Taking the stand

Published by Tony Quinlan on

Back here, I talked about the need to admit vulnerability.  And it’s been pointed out (relatively tactfully) that I also talk about role-modelling behaviours.  And that 2+2=4.

So it’s time to ‘fess up…  As anyone who’s worked with me in the past 20 years can tell you, I’m not naturally organised.  That’s an understatement of epic proportions, but luckily early in my career I had a superb manager that helped me impose some sort of order on my work.

Over the years, the methods have changed, evolving into a system that includes a little GTD, a little FranklinCovey and a little Now Habit.  Most of the time it’s pretty effective.

But at the moment, I’ve increased my information intake and I’m struggling to build new ways to keep up.  My email inbox is sitting somewhere round the 600 mark, I’ve got a few hundred RSS feeds waiting and a large pile of books and papers waiting to be read.

So, if you’ve been waiting on my replying – massive apologies are due and I will get there.  And don’t be surprised either if some of the articles and books I post up here in the coming months are older than the very latest.  Bear in mind, of course, that sometimes a little timelag can enable us to see the real value in an idea or thought.

Or at least that’s the silver lining I’m using.

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2 Comments

David Tebbutt · 18 November 2006 at 10:12 am

I knew a Cranfield IT professor once who just ignored emails on the grounds that if anything was important the sender would find another way of contacting him.
If you’ve got 600 unread emails, you might consider a similar approach.

Tony Quinlan · 21 November 2006 at 1:57 pm

At least the 600 have been read, if not acted on yet – it’s more a question of unclear/non-immediate actions get shelved and then swamped by the next wave of incoming materials…
Tempting though your IT professor’s approach may be, I don’t want to ignore what is a useful tool and communications route. It’s just with recent changes, I haven’t found a new way to use it more effectively…

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