I recently came out of an era of my life where I was so overwhelmed that I did not know what to do with myself. I felt like I was playing catch-up from the moment I opened my eyes in the morning. You know that feeling, "I have so much to do today, there is no way I can get it all done." What a way to start the day huh? In my defense, I fought my heart out every single day, I got all my lists together and fought long and hard to get everything done. I just couldn't!
I say lists (plural) because I had my physical list on my legal pad, my post its all over my desk and other places, my computer lists and the lists on my phone. Which oddly enough the more sophisticated my phone got the more lists I was able to place in it, which was not necessarily a good thing. Then of course I had my thoughts and ideas du jour, the daily interruptions, family emergencies and non-emergencies, the list goes on and on.
Get it? "The List" goes on and on…Anyway.
I eventually got to a point that I am lovingly call "my breakdown". I just could not take it anymore. There was no possible way that I could continue this juggling act for months much less years. I could not picture myself keeping that pace up when I was 50 years old. Better yet, I did not WANT to keep that pace up or at least not the way I was doing it at that time. I always had a pretty good technique when I felt overwhelmed. I would just STOP everything and take it one step at a time. The only problem was that the older I got, the more frequently I had to apply this technique and little by little those breaks became longer and longer. I was having too much "down time". No balance, No system, Nothing! I was burning out very quickly.
I don't mean to sound like some kind of victim here. I am just trying to paint a picture of how frantic and hectic my life was without the right tools and right mindset.
I had definitely heard about this book, being a bestseller and all. Everyone that I respected in business had read this book and swore by it. I just had not found the time to read it. (I hope you are enjoying all the unintended puns)
At the point when I felt most overwhelmed I decided that I had to do something very different if I was going to continue my career at all. I had high blood pressure, had gained WAY too much weight and generally was not having fun anymore. So I found the time to read this book because I felt I had to. This book opened my eyes to a whole new world. A world of controlled chaos!
A world where I could actually be in control of my day. Can you believe it? I finally found a way to really manage my time. A system! Balance!
Real Time Management!
I was hooked from the moment I started reading. Who knew that there was a science AND a psychology to this subject. There is so much detail in this book that I had to read it again just to make sure I got everything loud and clear. This book definitely helped me change my perspective on my work day, my feelings of being totally out of control and helped me get peace back into my daily routine. I now have a much better grasp on things. I have learned how to prioritize within a system where I have everything I need, when I need it. I would say that my days have changed by 90%.
If you are a busy person, business person or entrepreneur, you understand the demands that we bare on a daily basis. This book is great for people like us. It is extremely useful for anyone serious about getting a "system" going out of the chaos of our work and personal lives. Very technical approach to what we usually view as uncontrollable situations.
Here is the link in case you would like to purchase the book right now:
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
Stay tuned as I will be sharing more of my experiences with time management and other business aspects in future posts.
As always, feel free to comment on what your experiences have been or your opinion on this book.
To Your Success!
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31. December 2009 at 7:53 PM
Thanks for the awesome reminder that I need to actually READ the book … you know what I mean, just buying it doesn’t quite get the job done. I’ll put it on the list right after I finish the current one… hehe! I too have heard nothing but rave reviews on this book and I look forward to it. I don’t know if you use gmail but there is an awesome Firefox plugin for gmail called GTD Mail (although it was about to get a name change) that adds some of the sorting features to your email box. Very handy!
Kimberly Castleberry´s last blog ..Inspirational Moment: You Make Your Own Worth
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8. January 2010 at 3:34 PM
You got me. I ordered the audio download. I’m listening right now. Thanks for the suggestion.
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12. January 2010 at 4:42 PM
I think so many people know the feeling of being burnt out and not even lining our own pockets. What were we thinking. I think what ever the book, plan, system, mindset is, we all need something because we can change so much by doing a little and often everyday.
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Beth Hewitt Reply:
January 12th, 2010 at 4:43 PM
for some reason my comment luv only works after I have done my message lol.!!
Beth Hewitt´s last blog ..Finding your Niche?
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