If you've tried out the Getting Things Done system, you're already familiar with the weekly review. It's one of the GTD cornerstones. I see why it's a good idea. I just hate doing it.
Mystie Winckler describes her approach in this post -- the basic idea is that you need to empty your inboxes, knock out any quick and easy tasks that they generate, and plan for the following week. Set your priorities, she advises. Review your calendar.
My problem is always the inboxes. By the time the inboxes are empty, I don't want to do anything else. I want to set my auto-reply to LEAVE ME ALONE UNLESS YOU ARE LIKING MY SOCIAL MEDIA POST. Who has time to PLOW and POPULATE and POSITION when there's so much email in the world?
I am just going to think aloud at you, friends-- okay? Because this seems like it shouldn't be so hard and yet I do find it hard. Right now in my personal inbox there are four messages that require me to think about Joe's new school. How are we going to handle transportation for him on long weekends? How often will we visit him? Answer: I do not know. There are two messages that involve tasks for a boy with a follow-through problem. I should deal with the follow-through problem and with the tasks, but [cue wailing inner three-year-old] I don't waaaaant to. There are two messages about Boy Scouts that require me to talk to a boy who doesn't really want to stay in Boy Scouts even though I think it's a good idea for him to stay in Boy Scouts, and one about Girl Scouts that requires me to make stay-or-go choices about Girl Scouts. I have also been avoiding the five messages reminding me that it would be a good idea to accomplish some non-essential work tasks like reading a new issue of a journal, and the four messages about the Mystie Winckler course derailed by our NYC trip.
Four of the messages represent conversations I want to have with people I care about. They're just buried under the decisions and responsibilities that make me weary.
Are you a GTD-er or a weekly review-er? Do you have any inbox secrets to share?
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