BSP304 - IBM Lotus Notes and Me: Maximizing Personal Productivity with Lotus Notes

The session was run by Eric Mack and David Alan. David Alan sums it up:" In every email is a hidden berry, bear or snake", but it is not as evident as in nature and you need to think about it to figure it out. Enter the Knowledge Worker. While knowledge work requires collaboration the individual actions are very personal. Knowledge work is about value. The equation is simple: value = knowledge *methodology* technology. Knowledge is kept in personal knowledge management, the methodology is a means to an end and the the technology is the tool. The three items are multiplicators, so if one of them is weak value collapses. Everybody has a framework to work with things to do. Something like: What screams loudest gets attention; Wait until the very last minute until the pressure is to high. GTD is such a framework but more structured and efficient. There are 4 keys to get things done:

1. Get everything out of your head and into a system you can trust
2. Decide the very next physical action
3. Decide the context of this action.
4. Track these actions: Do it in 2 minutes, defer or delegate them.

David emphasised the importance of a clear mind: Mind like water. If your system isn't complete your mind will beat you up for any incomplete or broken commitment. You need balance between perspective and vision. Without vision and perspective you are are victim (crazy busy), without vision you are a micro manager, without control you are crazy maker. David worked in a rapid sequence through strong images why you need to get clear (I liked the messed up kitchen). A clear space frees you to take action and create a mess if you want to. Eric takes us through the options how to use vanilla Lotus Notes to implement GTD. Key is: work from your list. Review and update your lists regularly. Tools Eric and Alan are using: Treo & Blackberry; MindManager; GyroQ; ActiveWords and eProductivity.