I am still slogging my way through Making It All Work, David Allen’s latest book extending the Getting Things Done philosophy.  I only say slogging because there is a lot of thought generating stuff in there so far. This has not been an easy read, but it has been worthwhile, because I keep stopping every few pages to capture, take notes and digest some of the ways it is spurring new concepts and ideas. This said, there is one idea that has really resonated with me…

What is true now?

Are you looking for the reason to always have something to capture ideas with you at all times? Are you looking for the point in doing regular reviews? Are you stuck with not knowing what to do next out of the 50 things you should be doing and the 500 you could be doing? Then the solution can be found in answering, to the fullest extent possible, the one question above. Other questions, such as…

How much time do I have?

What tools are at my disposal?

What is the next action to move the project forward?

None of these questions can be honestly answered until you have truthfully quantified “What is true now?”. This is why regular reviews, brain dumps, capturing things easily, etc. is so very critical. Until you can define all of the truths of your world, until you know where you are right this moment, until you can appreciate both what you have and what you don’t, there is no possible way you can know for sure that the next step you take is the one you should be.

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