The Productivity Show #022 - The Return of Jason Womack
The Productivity Show #022 (MP3 - 16MB - 40min)
The response from our last show with Jason Womack (which, come to think of it, was our last show full stop) was so positive we decided to get him back on - quickly! Fortunately for us, Jason was happy to make himself available once again.
For those of you who missed that episode, Jason is a GTD guru and staff trainer at the David Allen Company.
On this episode, we talk about:
having the discipline to keep yourself organized
hacks for getting back on track
having too much to do… problem or opportunity?
handling complexity and ambiguity
And if you dig the show, don’t forget to vote on Podcast Alley.
February 23rd, 2006 at 1:46 am
I thought that the analogy between NASCAR teams needing to remove anything that causes drag and the need to clear your workspace to prevent unrelated items causing mental drag while working was brilliant. When I look around my desk - which is relatively well-organized - there are a few items that can catch my attention, if only for an instant, and disrupt my efficiency on the task at hand.
This was my first time listening and I was impressed. Lots of good ideas and food for thought.
February 23rd, 2006 at 11:15 pm
Rob,
I too was impressed by that comment. I know it is true in triathlon! (My sport of choice…) As for “work drag” - no pun intended - when I get back to my home office (I work there 1-2 days a week), I know the first thing I need to do is process and organize.
Thanks for listening in!
February 24th, 2006 at 2:15 am
I loved the last podcast with him, and I felt the exact same way about this one. Great job on it, in addition to getting Jason to speak with you guys twice. Twice!
This was my second time listening. I usually remove podcasts from my library once I finish, but I’ve kept both of these. If I redownload the previous podcast with Jason, are the audio levels fixed? The one I have right now make Des’ voice really faint.
Thanks again, and keep doing podcasts like this! :)
February 24th, 2006 at 4:46 am
Too much to do? An in-box of urgent and important tasks that are indistinguishable in terms of priority?
I kept waiting in this podcast to hear David Allen’s advise on this particular scenario, but in vain. So here’s my pick of the most relevant advice (From the second book I believe):
Pick 1, 2 or 3 projects to focus on today, and take 5 minutes to *re-negotiate* the others. That’s not as good as getting everything done today, but that’s usually just not an option, so the best thing to do is notify the people you’re working with/for that their work will not get done today. Give an estimate of when you hope to do it, and then get to WORK making a serious dent in those two things you’re going to focus on today, rather than letting the numbers log-jam your brain and lead to procrastination.
People will respect being *told* their project isn’t being done right now, with and estimate of when it will be, far more than silent delays.
March 1st, 2006 at 5:12 am
I can relate to your senitiments, Cameron, about when to find the time to “clear the desk”. I am happy that some parts of the GTD methodology are making themselves habits but I am giving myself a long period of time to convert and say I am in “total control”. It is one of those things that I think is fairly individual so best to work out how to get parts of the methodology going and then take on the next part. Be good to hear about how Des got into GTD and if it was a total conversion or a bit by bit approach.
Des, the sound levels still need some work. Cameron has a similar problem on G’day World where he is often quiter than Rich.
March 8th, 2006 at 5:21 pm
Barry Schwartz is the name of the psychologist you were referencing about decisions and depression. He has generated lots of links. Google him.
March 11th, 2006 at 11:08 am
[...] Well, listening to the Productivity Podcast with Jason Womack he gave a most excellent suggestion - put your car keys in your tickler file! That way you’ll have to check it every day (if you want to leave your house that is). [...]
March 27th, 2006 at 7:17 pm
Absolutely loving the Jason interviews. Thank you so much!