Thursday, November 21, 2013
Chapter 12
This chapter revolved around a very simple question that we probably ask ourselves unconsciously numerous times throughout the day, "What's the next action?" In the chapter, Allen coins this into a term, and the entire chapter almost felt like a pitch to the reader on why Next Action is so effective and useful. I personally felt the chapter to be a little repetitive however, made very good points in terms of how Next Action could help you personally overcome feelings of anxiety when you procrastinate. I liked his views on why smart people procrastinate, and I found it to be true, that indeed it seems that the people who dread doing things due to a bad emotion attached to that particular task, tend to procrastinate and cause a vicious cycle of nonproductive activity. I particularly enjoyed his take on intelligent dumbing down using next action. How in utilizing next actions, we can minimize the stress of the work by taking control and thus lowering the anxiety that comes with procrastinating, or overthinking. He also then went on to argue and convince on why Next Action could lead to productivity, accountability, clarity, and empowerment. Overall the chapter was short, simple, and to the point about why next action is an effective tool.
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I can also relate to the procrastination claim Allen makes. While reading about procrastination, I found that I was able to truly understand what Allen is trying to say. It's something so simple, yet I never viewed my procrastination habits the way Allen explained it. Now that I am aware of this and know how to counter it, I can remind myself of what needs to be done to prevent my procrastination from reaching the "blowing" point.
ReplyDeletei agree with breaking down the task can decrease the level of anxieties!
ReplyDeleteHey Samuel,
ReplyDeleteI also felt this that chapter was repetitive. I think that this chapter was Allen's testimonial to how effective Next-Action list tool is and he also provides a small paragraph about how he and his colleague invented the tool. He seems to have much excitement about how this tool can revolutionize the 'world' in productivity.