The Yonderist

All those who wander are not lost.

Tag: gtd

The Cult of Done Works for Me

2009-07-31

work

The analysis of the Project Bamboo scholarly narratives is done and uploaded to the IEEE Conference website — it’s really nice (the website; the paper I leave to others to judge). I’ll post more about the paper in a moment. In the mean time, the poster and the explanation tell you all you need to know about the The Cult of Done.

The Cult of Done Poster

  1. There are three states of being. Not knowing, action and completion.
  2. Accept that everything is a draft. It helps to get it done.
  3. There is no editing stage.
  4. Pretending you know what you’re doing is almost the same as knowing what you are doing, so just accept that you know what you’re doing even if you don’t and do it.
  5. Banish procrastination. If you wait more than a week to get an idea done, abandon it.
  6. The point of being done is not to finish but to get other things done.
  7. Once you’re done you can throw it away.
  8. Laugh at perfection. It’s boring and keeps you from being done.
  9. People without dirty hands are wrong. Doing something makes you right.
  10. Failure counts as done. So do mistakes.
  11. Destruction is a variant of done.
  12. If you have an idea and publish it on the internet, that counts as a ghost of done.
  13. Done is the engine of more.

Record Keeping

2009-01-03

work

What to throw out and when:

  1. Airline tickets and boarding passes: after appear on frequent-flier account, unless you need them for tax purposes.
  2. ATM cash receipts: after appear on bank statement.
  3. Credit card statements and receipts: Toss receipts after appear on statement, except big-ticket items or tax deductible expenses. Keep statements for three years (in case IRS asks).
  4. Paycheck stubs: toss after receive W2 and check for errors.

What to keep and for how long:

  1. Tax stuff: keep copies of completed tax forms and W2 forms for at least six years (I have heard even longer). After three years you can get rid of supporting documents (receipts, canceled checks, etc)
  2. IRA contribution slips: never throw out receipts for deductible and nondeductible IRA contributions. (you’ll need them to figure out taxes when you retire)
  3. Bank statements: in general, keep for three years. Toss canceled checks unless back up deductions. Go through your checks each ear and keep those related to your taxes, business expenses, home improvements, and mortgage payments. Shred those that have no long-term importance.
  4. Receipts for big-ticket items: as long as you own the item — for warranty, resale, or insurance purposes. (Go through your bills once a year. In most cases, when the canceled check from a paid bill has been returned, you can shred the bill.) Keep the important receipts in special file.
  5. Home-improvement records: as long as you own the house
  6. Investment information: as long as you own the investment, and for six years after you sell it. You need purchase/sales slips from your brokerage or mutual fund to prove whether you have capital gains or losses at tax time.
  7. Keep the quarterly statements from your 401(k) or other plans until you receive the annual summary; if everything matches up, then shred the quarterlies. Keep the annual summaries until you retire or close the account.

© John Laudun