MINDMANAGER VS THE BRAIN 9 PROFESSIONAL

Or, perhaps the real issue is that on some level, you are perfectly ok with the way that you currently get things done - at least for right now. Use your creative right-brain to find another way to implement the spirit of GTD. So, if you don't want to make lots of lists or spend lots of time manipulating them - don't. I've found good ideas in all of them, but I've never implemented any author's system exactly as they describe it (including GTD). I've read pretty much every time management/personal organization book that's come down the pike. I always tweak things and use the concepts and techniques that make sense to me. Personally, I very rarely use anything straight out of the box. You can make your system as complicated or as simple as you want it to be. You can use that tool in any way that works best for your lifestyle. I think that it is important to remember that GTD is just a tool. These are just off the top of my head, but I hope to help you get a feeling for GTD and right-brain organization as being Both/And rather than Either /Or. Stick them into a 3-ring binder (the UCT) w/a separate page for each the task is completed, crumple or tear the Post-It to give yourself a physical sense of completion and finality. Why not use different colors of Post-Its for different tasks? etc. It might also be helpful to use open-topped file crates, rather than closed file drawers, to make the filing more accessible. (BTW, I can't say how absolutely FRUSTRATED I am that this new bulletin board language doesn't seem to want me to use color in this particular post!) edited to add: found out how, but it took some doing.Grr. Yellow for things that make them happy: kids, pets, hobbies, etc.ДЄnd so forth. Red folders for legal, emergency, or medical IMPORTANT papers I feel that GTD can be done in a right-brain-friendly manner, akin to some of the work Judith Kolberg discusses in 'Surviving Chronic Disorganization' and 'ADD-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life.'ДЄlthough David Allen recommends the manila-vanilla folders, many right-brain and/or ADD people prefer and/or NEED color. (On each test of 'hemisphere' preference I've taken, I come out very close to even-whatever THAT means.)

Which means that I can cater to either side of the brain. I like to work with 'chronically disorganized' people and help them create/maintain systems after we've done the work of finding a clean surface! And I also edit scientific data, occasionally checking lab results for accuracy of significant figures.

MINDMANAGER VS THE BRAIN 9 PROFESSIONAL

I do professional organizing and am a technical editor. She has lots of good tips to help build a system that matches the way you think. You might also take a look at 'Organizing from the Inside Out,' and 'Time Management from the Inside Out,' both by Julie Morgenstern. So you might take a look at your implementation and see if that's the problem rather than GTD itself. In my system, I throw everything into MindManager (which is a right-brained tool to begin with), then use ResultManager to generate context lists, project lists, and all the rest. When you've done the action, throw the card away. Paperclip cards for a given context together. Put your Next Actions on index cards, for example. That kind of system is what I was fleeing from when I looked at GTD. Some people use systems that seem to require almost constant maintenance, with lots of rewriting (or copying and pasting) of lists, detailed project codes, precise assignment of priorities, etc. However, some GTD *implementations* are more left (or right) brained than others. So yes, I think GTD can definitely work for right brained people. For me, GTD helps my left brain believe that everything is under control, so it can relax and let my right brain do the disorganized right brain puttering that actually gets work done.

Mindmanager vs the brain 9