course. But even on that issue Allen offers an important, practical tip you can use:
“Because it is human nature to assume everyone around you shares your values, you often become aware of what your own values are only when someone else violates them”.
That is so so so true… That guy who doesn’t change his socks makes you realize that you value tidiness. That asshole who bullied you at school made you realize how disgusting violence feels to you. You never knew how much you value communication until that sentimental partner played dirty tricks on you. Etc. So, the astonishing fact is that, in a way, you have to thank those little bastards.
This a great way of being proactive. A clash of opinions is an opportunity to learn a lesson. Nasty people help you build your list of values, a task otherwise strongly theoretical and very boring to do. Isn’t that fantastic? Like the taoist master book I Ching says, the noble one does not reject any material: he can make use of anything. A wonderful rule of thumb for hanging around. Because we’ll for sure find really rough materials out there sometimes.
What have conflicts with others taught you about yourself? Any revealing experience? Any asshole to whom you feel particularly grateful?
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