Black Belt Productivity

By definition, a tool is

is a piece of equipment that most commonly provides a mechanical advantage in accomplishing a physical task. [1]

As I was looking through my latest pr0n mag (or as it is better known, the Levenger Last Minute Shopping 2006 mag), I was drooling over a number of items contained within. On every page I was thinking of how could I incorporate item X into my current system; thinking that the Circa Starter Kit is so reasonably priced…how could I NOT get it!

As many of you know, I recently purchased a BlackBerry Pearl. In my post about my purchase, I solicited advice for setup and things of that sort. I received some really good responses…thanks to all of you who responded.

As I got familiar with the BlackBerry website, I signed up for the BlackBerry Connection newsletter.

So last week, I receive my online newsletter, and get this gem featuring “The David”.

- Jason

Four years ago, I purchased my first Windows-based PDA. I got a Dell Axim X5. It was the first round of Dell’s PDAs. It was a great machine. I enjoyed using it. It was dependable. The only real complaint I had was the size. It was somewhat uncomfortable to carry even on a belt clip. I had a nice Sena belt clip case that I used it with. The case was great, but it could only do so much to make it easy to handle.

Since Jason is en route back to Alabama today, I will try to take a stab at the Leadership post for the week. Now he has read (and posted) farther ahead than I am in Maxwell’s The 360° Leader. So I will drop back a bit to a section that I thought a lot about since I read it.

I was planning a training session recently when I ran into one of those blocks. You know what I’m talking about. Where you just seem to reach a dead end in terms of mental organization and direction. I had to organize my thoughts. I had to get it together. After struggling for a while. I decided to mind map.

So I opened up Mindjet MindManager 6, and started to map out my thoughts. Fortunately, it helped me to clarify how I needed to approach my meeting. Now I can finish my presentation with the ease of knowing I am covering all of the material that I need to cover on Wednesday.

Yes, today is my birthday. As I begin my 35th year of life here on planet Earth, I am wondering…am I truly getting things done to the level that I need to be doing. The answer of course is…no, I could be doing a lot better. We all could.

My calendar is pretty solid. I write down all of my appointments in my Moleskine 18-Month Planner. I really love it (and it was added to the picture above). My off the cuff NAs are pretty good to. I keep up with any one off next actions that fall my way. I am using the Planner page in the Moleskine to keep up with my next actions.

Today, the David Allen Co. has announced a new membership program for GTD zealots. It is called GTD Connect. The details of the program are listed on their website.

It includes members-only library, website and forums, quarterly newsletter, 4 teleseminars with David Allen, 25% discount on live events, and special store pricing.

All for the low, low price of $48.00 USD per month. Yep, for a mere $576/year, you can have the joy of all of the above stuff.

Now, me, I am not going to ‘connected’. I can be a LOT more productive with my blog here, 43Folders forums and other resources around the internet, and spend that $500+ dollars on something else.

David Seah has posted his comments on my answers to his questions regarding the adaptation of the Printable CEO (PCEO) for the IT industry.

Read David’s thoughts then read on.

I totally agree with David’s assessments of the Dilemma of Support and Customer-Facing Support wholeheartedly. I feel, and have felt, that way much of the time in my various flavors of IT work that I have done in the last 10 years.

I did a lot of thinking on the previous post regarding adaptation to the Printable CEO (PCEO) to Information Technology (IT). David Seah wrote a nice post and challenged readers to three questions:

1. What is the Goal of Information Technology?
2. To Whom is the Goal of IT Important, Not Counting IT Professionals?
3. What are the tangible signs that tell us that IT is actually fulfilling its goals?

I pondered these over the weekend, especially in the vein that I, as a 1-man IT Department, now have many more roles than I did in my previous employment.

I am pleased, and excited, to announce that I will be assisting David Seah of the Printable CEO (PCEO) develop a list of general Concrete Goals for the IT industry for use in the Printable CEO.

For those not familiar with the PCEO, it is a series of forms that David has created to “focus [his] time more productively.” [emphasis his] His area of expertise, and the focus of the original PCEO, is the freelance new media business. Currently there are five parts to the PCEO:

1. Concrete Goals Tracker - this helps identify the tangible items to move you forward towards your goal.