Case in point: my neighbor has 5 kids. Her house is spotless. She loves to clean, cook, fold clothes etc. All she ever wanted to do is be a stay at home mom, and she loves the role.

I have 2 kids. I am a stay at home mom. It’s something that would have been my worst nightmare 15 years ago, but it’s what I’ve chosen to do at this stage of my life. But, I am not domestic. I hate to clean, I despise cooking. Being a SAHM and not working outside the home goes against everything I worked for before I had kids. I want to rebel against gender stereotypes every single day. But, I know this is what is best for my family right now so I put that aside.

Fly Lady helps people like me, who don’t do this thing naturally, find some routines that work. Yes she’s a little kooky, but she’s good hearted and very supportive, which some of us really need!

This post was mentioned on Twitter by leannich: Old post from @CharlieGilkey – title raised my hackles; post itself respectfully smoothed them down again. Good stuff! http://bit.ly/QAK5s...

I’m still a GTDhead, as unfashionable as that is becoming, because I find it very useful to be able to grasp All The Shit I Have Committed To.

(P.S. Flylady: super scary to me. Probably a good system, but I can’t get past the persona.)

Sonia Simone | Remarkable Communications last blog post..Why This is the Best Time to Finally Break Free

For me the key question to be answered first is: What do I want to use more time for?

This quickly relates to your goals for life. It took me more than a year to understand what I really wanted from life and it is mainly the qualitative items that remained on the list whereas the number disappeared.

Once you know what you want to use some extra time for, applying time management techniques makes a lot of sense. Save time on routine to create more quality time.

SInce quality time and goals for life are different for every person, I made a list of possible areas to look into on my blog. SInce it would be too long to copy I just insert the link.

http://memytime.wordpress.com/2008/08/29/set-your-goals-for-your-life/

Nicolas | Time Management Masters last blog post..How to create a good travel checklist

And the subtext that I see in both the post and the comments is that there’s a real concern that productivity is focused purely on efficiency. I constantly struggle to remember that efficiency does not equal effectivity.

I think that the inbox zero and five sentences discussion are indicative of the quest for efficiency, and don’t address whether you are being effective. In some cases, short emails can be effective. In others, they are not effective at all, as Naomi so eloquently stated.

Now I am an inbox zero kind of guy, but that’s because I subscribe to the David Allen concept of reducing repositories of open loops. My goal is to clear out all inboxes at least once per week, and ideally once per day. It’s just a tool, not a religion

And I really like Betsy’s point that it’s easy to get so wrapped up in building and managing productivity frameworks and systems that we never actually get anything real done. I have so been there and done that. I think I’m getting a little bit better now, but it’s been a long road.

If it’s taking you oodles of long to set up the system, and organize the system, then work at the system, you’re not getting the real stuff done.

Maybe just breathe for five minutes, instead. Then, begin.

Betsys last blog post..PANIC

But key is the real reason for the name…not just that she teaches fly-fishing, but that it stands for Finally Loving Yourself. This gentle, bit by bit approach came out of her recovery from depression and overwhelm.

Just because we have the chromosomes, and a tendency to be soft and mom-like, doesn’t mean that all of us find this work natural or easy.

It’s worth a look at flylady.net…see past the folksiness…there’s a profundity that has drawn so many of us to this sane and forgiving approach to caring for homes and families.

Your point about “Productivity Is About More Than Countable Things” reminds me of Ken Wilber’s four-quadrant model. The two right-hand quadrants are about things that are objective and measurable. The left-hand quadrants are about things that are subjective and must be experienced rather than measured. For example, a (good) therapist doesn’t determine how well they’ve done by how many words they’ve spoken or how many hours they’ve clocked. They determine it by how many people they’ve helped and how much, which isn’t really objectively measurable.

Having thought about productivity from both sides of the gender spectrum, I find that the stereotypes do actually hold up in my case. I care more about the subjective and less about the objective now that I’m female. Interesting.

Thanks for the food for thought, and I’m happy to add to the diversity of the discussion. (:

Paces last blog post..We’re giving away the e-book and audio book for free!

Despite my love of the written word, it makes me want to have a video blog!

I’ve been reflecting more on this whole numbers thing vs. relationships lately too. I’ve decided to reach out more to people I want to connect with on the web–ideally through voice or video–rather than accumulate Twitter followers or blog subscribers. It’s more in line with my “mission” anyhow to do so.

Duffs last blog post..Deconstructing Personal Development, Part 3: State Management, Positive Thinking, and the Cultivation of Mania