[philrob]

Regrettably there is no 'perfect' system and different programs/approaches/systems will be better suited at different times in one's life. What works as a student doesn't always work as well when managing a team.

The trick (so I am told) is to find a system/approach, follow it properly (including weekly reviews!!!) for a while until you understand it fully and only then start making small changes. If they work keep them, if they don't don't.

A key learning point for me on OmniFocus was not putting in Due Dates unless it was a proper deadline.

A second was clearing the flags each day and setting them again (maximum of 5) - this is to indicate the critical things for that day.

Other approaches like pomodoro have helped with overcoming procrastination and clearing the 5 'criticals'. Next actions should ideally never need longer than about 50 minutes (2 pomodoros)

The biggest improvement in getting things done came from a) learning to say 'No' (for a while I had more hours of work being added each day than there were hours in the day) and b) getting better at delegating.

Reading Kourosh Dini's book helped a lot in understanding the fundamentals of OmniFocus (well worth the £).

My systems are far from perfect, but they are steadily getting better. it will be a while before I have a mind like water though!