Great observation. I’m going to spend some time thinking about your observation and try to reduce my mental work even further in the home. For laundry, just FYI, I sort as I go so when ready, dump into the washing machine. (I hate sorting clothes.) Use the principle for your dry cleaning, sort as you go, as you suggested. I was using three hampers, cold, white (for towels, socks, underthings, not necessarily all white), and warm. Recently I simplified to two hampers, cold (all clothing combined and gets washed on cold) and the white hamper same as before, towels, etc. I’m theoretically using the Sunday Basket method (google it or look on YouTube) to manage paperwork and other things, it aligns with GTD as an inbox. My problem, of course, is that, like any other inbox, if you don’t go through it, it doesn’t work. The great thing about the Sunday Basket is primarily with mail, you can include folders in the basket such as “action”, “to pay”, “time will tell” (things that you want to keep but will most likely eventually time out), “file”, etc. I have a folder for taxes, very helpful at tax time. I have a folder for my other family member that holds items addressed to them and don’t concern me.

You are in just the right place to find just what you’re searching for. There is a series of 5 best practices posts right here on GTD Times. Here are links to the posts on process and organize. On those pages you’ll also find links to the other 3 posts in the series of 5.

http://www.gtdtimes.com/2011/10/25/gtd-best-practices-process-part-2-of-5/

http://www.gtdtimes.com/2011/11/01/gtd-best-practices-organize-part-3-of-5/

We hope that helps!

Yes, I own all 3 GTD books (plus audio versions) read/listened several times, sounds good in theory, cannot do it in practice yet (separate processing from organizing).

And it’s more than multi-tasking. Switching back and forth between types of activities too quickly or too often leads to mental fatigue, and I’ve just realized that this is another case of mixed agreements.

The cause may be anything–unavoidable interruptions, a fuzzy plan for the day, having a real ADD frame of mind that day, or having too much to do in too short a time and trying to do it all at once. All of these are mixed agreements.

Even though we may be doing one thing at a time, the switching around and not ever getting into a sustained rhythm and a natural pause or close point with anything causes, I think, the brain to take on all of these things as “I’m doing this now”, never turning any of them off, just piling them up. Big time mental fatigue.

This is an important insight for me. Thanks, David.