This is a common sight at Indian Railway stations. That’s how porters carry luggage from one’s car to their carriage.
A participant at my last workshop shared a lovely analogy:
“Imagine you’re travelling by train, you notice a passenger seated across the aisle.
There’s something strange about him.
He’s well-dressed and all.
But it’s just that, while the next destination is hours away,he insists on carrying his suitcase on his head!
How stupid is that! He would save himself so much troubleif he would just put his suitcase down or on the luggage rack.
When you coax him to relax and take it easy, he protests. He is firm. He refuses to take his suitcase off from his head.
When you ask him why he replies, he’s always done it this way. He’s comfortable. If he puts his luggage down, he’s scared that he’ll forget.
You mutter “whatever” and get back to your seat.”
As silly as that sounds, that is pretty much our story when we refuse to write stuff down and keep it in our heads. And we give ourselves the same excuses. That we’ve always done it this way. That’s the way we like it. We’re scared we’ll forget if we write it down. etc. etc.
Sure that passenger may be carrying provisions only for a couple of days on his head. When we don’t write stuff down, we’re carrying the baggage of DECADES that have gone byand also commitments for many years that are yet to come.
So instead of carrying that burden with you EVERYWHERE. Relax. Take it Easy. Write that stuff Down. And enjoy your Journey of Life.
Want to Experience the Relief of “Capture”? Here Are 4 Tools to Get Started:
- The Pocket Pal – Neuroscience agrees that writing something down helps us get objective, and focus on stuff that is truly important! Plus, pen and paper happen to be David Allen’s favorite capture tools. Drop a Pocket Pal in your pocket (or purse) and always have a safe place to jot down tasks and brain waves.
- Brain Toss – If digital is your way to go, then explore Brain Toss. It has been hailed as the “best capture tool for iPhone” by David himself. You can transcribe your voice notes into text! And even capture slides, receipts and other forms of media to enrich your ideas with inspiration.
- The Apple Watch – For those who love their nifty toys, the Apple Watch is a great Capture tool. It has voice capture baked into the interface and you can push these notes straight to the Evernote app on your iPhone.
- Get Drafts – Last on the list, but not the least. This solution is (almost) made for GTD practitioners. It claims to help you turn “text into actions”. You can capture hands-free with Dictation, or ask Siri to assist. You can easily link the drafts you create with other productivity apps.
Caputre is not just about putting things outside your head.
It is releasing tasks into a well-defined flow of execution so that you can be focused and engaged moment to moment.
I believe our work should be an expression of our most creative selves. I work with business owners and their teams to achieve stress-free productivity.