The Girl In Problematique

In GTD there's one very important thing called ubiquitous capture, where you collect anything physical and in your mind, turn them into words and whatever form visible. And GTD 's about trust, building up a reliable system and trusting it completely, so you don't have to waste your time and brain power remembering what to do next when you're busy at work, with like 15+ assignments ahead. With a glance and you'll know what's on your hand. Nice!

I've been cracking different widgets for months since I started practising GTD in early 2008(it's actually in my new year resolution). Now I am using an old notebook of mine with 300+ pages. A bit bigger than 1/4 of a piece of A4 paper. Black "recyclable" plastic cover with ring-binders.

I took this method and changed some of the details in my own way. With NAs on the front and Projects at the end, with a pocketmod monthly calender clipped at the back cover.

I have everything there, I mean it, everything. Ubiquitous capture, that's what GTD is about right? From finding a travel map to exam revision plans to organising personal stuff at home, everything is there, clear and clear, in the language which everyone around me can read. I've been using this notebook for about half a month now, sure you can call it very personal, very private, and very confidential.

But I lost the book today. 

Well, by lost I don't mean it's been sucked into a supermassive black hole behind the lockers or whatever, I just left it at school. In order words, I forgot to bring it home.

This is something I haven't experienced on my road to GTD before, I felt lost, not knowing what to do next, because I did not have my NA list on hand.

I actually panicked.

2 hours ago I arrived home with no assignment and school stuff to do, and I was like "wow I can finally clear everything on my NA list out", stuff like "Arrange all Chemistry worksheets chronologically" and "Read How to Write English Well"(well obviously English is not my mother language). Then I tried to find my NA list, and there it came, "dude, I left it at school!".

Then this big question came:

"Now, what to do? What's my next action? How am I gonna spend the whole night without my NA list?"

Good thanks to my memory, I can still remember a couple of things on my list, and writing on this blog again is one of them. And tomorrow I'll get my book back, and happily cross some of the items there out.

This lost&found incident does give me a nice reminder of how the GTD system is blending into my life so far, it seems that I trust mine pretty well. :) Now my last worry will be my notebook, what if someone reads it? What if he reads it? What if she reads it? Oh my, let the imagination take place...I will keep my fingers crossed.