When we spend too much time planning on what’s going to happen, and too little time doing, we lose out on real world experience.
Doing, and getting your hands dirty is generally better than the meticulous planning behind the scene. Doing, falling and learning from the mistakes are what make us grow.
A wise man once said if you are not failing, you are doing it wrong. Sometimes, we all get caught up with the idea of waiting for the best time to do it, waiting for the ideal opportunity to arise. This can be false dawn. Nobody knows the best time to do something. If there’s a time to do it, it must be right away.
When I read about how bloggers spent countless hours of time to search for the perfect theme, tweak their CSS, adjust the font, change the colors and the likes. At the end of the day, they’re burned out. They don’t have the energy to write anymore. This is ironic, and depressing to know at the same time. Because, a blog is for people to express their thoughts, and having tweaked the site to the ideal setting but there isn’t any content inside really defeats purpose. It’s like building the perfect bookshelves without any books in it.
I reflect upon the articles I stumble upon when people have detailed write-up on their workflow, their Omnifocus and the tools of their choice doesn’t help me accomplish anything productive. I may take a quick glance at them, I may scroll through them, but I know well in my mind and heart it’s nothing more than a distraction for me to actually getting things done. We enjoy reading about others’ workflow system because it’s another form of consumption, and the passive mode of consumption is always better their shaving things off your to-do list.
I tend to stay away from those so called GTD tools. In my opinion, I either spend too much time fiddling with the themes and settings and derail away from the tasks. Planning without execution is futile. I need to find a system that balances what I need with the ease of use and features. At this stage, I certainly don’t need the powerful set of features OmniFocus can provide. It’s an overkill akin to using a sledgehammer to getting rid of an ant.
That being said, planning is still very essential to gives us an objective view of the tasks ahead. It allows us to stay organised and sane, and allows us to prioritise our to-do list and projects. With good planning doesn’t necessarily guarantee success. It does, however, makes you better prepared to tackle the issues in advance.
As I source around for the tools that centrals around my workflow, i stumble upon a really good write-up on the tools the author are using to enhance his productivity. Some of the software are ones which I already know well, while some are just reaffirming their status as a tool I will look into as I venture deeper into the realm of GTD. As my workflow becomes more sophisticated, I’m sure these handy tools will be invaluable to how I operate.
But for now, I’m happy with the ballpoint pen and a random piece of paper on my task.