[1] Merlin Mann of [2] 43folders.com in his [3] podcast from January 14, 2007, entitled [4] Kung Fu, Meditation, and Sex talks about how we need to move our productivity system from a point where we spend so much time thinking about the system to actually doing the things held by the system.  Merlin creates an analogy between the coffee cup and the system for maintaining your list.  If you spend all your time thinking about your coffee cup, you spend far too little time drinking your coffee (obviously you can think about the cup while drinking - but hopefully you understand the basic idea).  Being at a point where my lists have fallen apart in my initial implementation of GTD and I’m back to what I feel is square one, I’m devoting a series of posts to my search for productivity nirvana.  While Merlin has a point that we need to stop thinking about the system, searching for the best way to contain the system, and the best tools to use to implement the system, I think we do need to spend that up front time thinking about the system.  As [5] David Allen states in [6] Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity” target=”_blank”>Getting Things Done, “Thinking in a concentrated manner to define desired outcomes is something few people feel they have to do” (p. 15).  So while Merlin is right that once we are to the point of trying to utilize the system we need to stop thinking about the system and start doing the work contained in the system, I contend that the system will never work if we don’t spend that necessary time up front thinking about it and working through how it will apply to our lives.

In order to hold myself accountable to the whole process I’d even post what it is I’m thinking about as the outline for this series (The quest for productivity nirvana) and the publishing deadlines (self-imposed) for those.  So, here goes:

1. The quest for productivity nirvana, Post #1 - Series Purpose and Overview; post by March 6, 2007
2. Post #2 - Hard vs. Soft Landscape; post by March 9, 2007
3. Post #3 - Where are the in-baskets?; post by March 12, 2007
4. Post #4 - Where are the out-baskets?; post by March 15, 2007
5. Post #5- When to ask for help; post by March 18, 2007
6. Post #6 - When to say no; post by March 21, 2007
7. Post #7 - What is a project?; post by March 24, 2007
8. Post #8 - What is a task?; post by March 27, 2007
9. Post #9 - Where do I do work?; post by March 30, 2007
10. Post #10 - When and where do I work and think best?; post by April 3, 2007
11. Post #11 - Ways to organize it all - using paper; post by April 5, 2007
12. Post #12 - Ways to organize it all - using technology; post by April 8, 2007
13. Post #13 - Ways to organize it all - hybrid; post by April 11, 2007
14. Post #14 - Happily Cranking Widgets - Keeping it all up to date; post by April 14, 2007
15. Post #15 - Happily Craking Widgets - Have I reached Productivity Nirvana; post by April 17, 2007

Of course, I reserve the right to change the publishing schedule if necessary - but you’ll at least get these posts over the life of the series.  I hope you enjoy and I welcome your comments or thoughts for additional articles.