Geeks in conversation

Three months ago, I made an off-the-cuff comment about the book Getting Things Done to Smole. I told her how I used a to-do list and calendar to reduce the number of things I had to keep in my brain at any one time. One month later, she surprised me by saying that that tip I gave her reduced her stress by 50%. By prioritizing the task of studying and delegating the goal of a chapter a week to the weekend, she freed herself from the stress of feeling that she was not getting enough done on a busy work-filled weekday.

That's pretty impressive. Even I could tell that she was less stressed. I feel like patting myself on the back even though it doesn't really have anything to do with me.

I read the book when I was finishing up at my previous job and I think I would like to re-read it in light of my new work processes. Mostly I want to re-read it because Smole is reading it now and is inundating me with tips I missed. After a long 30 minute conversation about inboxes and files and next actions and what-nots, we wrapped up.

Me: I've got to go poop.
S: That is a task that needs a next action...
Me: My next action is to poop.
S: When you have a next action, you need to either do it in the next two minutes, delegate it, or defer it...
Me: I delegate it to you!