This is in conjunction with my previous entry. I was at work on the afternoon of Easter Sunday, and after I got my flight changed I realized that there were quite a few things that had to be done and I needed a secure system to make sure that they do get done. I realized that for the time available, it really would be overkill and probably take too long to add these tasks into Outlook or Pocket Informant, so I took out a legal pad that I keep at my desk for making notes on phone calls and for capturing ideas while that come to me while I'm focusing on other things (I'll write about that later), and started writing. I made a list, not in any particular order, of all that I had to do in order to tie up all my loose ends at work, school, and with family and friends. With each item that I put down, I also drew a box to check off. My list included such items as :
- email supervisor
- cancel lunch with friend
- reserve parking
- email changed itinerary
- Turn in timecard
And the list continued. Right before I decided to log on to Airport Parking Reservations to reserve my spot, my wife called and said that since I'm leaving in the evening instead of 0600 (6AM for those who don't do military time) she can take me. I crossed that off my list.
And so, I kept going until my entire list was done. It took a couple of hours. I didn't get fancy. I knew that I wasn't going to be able to handle 60 pages of my Java textbook or starting my program for this week, so I printed out the pages to read on the plane if I can. Once I was done, I knew that I could leave town, knowing that I was caught up at work and I could be reached if necessary.
The moral of this story is that sometimes, high tech is just too much. Sometimes a good old-fashioned list of tasks is what will get you through. I bet if I'd spent the afternoon trying to put these tasks into Outlook or My Life Organized, I'd still be there.
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