Ready for Anything

Last night I finished reading Ready for Anything: 52 Productivity Principles for Work & Life by David Allen. I checked this book out while waiting in the library queue for his blockbuster Getting Things Done on CD (my number just came up, yay, so that’s next on the list). The book is full of focused observations and quips about productivity served up in short spoonfuls.

The most refreshing thing about the book for me was how the author seamlessly integrates in a spiritual and intuitive element to getting things done in work and life. I tagged quite a few pages in the book to record quotes for later re-reading. Each of the 52 mini-chapters begins with an idea. Here’s one of my favorites entitled ‘Best is much better than good’:

“Commitment to the ultimate quality of anything gives access to unique creativity and intelligence. From the smallest activity to the loftiest goal, an intentional focus on the maximum fulfillment of its purpose generates information and inspiration unavailable from any other perspective.”

The idea is then followed by a page or two expanding the concept. I plan to re-read this one as needed:

“There’s a simple way to become indestructible: Have the intention to do your best at whatever you’re doing, right now. To gain the invulnerability I’m referring to, you must pass through the gate of the total vulnerability that putting yourself on that line demands. Not be the best–do your best. Attempting to be the best can easily have struggle, ego and self-recrimination as baggage, with win/lose as a format. But doing your best is a dynamic, every-changing experience that is possible anytime, by anyone. It’s engaging with your life and work in the present, with an attitude and an altitude that are constantly renewing and refreshing. And you can win, whenever.

The powerful freedom that comes with that experience is not free, however. You must move to a risky edge. You must ask yourself the “what’s best?” question, listen inwardly, and muster up the willingness to respond to the answer you get. That might mean sacrificing your momentary pleasure, your habits, your lethargy, and (God forbid!) your self-doubt.”

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The basil thing. This basil is store bought in the big package. It’s about 2 weeks old. I learned this trick several years ago and I always marvel at how well it works for keeping the herb fresh. Fill a coffee mug with water, place the basil in it, cover with a light plastic bag, leave on the counter at room temp. Sometimes the stems even create new roots in the water. A little hydroponic greenhouse.

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