What’s That Stuff All Around?

June 20th, 2008          Email This Post        Print This Post

In Getting Things Done, David Allen speaks about the harm of having "stuff" - things that you don’t know what to do with.
Nearly all of us have a huge accumulation of stuff all over. If you have a broken item that you are unsure to fix or throw out, that’s stuff. Piles of papers, mail or bills, piles of magazines that you aren’t sure you are going to read, junk to be sorted, messy closets, overflowing garages.
The concept of "stuff" doesn’t only apply to physical things. If you have a situation on your mind - you don’t like your job so much, you have an idea for a new business, something is nagging you about how little time you spend with your kids - something that you didn’t yet decide what to do about it - that’s all stuff.

How do we get rid of stuff?
This simple question provides the target: "what is the next action?"
If you have a piece of paper sitting out, ask "what is the next action?" If its a bill, it may be write and mail a check. If its a notice from school, you may need to write an appointment or some info on the calendar. For an advertisement, if you want it, put it on your shopping list - if not, throw it out. If its a receipt, file it with that fiscal years receipts.

When we leave things undecided it just bugs us. Every time we encounter the item/situation that "non-decision" comes to mind. Make it a habit to decide right away what you need to do next, and you will live in an environment - both physically and mentally - with much less "stuff"!

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