One of the tenets of David Allen’s
Getting Things Done philosophy is to keep the calendar pure. This means your calendar is only used to record information about things that need to happen or places you need to be at particular moments in time. A dentist appointment, for example, belongs on the calendar. As does picking up your child from basketball camp.
What does not go there is the
long list of stuff you may or may not accomplish on a given day. I used to make due with the kind that show the whole month at a glance. All my activities on a given day fit into a 2″ x 2″ square. When my life started to get a little more complicated (ie. trying to make work deadlines and social commitments amid the conflicting schedules of a traveling spouse and two ever-more-busy children) I bought a bigger calendar.
I’ve moved on to the weekly planner style, which allows a good 20 square inches for each day! While this is great for keeping track of people to see and places to go, I got into the habit of trying to plan out my day according to the 15 minute intervals on the page. On some days this worked fabulously and I accomplished more than you’d think possible for a mere mortal. But on days that posed any sort of challenge – natural, mechanical, or hormonal – I of course would be thrown off track.
After a while I simply wrote a list for each day on its page, disregarding the times altogether. But even then I found myself repeatedly transferring undone tasks from one day to the next. Allen describes this in his book and makes the point that over time, this sort of ‘failure’ can be extremely demoralizing. Plus it clutters up your calendar. So try to keep your calendar pure, just for a week. Keep your
lists separate from your calendar and just see how much more space you feel. Because remember, there’s a difference between the things you’d LIKE to get done and the things you HAVE to get done.
What is the worst gift you ever received from a significant other? (By the way, I can’t stand this term so let me know if you know a better one – and I don’t mean partner.) I have received a Dirt Devil. My favorite, though, was when he had my daughter write on my birthday card: Good for one free spa day. Yes, the spa fairy granted me a wish. Who’s paying? I asked. My daughter looked up at me – moron that I am – it’s free silly, she said, can’t you read? Top that.
I’m not really one to look a Gift Man in the mouth, but it’s not rocket science is it? After years of telling my husband exactly what I wanted, I finally broke down last year for Christmas and actually wrote him out a list. All he had to do was take the kids out and start checking things off. It worked. I’m pretty much converted. Except that it sort of takes all the hearts and bubbles out of receiving gifts. What if… he knew exactly what I wanted… but I didn’t have to actually tell him… directly anyway…
Introducing Get In Her Head, the site where you enter all your gift wishes and sizes, then sit back and wait for the good stuff to start rolling in. They even have a cool service where they send emails giving you ideas of thoughtful things to do for your Other. Yes, you can now fake spontaneity! (and ladies, your man can put his info in too, in case you forget that he wants the eight foot plasma TV.)
What would I do without Parent Bloggers Network to keep me updated? Go visit them today and find out what others are saying about Get In Her Head.
