The post-it note trick is genius. Forced triage through physical constraint beats trying to mentally prioritze when you're already overloaded. I've used something similar with a rule where if a task list doesn't fit on one screen without scrolling, it's not actually a plan, it's anxiety disguised as organization.
That last sentence is genius too! I've mentioned here that I'm currently working with a hybrid digital/analog system and I'm going to say a lot more about that in the future, but something like what you just mentioned is a key part of my weekly planning at this point - physically limiting the amount of space that my tasks are allowed to take up.
My MIL is hospitalized, so my SAHP partner is out of town supporting her (and took our only car), and I suddenly am managing all the household logistics that are usually his. On top of that, there's only two days of K-12 school this week, and one of them pivoted to virtual because of weather. Lots of triaging the plan to bare essentials and asking for help.
Wow, that's rough. I hope this post has been helpful. My son (who is 17 now) has been home all week from school too, but like I said he's basically self maintaining so there's no added pressure on me, but I was definitely thinking about those days 15 years ago when somebody (usually me) would have to throw all these big plans in the trash because of a school closure.
Your point about asking for help is one I should have made in the post, and it's hugely important.
I asked to BORROW A CAR, which felt big, and a neighbor came through! (Having previously had the "we want to live here because we want to be able to parent like it's 1985" conversation with this neighbors was big in making that feel like a safe ask.)
Thanks for this post. For both work and personal reasons, it's been a season where my GTD system is not fully functioning. It's helpful to pull back and realize that there are alternative in-the-moment strategies (e.g., the from-memory, one-Post-It-Note total focus idea) that can help get through. As I try to remind myself and others, you can only do what you can do - have grace with yourself. I'm also sensing that I need to simplify my GTD processes, but an overhaul will need to wait at least a little longer.
My overweight state was the result of my eating habits, which included eating throughout the day and choosing heavy and processed foods. Often this would include eating after 6pm like this. Well, when you put any food in your body it will take 2-6 hours for most of the digestive process to work, and if it's heavy food it will impact circulation and respiration (and take longer). The body is working HARD in other words to digest all this stuff, and so when I did this after 6pm then it's no wonder I wasn't falling asleep until 2am, having spikes in my heart rate, and irregularities in breathing. Once I was on my program I was limited to natural foods, about 600 calories a day, and eating only from 10-6 so it gave my body the break it needed to actually digest the food before sleeping. That's the short/not totally scientific explanation anyway.
I’ve also realized that for the GTD context thing to work, you need to build a lot of degrees of freedom in your system. Totally related to grading overload (and where it’s coming from 🫣).
The post-it note trick is genius. Forced triage through physical constraint beats trying to mentally prioritze when you're already overloaded. I've used something similar with a rule where if a task list doesn't fit on one screen without scrolling, it's not actually a plan, it's anxiety disguised as organization.
That last sentence is genius too! I've mentioned here that I'm currently working with a hybrid digital/analog system and I'm going to say a lot more about that in the future, but something like what you just mentioned is a key part of my weekly planning at this point - physically limiting the amount of space that my tasks are allowed to take up.
Timely post, as this has been one of those weeks.
My MIL is hospitalized, so my SAHP partner is out of town supporting her (and took our only car), and I suddenly am managing all the household logistics that are usually his. On top of that, there's only two days of K-12 school this week, and one of them pivoted to virtual because of weather. Lots of triaging the plan to bare essentials and asking for help.
Wow, that's rough. I hope this post has been helpful. My son (who is 17 now) has been home all week from school too, but like I said he's basically self maintaining so there's no added pressure on me, but I was definitely thinking about those days 15 years ago when somebody (usually me) would have to throw all these big plans in the trash because of a school closure.
Your point about asking for help is one I should have made in the post, and it's hugely important.
You're doing the right things! Hang in there.
I asked to BORROW A CAR, which felt big, and a neighbor came through! (Having previously had the "we want to live here because we want to be able to parent like it's 1985" conversation with this neighbors was big in making that feel like a safe ask.)
Thanks for this post. For both work and personal reasons, it's been a season where my GTD system is not fully functioning. It's helpful to pull back and realize that there are alternative in-the-moment strategies (e.g., the from-memory, one-Post-It-Note total focus idea) that can help get through. As I try to remind myself and others, you can only do what you can do - have grace with yourself. I'm also sensing that I need to simplify my GTD processes, but an overhaul will need to wait at least a little longer.
Would love to hear about your weight loss journey and how it was related with sleep apnea and insomnia. I struggle with both.
My overweight state was the result of my eating habits, which included eating throughout the day and choosing heavy and processed foods. Often this would include eating after 6pm like this. Well, when you put any food in your body it will take 2-6 hours for most of the digestive process to work, and if it's heavy food it will impact circulation and respiration (and take longer). The body is working HARD in other words to digest all this stuff, and so when I did this after 6pm then it's no wonder I wasn't falling asleep until 2am, having spikes in my heart rate, and irregularities in breathing. Once I was on my program I was limited to natural foods, about 600 calories a day, and eating only from 10-6 so it gave my body the break it needed to actually digest the food before sleeping. That's the short/not totally scientific explanation anyway.
Thank you for sharing.
I’ve also realized that for the GTD context thing to work, you need to build a lot of degrees of freedom in your system. Totally related to grading overload (and where it’s coming from 🫣).