In addition to trimming RSS feeds, I have pretty much cut out visiting forums from my daily routine. I don’t even remember the last time I visited EmptyFlower to see what’s the hub bub on the taiji chatter. Just to test, I looked the first page of posts on the taiji forum, nothing of interest.

There’s this idea called the Signal to Noise Ratio, converting this to more layman and info tech days, I basically translate it to mean, if you have too much noise, you may miss the signal.  Instead of spreading my attention too thinly, why not focus. 

The first step to combat the issue is to start anew.  With a preview pane in my email application, I have a scroll bar! A big no-no… By viewing the preview pane, I only allow myself roughly 10 emails before it starts scrolling. Back to up-front decision making. Create action, file, follow-up, or trash. Pick one and move on.

Trying to ween myself off the palm desktop, I’ve been fumbling with other task managers. Not good because it requires too much thought. My flow is broken. I like the simplicity of the Palm Desktop Tasks application. No priorities, no due dates, just context categories and a space for my to ‘check’ things off. Oh.. how I love to check things off.

Yellow stickies have become tasks lists when they should really be capture spots. Capture then process. I process a couple of the stickies, crumble them up and throw them away. I feel good. Ohh.. how I love the sound of crumbled paper hitting the garbage can in the morning.

The daily review is a thorn in my side. I have a reminder about 15 mins before the end of each and every work day to do a daily review. In the midst of fire fighting and tight deadlines, this is often ignored. I don’t want to be a fire fighter.  Instead of a reminder, it has been changed to be a 20 minute appointment with myself at the end of the day.  Respect the hard landscape of the calendar.

Has anyone else fallen off the GTD wagon?  What are some of your own strategies to get back on?

The Blackjack uses the Windows Mobile OS (WM OS) versus the Palm OS of Treo. The first time I tried using the WM OS, I didn’t like it (see Cingular 2125 First Impressions). The second time using it, I’m still not entirely sold on it. The main reason is the implementation of tasks ( see Cingular 2125 Second Impressions). Personally, I like to work from ‘contexts’ list in GTD terms. That is, I group my action items in terms of context. When I’m at home, I only want to see tasks I can do at home. When I’m at work, I only want to see work related tasks, etc.

While it’s possible to filter tasks based on category in WM OS, it IS NOT possible to assign a category to a task when entering on the phone. What this means is I have to modify the task at my home computer to assign it a category. In addition, assigning a category in Outlook is not as intuitive and easy as it is in Palm OS.

However, with all these minor shortcomings and gripes, I do like the Samsung Blackjack. Not only for it’s looks, but for some reason, I’m less worried about picking the right category for an action item. I’m less worried about being in the right context at the right time. Overall, it seems to have made things a bit simpler. More and more, I am digging this whole K-I-S-S philosophy thing, that is: “Keep it Simple, Stupid”.

It is a lot easier to crank a widget than to decide what widget to crank.

The idea behind the Getting Things Done (GTD) System is to define the next action item. So instead of having something like “Get an Oil Change”, you could have, “Call Mechanic to Schedule an Oil Change”. However, if we zoom back a bit, next actions are tasks that achieve successful outcomes of defined projects that support high level goals, often called “50 ft views, 20 ft views, etc” in GTD-speak. 

The idea is after defining our high level goals, we determine projects supporting those goals, and in turn, define next actions items required to achieve the successful outcome of the project.

So, what does this have to do with cranking widgets? The widgets are the defined next action items.  From the relation above, defining a widget to crank is based on a project that supports our goals.

What does cranking widgets have to do with taiji? Are we cranking the correct widgets to achieve our goals in Taiji?  Does our training support our higher level goals in taiji?

If my goal is to be a bada$$ street fighter, then perhaps my training in silk reeling may not be the appropriate project to support that goal. I should redefine the supporting projects to include more sparring contact with varied martial artists.  But what if my goal is to tap into the cosmic energy of the universe? Would my project of working on silk reeling be appropriate for this goal? Perhaps, but I’d say training in the Huanyuan Qigong System may be a better route.

What are my high level goals in practicing taiji? First and foremost, it’s to nurture my body after many years of wushu wear and tear. In addition, I enjoy the meditative aspects of the art. I don’t train in taiji to be a bada$$ martial artists, I don’t train to fight, I train to learn about myself and who I am. I train in taiji because it makes me a better person.

To make it more concrete, my high level goals are:

High Level Goals (50 feet views) in Taiji

1. Physical well-being and health
2. Mind and Meditation Training

To take the GTD exercise one step further, let me next define my projects that support these goals

Mid Level Goals (25 feet views) in Taiji

1. Maintaining structural integrity and correct alignment
2. Calm the Mind, Be in the Present

What are my supporting projects to achieve these goals:

Supporting Projects in Taiji

1. Zhan Zhuang
2. Silk Reeling
3. Laojia Yilu

Finally, what are my “Next Action Items” for the above project list?

Action Items in Taiji (Sub projects?)

1. Be Calm and Relaxed in Zhanzhuang
2. Move with Correct Alignment and Intention in Silk Reeling
3. Move with Correct Alignment and Intention in Laojia Yilu

Note, the above are really “sub projects” of the supporting projects. In reality, the absolute Next Action Items could be:

Next Action Items

• Count 100 continuous breaths in Zhan Zhuang
• Remove Shoulder Tension in Zhan Zhuang
• Relax the Hip in Zhan Zhuang
• Do not let Knee past Toe in Silk Reeling
• Identify Qi Path in Silk Reeling
• Keep wrist aligned with center of body in silk reeling
• Reduce use of strength in Laojia Yilu
• Check hip to foot alignment in Laojia Yilu
• etc, etc

You get the picture.. the “Next Actions Items” are the Widgets to crank.  This leads us full circle to the initial question:

Am I cranking the correct widgets to achieve my goals in Taiji? 

