http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/07/AR2006020702030.html?sub=AR
(Annoying free registration probably required.)
Joe
I wonder if the story looked at life just 20 or 30 years ago if the
contrast would remain?
And before the typewriter, we didn't have as much paper to haul
around. We've only made it worse with copiers and computer printers.
Back in the olden days, people wrote by hand all day.
This is a fine example of David Allen's (and others', I'm sure)
observation that there are no edges to work anymore -- so we feel some
need to carry loads of stuff with us at all times, to be prepared.
(I actually went home from work yesterday with nothing, and it felt
really strange this morning to go to work with no stuff.)
--
Robert Lynch
robert...@gmail.com
Do you procrastinate? http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheNowHabit/
The solution might be, if you want to carry less stuff, accept less
entertainment and more limits on work. I don't think this is such a bad
thing - for me, constant access is like constant overload, and I tend
to feel grateful when I get time to think. But I do love to be plugged
into the ole' white box.
Another thing - are we talking here about (a) people carrying stuff
from their car into the office/shop/home, or (b) people spending the
whole day on foot, bike, or public transport? Seems to me the car is a
big carrying vessel; just because you have a big bag to move everything
from the car park to the door doesn't mean you're burdened.
Me, I'm a walker, and I find that having just a couple of kilos of
stuff is a real drain over the course of a day, so I try to keep things
light. (Right now my bag contains cards, money, keys, baseball cap,
pen, ipod, scraps of paper, mobile, palm. Lots of little bits, but all
light.)
Yes, but he was traveling around the world.
That's not a lot of luggage for an around-the-world trip :)
I recall, as a child, realizing how the "I might want this" phenomenon could
get in the way. We had SNOW when I was a little kid. Three feet at a time.
I'd trek off to play in the snow carrying all of the buckets and shovels and
stuff I _might_ want. Generally didn't use it all and had to carry it all
back when I got tired. I learned early the difference between "might want
that" and "will need this".
My Mom was better at this. When we packed for a day at the beach, we brought
what we needed. never seemed to have too much. Never seemed to be missing
anything we needed.
Spouse has a theory for out-of-town trips by plane. Pack what you expect to
take. Then shlep that stuff around the block. Then rethink your packing
strategy.
We never carried backpacks when I was in elementary school. I don't think I
had a backpack in High School. Then again, where I went to school we had
desks that held books and papers and we had lockers. The elementary schools
where I live now seem to have neither. School children are turtles, carrying
their environment with them.
I carry a small softsided briefcase to work; I keep a PDA/cellphone on my
belt. I carry a wallet in one pocket and car keys in the other. I never bring
a purse or beltpack into the workplace (not since the day we had a 4-hour
bomb threat at work and I just so happened to have my purse with me when we
were evacuated). Everything I _need_ is with me. A few things I might want
are handy.
--
- Vicki
ZZZ
zzZ San Francisco Bay Area, CA
z |\ _,,,---,,_ Books, Cats, Tech
zz /,`.-'`' -. ;-;;,_ http://cfcl.com/vlb
|,4- ) )-,_. ,\ ( `'-' http://heatercats.com
'---''(_/--' `-'\_) http://cfcl.com/vlb/weblog
I have a similar theory: if you can't get it through the security team
and to the gate, then you are carrying too much. Then again, I can
manage a week long trip easily with a carry on. My brother could go a
month off a carry on. My wife and 18 month-old seem to need quite a bit
more. So, I let her pack, then I stuff my kit into their bags. :-)
Ben
I believe his valet did. That's a whole other thing. If I had a valet,
I'd probably get him to carry a bigger bag with more stuff ;)
> Referring back to the bags thread, my experience is that the bigger the bag
the more you carry.
Absolutely so. It's like a parkinson's law of luggage: Stuff expands to
fill the space available to it.
Also, I think stevecooper touched on a very important point: We've
become accustomed to an always-on, constant-input lifestyle. I think
that's probably unhealthy overall, though I'm just as addicted as
anyone.
That's why I like to have a smaller bag. I've a laptop bag that could
work as an overnight bag (and has!) - but then I bought a much smaller
bag that is just right for a laptop and a few belongings. Note, too,
that these are $15-30 bags from Wal-Mart - not $150 bags.
I bought the bag in order to prevent the idea that comes with the larger
bag: I've got room, so I'll bring this - just in case.... until "just in
case" becomes 20-30 lbs. of unnecessary stuff....
Although it varies from person to person, each of us has a list of
things we could carry if we had the capacity and inclination. For me,
the only vital things I need when I leave the house are my keys (so I
can get back in), and a bank card. Everything else is, really, an
optional extra. But some of them are useful (eg, mobile) and some of
them are fun (eg, iPod).
So, trying to tie this into GTD - carrying more and more stuff is a way
to give you constant access to different contexts. If you've got a wifi
laptop and a mobile and a couple of books, you've got access to your
@WEB, @PC, @PHONE, and @READ contexts all the time. And backache.
Now, the question is, are you really going to be able to make good use
of this? And actually, doesn't that make GTD less and less helpful?
With more and more available contexts, you have to choose more and more
between all the things you could be doing right now. Your options
expand, to your confusion. The filtering effect of contexts, which
helps you feel less overwhelmed, is lost. And you lose the valuable
gains you get when you block similar activities together.
Put it this way; if you had enough gadgets that you had access to all
your contexts at the same time, how would you then choose what to do?
Maryann
So maybe the real question is... do you find this "load" to be a problem?
if so, identify the problem areas and figure out how to solve them.
if not, settle back with your iPod, your book, and your mocha and chortle
softly to yourself as you read that article in the Washington Post...