This week I did some ironing; no I am not going to use this as an example. But looking outside the window, hearing the birds announce the arrival of spring, my thoughts had time to go to my sailing boat. Add wind and water, and there you go. I also thought about the bills for the summer box, remembering that sailing is like taking a cold shower and throw your money through the drain. Nice thoughts inspiring me to write this article.
The different steps we take in time are usually not executed as in straight through processing (STP). In-between steps there is a moment to answer the question, to decide. Such a decision moment has two different use cases. One is used for reflection, we review the delivered result of the previous stage and decide if we accept or reject this result. The second is required to start the next stage. At this point we might change directions and make choices; we must define what the result of the next stage must be, what conditions will make this result acceptable, what activities and what things (raw material, means, tools) are required to reach this goal. Continue reading
In the chapter Three Main Stages, a Basis for All, I used ‘getting a sandwich’ as example for these three main steps: 1) Dream it; 2) Get it; and 3) Enjoy it.
Next I realise that for getting this very sandwich I need quite a number of means, tools, equipment and materials. I found the cheese and butter in the refrigerator, I found the bread stocked in the cupboard, elsewhere I found a plate, a knife and a fork, I found me a chair and a table to sit on, I realise that this furniture is placed in a kitchen and a dining room. I can zoom in and out.
As things mostly are complex and therefore difficult to handle, we like to subdivide them into smaller – more easy to handle – parts, we decompose them into components, elementary objects that can be categorized and thus are more feasible to define and more simple to analyse. If we make a subdivision based on time, we call that steps, phases or stages. All the other decompositions are based on other criteria as discussed in Structures.
The general idea My idea for this weblog “The Truth About Getting Things” is based on the series of truths, and especially on the first book of that series that I read: “The Truth About Getting Things Done” by Mark Fritz (Thanks sir). I made notes for my story since 1992, but having an idea for a book did not make me a writer. Mark addressed the item “Getting things done” of David Allen by the objectives, being successful instead of just time management. I want to write about the creation, the realisation of getting things, the design, development and implementation.
