Follow-up: Eat Stop Eat and GTD

I've been following the Eat Stop Eat regime for two weeks now, and it feels good and right for me. Measurements haven't altered much if at all, but it's too early for that so I'm not concerned not to see progress in this way (the scales are down 2 kg, though body measurements are around the same as before). I'm intending to continue fasting twice a week for the next two and a half months at least, I figure three months is a reasonable time to see how something like this goes.

What I love about fasting is that it is teaching me about the way I feel hunger, and the ways I am motivated to eat. Sometimes my desire to eat comes from habit or from emotions, and other times it is because my tummy is empty and needs nourishment. It's good to recognize the difference between the two, so that I can get a handle on what is happening rather than being controlled by it.

I love the feeling of lightness when I fast. This is not just physical, though of course my gut is emptier. It's a freeing sensation, it's liberating, not having to think about what or when to eat. I love the mental clarity that comes when I fast; I'm much more alert and seem to be able to see things more clearly. I've been drinking water as well as warm drinks of ginger and lemon tea made with grated ginger root and lemon juice.



* I've managed to put a picture here, at last! This was added on June 25th 2009 *

About GTD (Getting Things Done - see side bar for link): my folder continues to evolve around changing needs and events, and I'm really enjoying using it. At last, my planning tools reflect who I am and how I work!

The miracle of miracles is that my in tray and my desk continue to be relatively clutter free, after more than a month! Those who live with me know just how amazing this is. Usually after only a week or so, the desk can't be seen for all the stuff piled on it, and eventually it all had to be swept into a shopping bag where it would sit for months or years waiting to be gone through.

There's still one of those clutter-catcher bags waiting to be dealt with down near the bookshelf, but hey - there's only one! And I'm trying the trick of taking one or two things out of it at a time and finding places for them.

I'm not spending large amounts of time studying this way of organizing things. Once I did the initial reading, it sort of clicked and now it's just ....well, it's just working! I love things that work for me and which flow, instead of creating extra work just to keep them going. I'm still just as scatter brained as ever, but each time something shoots out of my brain at an odd angle, I now have somewhere for it to sit and incubate until I'm ready to give it a home or delegate it or throw it away.

The secret? For me it's not a Palm Pilot, it's not a computer, it's a blank piece of paper. Actually, lots of them. When something needs to be remembered I just write it down in the In Box or Calendar sections of my planning folder. Then if necessary it can be transferred to sections of the folder that represent the main categories that make up my life at the moment: Home, Work, Church, Me. Within each section I have a page for Next Tasks (things that can be done in one single step), another page for Projects (things I have committed to do that will take more than one step), and another page for Some Day / Maybe things. This is where I put things I can't do right now, but which sound interesting and which may need to sit for a while (or for ever) - but which won't be forgotten.

In order to keep this system running the only maintenance needed is to take a few minutes once a week to read through all the sheets. This way I can mark off what's been done, put new projects into the system if needed, check my calendar for upcoming events and what needs to be done to prepare for them.

I really really hope what I've described above doesn't sound complicated and like a waste of time! I know that not everyone thinks as I do, and that doing things this way won't suit every single person. Still I hope that someone will catch the vision of it, and that it will help them in their efforts to make their life more of what they want it to be.