Discussion groups tackled some familiar topics such as getting up earlier, paper-based personal productivity tools and tickler file systems. Other highlights included the start of the “Work. Life. Creativity” (WLC) forums, which were set up by productivity-loving bloggers looking for a place to discuss productivity among like-minded peers.
Also, a new discussion group on implementing David Allen’s GTD system on the Blackberry has been launched in August. We will add this source to our list in the eMonitor.

Author’s Note: Please note that some of our sources, such as Yahoo! and Google groups, will require registering an account and with the group’s administration to view. However some discussion groups, such as WLC and Pavlina’s forums, are free to view as a guest, with no sign ups.

AnalogOrg

“Can you recommend a good paper based time log download”

AnalogOrg’s discussion on paper-based systems reminded readers that the “Printable CEO” series “Printable CEO” designed by David Seah has truly resonated with people who like a more elaborate and reusable personal effectiveness tool. These tools comprise calendaring and task management layouts that are both aesthetically pleasing and user-friendly.

43Folders Forums

Merlin Mann’s forums are down for maintenance, but they will be up within the next few weeks.

Getting Thing Done (GTD Yahoo! Group)

“I’m great at deferring a new item”

Members gave insight on how to tackle the inertia and pick up a task that has been deferred. Excellent points on the need for task-awareness and motivation were raised, underscoring the need to have a dependable reminder system as well as an understanding of how one’s personal motivation systems work.

“Has anyone ever conducted a book club or reading group meeting for GTD?”

Following a question on meetings to discuss David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD) system, a member contributed a slideshow presentation that neatly sums up the rationale behind personal productivity systems like GTD.

“Tickler file”

On implementing a tickler file system, members suggested that instead of putting documents or resources in tickler files, users should put reminders on slips of paper and use them in the tickler files instead. Alternatively, some members said that when implementing an electronic tickler system using calendar software, scanning in reference documents could be a good suggestion.

Stephen R. Covey’s The Community

“Getting Up Early and Exercising”

Revisiting a familiar topic, members of Covey’s new online community website shared their personal successes and challenges regarding exercising in the morning. While the thread explored ideas on ideal times for exercising, starting and committing to a routine was generally agreed on as being most important for success. Meanwhile, forum members kept each other accountable for weight loss and habit-forming goals.

Two hot topics of note on the forums over the last week were the threads on “Is one of your goals to be on time?” and “Staying with the 7 Habits when times are tough.”

“Is one of your goals to be on time?”

Community members shared ideas on how to ensure punctuality. Solutions centred on finding ways to prevent the mind from thinking “there’s still a lot of time.” Methods like setting watches ahead by 5 to 10 minutes were popular. Ideas were traded on the mental and physical rewards for being on time, such as pride in being the first one to arrive at the location, and a good breakfast and clean shirt ready to be worn if one woke up on time.

“Staying with the 7 Habits when times are tough”

Stephen Covey himself was cited to have practiced only 70% of the seven habits at any one time – what chance then do the rest of us mere mortals have when it comes to successfully implementing them in our lives? Members asserted it was a near impossible task to practice the seven habits in challenging situations, though most also agreed that each trial should be seen as an opportunity to choose to stay with those seven habits.

It seems then that the path is one of continual progression, rather than perfection.

ZenHabits Forums

Biggest Time Wasters

There were no surprises here regarding common time-wasters: Many members confessed to indulging activities such as computer games, blogging, reading RSS feeds, reading “tweets” from Twitter feeds, and chatting on instant messaging (IM) applications. A surprising contribution came from one member who cited spending inordinate amounts of time on “productivity porn,” i.e. activities, literature or software designed to make one more productive. Readers agreed that it was not the activities themselves that wasted their time, but rather their poor life management choices.

An idea was raised on how we should look at time as something to “invest,” rather than “waste.”

Steve Pavlina’s Forums

101 Lessons learnt from personal development

A continuing discussion has members contributing some of the most important lessons they have picked up from personal development as a whole. Some valuable contributions: “Real motivation comes from an unselfish cause,” “Keep a sense of humor, especially about yourself. It’s a strength beyond all measure,” and “People overestimate what they can do in 1 year, but underestimate what they can do in 5 years.” These snippets of wisdom can sometimes transcend any single manifesto of personal development and we will continue to monitor the thread for other bits of inspiration.

Links to Our Sources

Lifestyle and Life Management

Steve Pavlina

101 Lessons Learned From Personal Development
People Smart
Becoming Disenchanted With My Career
How Do You Turn Thought Into Action
Don’t Break The Chain
Why You Should Throw Out Your TV
How Do I Learn To Be Assertive

MindList

(Yahoo Tech Groups)

Zen Habits

Wake Up Routine
Self-Talk
Biggest Time Wasters

Stephen R Covey’s Community

Getting Up Early And Exercising
Staying With The 7 Habits When Times Are Tough
How To Adjust From Conflicts Made By Others Unnecessarily
Overcoming Resistance From LOPOs

Mark Forster’s Forums

Closed List Approach Really Does Work!
Dreams VS. DIT
The Myth Of Multitasking
My Experience With DIT To Date

Get Organized Now

Taking Care Of Me (August)
Organising Your Finances
August Procrastination
Daily Tips On Time Management (Yahoo Finance Groups)

Work. Life. Creativity

Task Granularity
Feeling Overwhelmed By The List
Foregoing Contexts With Projects
Importance Of Capturing
Finding Out How You Spend Your Time

Tips and Tricks and Other “Piecemeal Lifehacks”

Time Management (Yahoo Groups)
43 Folders (Google Groups)

On Applying Getting Things Done

David Allen & Co.
WorkLifeCreativity – Anyone Experiencing This? (Procrastination)
Getting Things Done (Yahoo Groups)
GTD Tips & Techniques (Yahoo Groups)
Ready4Anything (Yahoo Groups)

Groups on Software-Empowered and Paper-Based Productivity

GTD_Mind Manager (Yahoo Groups)
AnalogOrg (Yahoo Groups)
GtD_Palm (Yahoo Groups)

Facebook Discussions and Groups

Getting Things Done
Zen Habits
One Hour Work Week
Stephen Covey
Lifehacker

If you enjoyed the article "Best Picks for July/August ’08 (Online Discussions) " - why don't you read more about the Whakate Way.