I'm becoming more and more a fan of 'Getting Things Done' by David Allen. You can find a lot of resources -- tools, articles and support -- online to help you keep focused and in 'the zone' when it comes to getting yourself better organized and more productive.
If you haven't found it yet, I recommend you subscribe to his free newsletter at The David Allen Company. Here's an article from his latest newsletter entitled, GTD Karate:
For years I have woven the martial arts metaphor in and through my writing, training and coaching about getting things done. I had the good fortune to be able to study karate for several years in my twenties, and my familiarity with that field gave me a rich context of images and concepts to draw from.
I didn’t fully appreciate, however, much of what getting my black belt gave me until later in life. Over the years I began to recognize the value of various habits and standards that training had ingrained in my personal style. They affected my approach to everything. And as I delved progressively deeper into the arena of personal productivity, similarities with karate began to resonate in many new ways. My conclusion was, and still is, that work (and life) IS a martial art – not just a reflection of it.
Though there is likely an infinite list of the similiarities, the ones I find most interesting are the process replications – what’s the same in the nature of the two arts themselves. Here’s my Top Ten:
1. There are no beginner’s moves.
You begin in karate learning moves that you will practice as a third-degree black belt. A round-house kick or knife-hand block is the same, whether you are just learning it or you are a sensei. Being responsible for your internal commitments, deciding what next physical action is required on something you want to do or change, clarifying your intention and vision – those are true from beginning to end, no matter how mature you are in life or its process. There’s no elementary way to process your in-basket to zero.
2. It feels counter-intuitive and unnatural when you start.
Trying to stand and move gracefully in a karate “front stance” feels initialy like one of the more unnatural things the body has ever attempted. It’s almost as weird as writing everything down that you commit to do something about, as it occurs to you. Or spending valuable time cleaning up non-critical open loops on the front end. Weird science.
3. Once you’re used to it, it is the most natural way to move.
Once you master the basic karate stances, your natural walk takes on a gracefulness you wonder why you ever did without. Once you integrate outcome- and next-action thinking into your life, not doing it seems both awkward and backward.
4. It handles basic movement and resource allocation masterfully.
In order to be able to break bricks with your hand and manifest a pinpoint of power in an instant, you learn to move the whole body with extreme efficiency. And once you’ve mastered the five phases of workflow, you don’t complain about your volume of e-mail nor mind putting everything on hold to focus on the surprise that just showed up.
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