I found a few aspects of this week's reading especially insightful. One point is the "Top Item First" concept dictating that, "everything get processed equally." Rather than establishing priorities when getting the "in" to empty, everything should get processed once it is next up in the "in." Although this seems counterproductive, it has an important purpose: ending avoidance behavior. I can completely relate to this, as I often put off seemingly difficult or boring tasks in favor of more interesting ones. I recently finally finished my homework calendar for this semester, although it had been on my to-do list for nearly two months. I had been dreading it since I know it's a long, complicated, and boring task.
In completing my calendar, I would have also benefited from another important point Allen brings up in Chapter 6: "Every action needs to be the absolute next physical thing to do." If I had taken this step with my calendar, it would have seemed a lot less overwhelming. This step is designed to help individuals "finish the thinking exercise" about each item. Prior to reading Allen, I had not thought about just how vital thinking through the steps required to complete a task is.
"Every action needs to be the absolute next physical thing to do." I love this quote as well. I usually have a lot of things in my mind to deal with and I feel burned out. But it helps me relieve stress to think about the very next physical thing to progress the projects. ~~Larry
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