I used to be a major slob! I collected paperwork, piled it into big piles on my desk, in my drawers and if space ran out even on the floor. Usually I knew how to find what I needed pretty easily and fast, but at times it was a real ordeal to find that specific piece of paper. My family still knows me this way, and to be frank sometimes I still work in this fashion…old habits are hard to beat.

At work though, I have turned around completely. It started when I read Getting Things Done and got enthusiastic about the system. I quickly started with step one: Gather the stuff and put it in the inbox. Oh boy, the pile of stuff I compiled onto that tiny inbox…it squeaked under the immense pressure of tasks unfinished. And me too by the way.

The pile of stuff was overwhelming…but the room was tidy! And I liked that. Fast forward in time, and I have adopted many of the habits of GTD. I’m no star in keeping with the system, but the habit of keeping an empty inbox and of archiving instantly are two I cherish. They keep my desk clean (photos at the end of this post) and my work organized. Click to continue »

I’m proud to announce that my very first guest post is a fact. Leo Babauta from Zen Habits has put up a guest post by me on his site. Please check it out:

• How Complicating Your Life Makes Simplifying It Worthwhile

Zen Habits is a very cool fast growing blog, with a lot of good content on achieving goals, changing habits, simplifying and GTD. Check out his Zen To Done (ZTD) productivity system for a good view on habits you need for GTD (or ZTD). If you like it, subscribe to his feed.