Boxed in

28 Jun, 2006  Comment

I’ve been skimming David Allen’s Getting Things Done lately, and I must say that skimming is all I can stand.

The premise is that one needs to write everything down in such a way that it’s fun to do, and put whatever it is on your calendar if you can’t do it right now. And then commit to using your calendar and lists so you can trust that everything you need to do is on them, even so far as arranging your schedule with your paramour so you don’t have to think of her (or him) when you’re not supposed to be thinking of him (or her).1

Like many airport books which promise that you’ll be better organized, more effective, better-looking and more virile, this one has bulleted lists, inspirational side bar quotes, repeated-for-emphasis diagrams, and an assumption that the reader has staff.2 I wouldn’t be surprised to see an offshoot for soccer moms (or whatever the PC version is these days) that assumes said SM has a nanny or something to do stuff, too. If I see one more statement about “hand it off to your staff” I’ll probably just throw it into the recycle pile.

What is it about self-help books that make such assumptions? Do us non-managers buy them because we think we’re gonna be management someday? Is it like women buying fashion mags in the hope that one day they’ll be able to afford to buy those $1000 shoes, and when they do they’ll look just as fabulous in them as the supermodel? I suppose wish fulfillment is a large part of it; that and the hope that this time will really be the one easy way to get organized. It’s kind of like dieting — nearly any method will work, the difficulty is in staying committed to the effort.

I’m not quite sure why Plagioclase bought the book. Could it have something to do with his inbox really being a box?3

  1. Plagioclase brought the book home, and managed to embrace one of it’s tenets: put everything into an “in-box.” He hasn’t graduated to the part that says “commit to sorting through it on a regular and frequent basis” but that is neither here nor there; perhaps he hasn’t read that far yet.↩
  2. Ok, I am the first to admit that I am not part of Allen’s target demographic, and I also am aware that the book is old (©2001). Allen’s likely intention is to sell more consulting time — non-managers usually don’t have the corporate clout to hire him.↩
  3. Really — it’s one of those 10-ream paper boxes that I grew up calling a “Xerox box.”↩

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