Pay Attention to What Has Your Attention | BNET

Pay Attention to What Has Your Attention | BNET: "That’s also why the GTD model is so consistently successful. As opposed to putting forward an idealized starting point where you “should” start, we suggest that you begin with where you are. Very few people, when we ask them to capture what’s on their mind, start off with, “Fulfill my destiny on the planet.” Most begin with something like “Fix printer” or “Get babysitter for the weekend.” If your destiny, or your strategic vision, or your ideal outcome for your mom’s elder-care situation is the first thing on your mind, fabulous. Grab it. If it’s not, and you really want to effectively identify and incorporate those higher-horizon commitments, you must start with what’s taking up the space in front of them. More often than not that’s 22 e-mails you’ve been avoiding, the sitter you need to arrange for your kids for tomorrow night, and buying cat food. If you don’t deal with those effectively, they will undermine your recognition of the bigger stuff or at least diminish your ability to focus on them clearly."