I remember typewriters fondly as well - particularly manual typewriters. But I have no desire to go back. I respect your experiment, and I'll be curious to see if it proves long-lasting. Great-looking machine!
Check out my last post "How Turbo Gets Things Done" for an elaboration on my adoption of David Allen's knowledge worker "getting things done" philosophy.
You're absolutely right in alluding to a couple of branches of how to get stuff done. The last post focuses on my structured approach using some useful tools (ThinkingRock, Todoist, Google Gmail/Calendar/Reminders), which requires a regular review of the list of "to do's" and the next actions, reminders, etc. I have to do, by necessity, if I want to be able to keep up with it all.
But then, as you observe, there's the actual "doing" of those things, and only we as individuals can determine what are the best circumstances/atmosphere for actually doing the doing. No amount of GTD tools and approaches can replace actual focus and concentration, which was more the point of this post you're responding to, which is a way I find helpful to get actual work done (especially writing/blogging) -- that is to say, operating "offline" to minimize electronic distractions.
As I work to get started on a fast start to 2013, however, I will say the more structured GTD approach is helping me figure out where exactly I need to be spending my time, and more importantly, when I need to be doing what.
But even just a plain old list on a piece of paper or "Hipster PDA" is better than nothing, and certainly better than trying to keep all those "to do's" in one's head!
Thanks for the comment, and good luck on getting more stuff done in 2013!
Very interesting approach. I've heard of others recommending old-school approaches to important documents too.
It'd never work for me though. I could set in front of a classic type-writer, or use pen and paper, but then I turn on things for background noise... or sometimes just get bored and my mind will wander in full revolt.
Yes, I can be in a room with no other distractions and some days I'll still get nothing done.
I'm sure for many people an old-school, distraction-free approach would work quite well. In my case however, I just have to be 'in the zone'. Once I'm there, nothing will distract me (including my stomach which is actually pretty impressive considering how important food is to me).
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