“If you don’t have a clear sense of the totality of your obligations, you will always overcommit. And commitments occur on multiple levels, from ‘why I’m on the planet’ to ‘need butter.’ But the elevation most amorphous for most is the plane just above your physical activities—your projects. I have a radical definition of a project: Anything you’re committed to finish within a year that requires more than one action to complete it. Given that broad designation, most people have between 30 and 100. Where’s your list? How complete and current is it?”
—David Allen
A couple of years ago or so, I had finally gotten into groove on doing a Weekly Review. After Processing the Captures of several previous years, I had before me almost 200 individual to-do items in 16 different categories & projects. I added a List of Lists. Since then I’ve continued to Process things as I continue to Capture more & more. Reviews keep me from losing sight of what’s important, & what matters most.
In addition to 3×5 cards & self-addressed emails for Capturing anything & everything, Evernotue has helped me keep my Projects cranking. Evernote on my phone, netbook, & desktop keep them at my fingertips.
I pulled up OmniFocus on my Touch (use on the desktop too), which gives me a quick look at how many projects and actions I have. I was shocked to see 146 projects (with more than 1,100 actions). David, your short post has inspired me to really look through these projects and decide “what’s important, & what matters most”.