How do you get things done?
David Allen, amongst countless other life coaches, business men and women, time management ‘experts’ and so on have spent and earned millions trying to figure out this question.
As people, we can do more than just spend our days hunting, eating and procreating. We’re lucky in that way because we have the chance to do something really world-changing or life-fulfilling, but only if we choose to.
Coming back from a year abroad in hot and busy Asia to a breezy summer in my seaside home in England, it’s been all too easy to slip into a lazy routine of reading, surfing the internet, hanging out with friends and going on the occasional jog. Short of writing one essay, a few songs and getting through a pile of books, I admit I haven’t ‘done’ too much since I’ve gotten back. I haven’t felt so relaxed in such a long time and it’s quite a relief just to lay back for once.
However, the inertia is starting to get me and lately I’ve been feeling a little restless again as I try to find ways to output all of the energy and momentum I’ve built up whilst travelling. I feel like a train that was travelling at full speed and has come to a screeching halt. I need to get back on track, even if slowly but surely.
Back in March, for my birthday post I wrote about things that matter. Even though this is a minimalist blog, I’ve long since learned that it’s not enough to just ‘minimalize’ your life. Just cutting down on things and getting rid of things is only half the battle.
We have to minimalize, then focus, then do.
What to minimalize, focus and do is something I’ve written a lot about (these posts remain some of the most popular). I feel I’ve concentrated a lot on why as well – happiness is one of the most important things in our lives, and yet there are too many people who have forgotten about it or are trying to ‘chase it’ in the wrong ways.
But one thing I haven’t talked too much about is how.
How do we go for what we want? How do we make our dreams into realities?
These are the kinds of questions I hope to be tackling over the next few weeks.