A Slim Wasteline

Posted: Sun 12 Dec, 2010

“Are you wasting your time?”

I’m preparing for a trip overseas and the myriad loose ends coming out of the woodwork (that I am somehow coping with) have prompted this question to come to mind in relation to other areas of my life.

A definite date of departure has forced me to cut the fat from everyday ‘stuff’ and it has had some interesting consequences. I’m getting more done and having more fun.

A few weeks ago, amid my flurry of list writing and generally ‘trying to hold my world down’ I realised I wasn’t actually getting anything done. The dreaded “I’m wasting my time” feeling surfaced pretty soon after spending a second hour responding to emails I'm not really interested in, then indulging my neurosis by thinking about uncomfortable decisions that needed to be made a week prior.

I realised I wasn’t making progress because I was too busy being lazy. I was spending enormous amounts of energy doing tasks that were not defined and were often not relevant.

If you get the feeling you’re busy all the time but don’t seem to have a proportionate amount to show for it then read on.

A Natural Process (that doesn’t always happen naturally).

Pick a project, anything you’re currently involved in. Examples could be the frequently ambiguous ‘get fit’ goal, or planning a friends birthday party, or a work task, anything, and apply the following.

Take a pen and some blank sheets of paper to somewhere you won’t be disturbed and write the name of your project at the top of a page. Write your answers to the questions below on you sheet of paper and don’t rush the process.

1. Why am I doing this? What’s the overall purpose of this?
2. What’s my ultimate vision for this project? What does the finished product look like, feel like, sound like?
3. Brainstorm - How would I accomplish this? What needs to happen?
4. What are the very next actions I have to take? Where do I start?

- Adapted from “The Five Phases of Natural Planning”
from David Allen’s “Getting Things Done”

The process above can be used for anything from building a house to planning a BBQ.

Once you’ve put a project through the process above, you’ll often find the relevant steps you need to perform to move it forward are clearer and simpler than you thought.

Then all that’s required is to take the first step.
 

About the Author

Benjamin Weale works in Personal Training and Lifestyle Coaching at Levity.  For more information on this article or to make an appointment with Benjamin, contact Levity on (02) 9389 0278 or email Benjamin directly at benjaminw@levityhealth.com.au.