Attended an intensive GTD foundation workshop a couple of days back. I quite liked it and might want to go for Level 2 and 3 next year. The workshop was quite hands-on as it focused on our real-life projects.
During the application session, I was focusing on the project that held my attention — launching my podcast. It felt like the most practical thing to do. And as usual, I was overwhelmed with all the things that I have to do instead of what I need to get done right now. That’s the beauty of GTD, it forces you to focus on the immediate next step while acknowledging what lies ahead (which can rest in Project Support or Notes attached to the projects instead of a running list of the 5,963 tasks for that project)!
The clarifying and organising stages of GTD were challenging as I kept going back to the whole stack of actions I need to get done instead of the next step. The facilitator (who’s a pretty cool person I deeply respect) suggested that if I’m overly worried about the next steps perhaps I’m not sure if the project would be a success or not. And if that’s the case, I’m better off doing a feasibility study and see if the audience needs it and how I’ll be able to sustain it. To my surprise, every single person in the room nodded in agreement.
It was a revelation. I realised that not everyone believes in passion projects even if they’re professionally inclined. The ROI is what moves their needle. And I think I respect that. Just that it isn’t how I’m wired.
A podcast or a blog isn’t about sustainability but showing up. Particularly, if you’re doing it for yourself. It’s about committing to a cause, a belief or a vision. In GTD terminology, it’s operating within the top Horizons of Focus (3-5 year visions and Principles and Purposes) instead of crawling at the bottom of projects, areas of focus and accountability.
Of course, we haven’t matured enough to think of creating content beyond the context of business/marketing. That is fine. Most businesses or entrepreneurs have a blog or a podcast (or both) that is not just their revenue/lead generating machine but a critical part of their marketing funnel.
And I think that’s a great strategy to build a business. But not a legacy. When you’re operating from a higher horizon of focus, it’s your commitment that matters not feasibility. Irrespective of your end goal, creating content written, visual or auditory is a long-game and always will be.
At the end of the day, for folks like me at least, it’s a matter of principle.