Beyond the two week limit

 OK, as I thought (but did not promise. I try not to promise much, because I really try to keep my promises.) I’m doing the second post, the one for this weekend, on my usual “few minutes after lunch, before my lunch-break ends” schedule.

I’ve done a lot of stuff that would go under the “self-help” category in bookstores. Or fall under the “personal development” category. Some would say too much. One thing I noticed as a common and repeating theme, was that it is relatively easy to get people excited and inspired to do something, for a few weeks. People come off of the weekend pumped, or finish the book (or start in the middle of the book) to change things, do something new and cool, and then notice positive changes in their life. This is common, in the self-help/personal development field. You can reliably get this experience. What is much less common, is the changes persisting for more than a few weeks. Or occasionally months. Life tends to creep back in, and without the injection of inspiration and motivation and getting pumped up or excited, the new behaviors fall away, fade away, drop off. And then it’s back to business as usual. 

I’m not blaming the people who are writing the books or running the courses. I’m not a hundred percent sure why this phenomena happens, or what could be done to prevent it. Often a few people will take something from a book/course, and run with it, stick with it, and it will change them permanently. But the book itself is not responsible for that, it is the person who happens to have whatever it takes to persevere, in that particular instance.

I mention this as I think about all the work I put into getting the GTD system up and running this last week, reviewing the important steps and making sure the system was tailored to my needs so I could use it effectively. Immediately I noticed an improvement in my focus and ability to get the right things done, and reduction of stress. So that’s nice. But I am wary of the two-week thing common to these kinds of things. I think I have made myself more likely to be one of the people who is changed, by first working on installing good habit-building habits and skills. But one of those tools is just remembering that it’s not going to be quick or easy, and girding yourself for that reality.

It does feel good to have all the moving parts in my system brushed up and shiny, but, realistically, how am I going to keep it functioning smoothly like that, when I don’t have multiple days off to review, reflect and, refresh my system. Well, we’ll see. I’m trying to give it at least two hours a week where I do that, if that’s not enough, then it will be what it will be. It’s not an all or nothing thing, so I will be making progress no matter what, as long as I put in a small minimum amount of time. That I can do.

Spring break over, I’m now commencing looking forward to the next break. Did I say this before?: I think something is wrong, when my job is lived weekend to weekend and break to break. But then again, as I said previously, this is the crucible. Hopefully something useful is being forged or formed within it’s fire-y heat.

-I Out