{"id":16863,"date":"2018-06-14T08:21:30","date_gmt":"2018-06-14T15:21:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/?p=16863"},"modified":"2018-06-14T08:21:30","modified_gmt":"2018-06-14T15:21:30","slug":"control-or-spontaneity-the-paradox","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2018\/06\/control-or-spontaneity-the-paradox\/","title":{"rendered":"Control or Spontaneity? The Paradox"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"When people discover the level of personal organization I work within, they often ask, \u201cWow, does this guy ever have any fun?! He\u2019s so organized!\u201d My response is usually, \u201cWho\u2019s not having fun?\u201d Frankly, I organize for freedom, not for hard work.<\/p>\n

Much of my personal system of organization was built and is constantly being refined by negative feedback\u2014having to work harder than I need to, having something slip through a crack that caused inordinate pain, cost, or stress later on. Those are indicators of constriction, not freedom. When something like that shows up in my life, I\u2019m always on the hunt for how to set up a system that will automatically prevent that kind of thing from ever happening again.<\/p>\n

There is a freedom that is only approachable by the sacrifice of our attachments to anything, including our organization and commitments. That is the ultimate high, living without fear of consequences in the material world. (\u201cFreedom\u2019s just another word for nothin’ left to lose…\u201d\u2014Kris Kristofferson.) \u00a0My ideal scene would be to trust that I could pull out my phone, and have the person I need to call appear in my mind in full detail, exactly (and only) when I needed it.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not there yet. If you are, let me know how you got there. Until then, I\u2019ll fumble along capturing my thoughts, commitments, and agreements with myself into objective, external systems, which I will review regularly, feeling absolutely fine with what I\u2019m doing, and what I\u2019m not doing.<\/p>\n

People seldom complain that there is a line painted down the center of a crowded highway. Without that structure, we would likely be in constant stress going down the road, and we would not take advantage of the luxury of enjoying the beautiful scenery along the way, or thinking about what a great dinner we\u2019re going to cook.<\/p>\n

I do as little as I can get by with, and as much as I need, to get to the place of no distraction, a clear head, and the ability to follow my moment-to-moment intuitive hunches.<\/p>\n

\u2013David Allen<\/p>\n

This essay appeared in David Allen\u2019s Productive Living Newsletter.\u00a0Subscribe for free here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When people discover the level of personal organization I work within, they often ask, \u201cWow, does this guy ever have any fun?! He\u2019s so organized!\u201d My response is usually, \u201cWho\u2019s not having fun?\u201d Frankly, I organize for freedom, not for hard work. Much of my personal system of organization was built and is constantly being … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Control or Spontaneity? The Paradox”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13984,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,736,1,716,32],"tags":[22,745,575,576,631,770],"class_list":["post-16863","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-david-allen","category-educational-tools","category-featured","category-free-resources","category-productivity-tips","tag-getting-things-done","tag-david-allen","tag-control","tag-perspective","tag-stress-free-productivity","tag-productive-living","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nControl or Spontaneity? 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