Reflections on «Stopping Avoidance»
David Allen's "Getting Things Done"
David Allen has developed a complete complex system for covering everything that has to get done: it is applicable beyond the issues identified here and is about lowering stress, preserving energy and increasing productivity in general. So although there are obvious overlaps, it is not focused on remedying a specific breakdown. The system tackles issues prior to the failure that this emergent framework addresses. Some have observed that you have to be organised and effective to be able to use it.
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The GTD System is based on continuously storing, organizing, tracking and retrieving all the information related to the things that make demands on you, clutter your mind, and need to action of some sort—your tasks, duties, promises, commitments, ideas, demands, and needs—large and small, specific or vague. It includes, for example, the need to think. GTD encourages hygiene in regard to getting rid of stuff that isn’t yours or you don’t need to do, and then focuses on actions, outcomes, and reviews. It is all categorized and handled in ways that make sense to you. Large unformed items are broken down and organised and scheduled into sequential steps. More complex group work is recommended for bigger and tougher problems.
No Group Exists Here
There is no such thing as a group when you perceive yourself as an instrument and focus on your body and your personal performance.
The instrumental PH-L1 way of thinking is often associated with an emphasis on contractual relations, i.e. PH-L6 groups that can be modified by the individuals involved (or freely walked away from).
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Anarchist and libertarian movements proclaim an ideology that treats society as an epiphenomenon, almost irrelevant and ideally without any impact on the individual. Everyone (in this thinking) is a leader, so there is no a need for a leadership post or for governing institutions to look after collective concerns.
Psychodynamic group therapists have recently identified a new phenomenon of "me-ness" in which the very existence of the group is viewed with doubt and suspicion by members. Group members have individualistic preoccupations, deny the group any substantial reality and cannot tolerate collective activities. They simply do not wish to experience themselves as members of a group.
Human beings are naturally embedded in social relationships and form groups of all sorts—like it or not. Groups are intrinsic to psychosocial reality even if we choose to blind ourselves to this fact. Each of these emergent frameworks provides a different perspective on the individual-group relationship: see summary.
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THEE investigations have repeatedly discovered that any and every endeavour and taxonomic component of endeavour is subject to a self v socio-physical tension. Furthermore, studies of purpose and value (PH6) revealed the diversity of groups that we create. Some groups are natural like the family, some are formalized like communities and tribes, and some are artificial like organizations. We expect things of our groups and become dependent or obligated . Groups are the most stressful aspects of our environment: no wonder it often seems best to blot them out.
Initially posted: 20-Sep-2013. Last updated: 18-Jan-2015.