Back From The Edge

One of the freeing things I have implemented is what Merlin Mann calls Inbox Zero. It is a practice of zeroing out my email every time I check it. It does not mean responding to every email, but it also does not mean just leave it be. Instead, it is a series of decisions about what action needs to be taken based on this email.

Below is Merlin talking to the folks at Google about how to tame their inbox.

I have tried a number of Getting Things Done (GTD) tools in an attempt to make it easier to bring my box to zero. The one that works for me is a Firefox add-on to be used with Gmail call GTDinbox (now known as Active Inbox). The program integrates with my Gmail and provides me with read to go labels for emails. It makes it easy to decide on an action and to find the email later to take action.

It is so satisfying not only seeing that my inbox is empty, but that I have either acted on the email or sorted them into the appropriate places for action or reference. It is like removing a popcorn kernel from my brain.

Below is a sample of David Allen’s book:

There many actions and behaviors I have put into place in the last year that have allowed my mind to calm down and has allowed me to be at rest and feel contented.

1. I have started using David Allen’s method of Getting Things Done (GTD). It is a bottom up system that is based on ubiquitous capture of thoughts, ideas, action items (“oh, yeah, I’ve got to…”).

2. Daily meditation. I spend 10 minutes every morning focused on my breathing. It is not a religious exercise, it is an exercise of living in the moment (yes, I do have monkey mind quite a bit).

3. The practice of doing what I am doing. Most of the time while I am doing something I am somewhere else in my thoughts. When I drink my tea, I remember to be present to drinking tea. When I am speaking with someone, I try to focus on the words I am hearing rather than what I want to say next. I find that the practice of living these simple moments translates into my living moment to moment with more ease.

I will write about GTD in another post. But below is a primer on GTD via our friends at YouTube.

What is it that helps you to feel at peace and to be present?