The Power of Reflection

One of the advantages that I have noticed with starting to undertake the 'Getting Things Done' method to managing my life is that it has freed up more time to properly reflect. This is not about creating more time, but more about using time better and being able to focus far more.

This blog, of course, is a part of that, but I am also keeping a much smaller, and more personal, daily journal. This journal is about 'Getting Things Down'. Whilst I can imagine that would be beneficial and could be done at any rate, the combination with 'Getting Things Done' has been excellent. Getting Things Done clears the head from tasks, and 'Getting Things Down' helps to clear the head from thoughts, feelings, ideas, and just general reflections. The former helps provide good space for the latter.

The common themes which I keep coming back to in these reflections are that despite us all seeming to be so busy, at all times, there are non negotiables in what I look for:

• Decency
• Courtesy
• Kindness
• Unselfishness
• Trust
• Compassion
• Integrity
• Tolerance

These are not quite the 'Nolan' principles for politicians, but they are a list of values which we must seek to constantly uphold. It is made more difficult by the tendency of some to not (which can drag others down to their level); the relentless of modern-day communication, where the short and snappy often replace the slightly more verbose but maybe more courteous; and the more modern drive towards narcissism and competitive profiling of oneself, which creates a social anxiety and ugliness about social relations.

In my 'Getting Things Done' list of tasks, I'm setting a weekly one - to just get in touch with a different friend each week. Nothing elaborate, nothing OTT, but just a simple message to see how a person is, and to show some of those values. I hope it proves as fulfilling to them, as starting this blog has to me.