Does my current training support my taiji goals?

For me, I would say the answer is “Yes”. My Next Action Items support the projects to achieve my higher level goals in taiji. 

Zhan Zhaung not only addresses the mental/meditative aspects, helps us to “know our center”, to develop zhong ding or central equilibrium.  It’s the root, the foundation upon which taiji is built upon. A common question asked in taiji is, “Are you rooted”? “Have you developed root?”

Silk Reeling builds upon the foundation of zhan zhuang training and adds movement. The physical movements of silk reeling are defined to be simple so that we can focus on the structure, alignment, intention, qi path of each and every aspect of the posture. This add another layer, are we able to maintain root during simple movements? Can we clearly define the intention (yi) of the movement?

Zhan Zhuang is the alphabet, Silk Reeling are the words, the Laojia Yilu is the sentence.  The Laojia Yilu is the vehicle that puts it all together. It is the test, the path, the goal, and the way.

I would like to send out a thanks to Cindy of Taiji Net for sparking the idea of this post by article titled, Taiji – How to Progress to the Next Level?. Also some gratitude to Merlin Mann for all his efforts and hard work on 43 Folders.  For more ties between GTD and Taiji, check out my previous post: GTD-Quan.

This reminds me a bit of a podcast on manager tools regarding time management, which basically noted that people are generally more creative more focused concentration between the hours of 7am and 10am. I would agree with this as I do feel as if my mind is at full operating speed during this time. Perhaps it has nothing to do with my finishing my morning coffee during that time.

I had put the analogy of:

form:taiji :: tool:gtd

But is that really the case? If so, I’ve been very off track and gotten into the whole “new tool of the week” syndrome in GTD. The key for solving this dilmena in GTD is to not experiment with every new tool that comes out, but just do. Why is this so hard to maintain in taiji? I have the form (CXW’s version of the laojia yilu), but why do I tend to look at other forms or tools (CZL’s version of chen taiji, Chen Zhonghua’s chen, yang taiji, etc etc) instead of focusing on the process (central equilibrium, balance, structure, power, relaxation, etc)?

In GTD, the key is the weekly review. This is what keeps one sane and focus with the process. What is the weekly review in taiji? After having some recent talks with a new taiji acquaintance via email, I started to think about the importance of regular instruction/feedback to keep one on track. Since the birth of my son, this has become next to nil, but I try to stay on track by attending seminars when the masters do come around, but the hard part in this equation is to focus on one line of teaching instead of test tasting every flavor that comes my way.

What has kept me on GTD? Why have I not deviated and explored other personal productivity systems? I think the key is the rewards GTD has given me. I think with taiji, the rewards are not really that tangible as they are in GTD, but they are still there. A majority of my chen instruction has come down via the Chen Xiaowang (CXW) line of teaching and I can easily say what those rewards are:

• Focus on structure and alignment
• one principle, three techniques
• movement breakdown into 4 counts
• qi/alignment check at each count
• and more

yet why the switch though I just listed out the rewards from CXW’s methods? I think the answer is the “weekly review”, however I’ve managed to stay on GTD pretty good without doing the weekly review at times, so ….

Looking inward, I do often see similarities of the problems I have in the 2 systems.

form:taiji::tool:gtd

How many times have I switched tools in GTD? A LOT! I seem to always want to try the new thing, try the new tool, change an existing tool, etc etc, which ultimately leads to not getting things done! This kinda reminds me of the KISASS (KISSASS stands for Keep It Simple, Slacker, And Stop Slacking) principle I recently read about. Quit slacking, quit finding excuses and just do. For GTD, I’ve settled on using the plain vanilla pda approach. This means strictly plain vanilla and no pigpog. This has worked out quite well and I am actually quite happy and content.

Taiji on the other hand is a whole different beast. I’ve often teeter tottered on various approaches. Ohh.. Chen Xiaowang does it this way but Chen Zhenglei does it like this.. or yang sytle does it this way but chen does it like this, etc etc. Joseph chen and kua this way, Chen Xiaowang and structure that way. I recently realized that I ultimately need to focus on principle and doing instead of debating and such. This recently lead to my resurgence of training in zhanzhuang. Getting down to the nitty gritty principle.

This should’ve clicked earlier to me but didn’t b/c during a silk reeling seminar with CXW, I had inquired about my posture of movement during a single handed silk reeling exercises. The first question he asked me was “Where is qi?” “Hand”, I replied. He then proceeded to open my hand a bit more, putting more intention into my hand. He then asked, “where qi go” and I replied, “hand, elbow, waist” and then he guided my hand and stopping at certain points repeating the path, “hand, elbow, waist”. Finally he asked, “Understand?” and I replied, “yes”.

So, it was the principle that guided the movement! The silk reeling seminar really drilled the principle of dantien rotations and qi paths while breaking the movements into 4 counts with the qi at different points. After the seminar, I did click with me he was really emphasizing what he thought was important.

As in GTD, with taiji I’ve come to terms. The importance is the principle, not the external movements but the principles guiding the movements. From what I gathered from CXW’s teachings, the important things are standing (zhanzhuang), silk reeling, and the training of the principles of 3 dantien rotations and qi intention during movements. And lately my practice has reflected that. The first thing I do in my training session is zhanzhuang (15 mins) and then work on at least 8 repitions per side of silk reeling (either single or double) and if I have time and I”m up to it, I will work on form. Last night, I just worked on the first section of the laojia yilu focusing on my central equilibrium and posture within the movements.

So, I don’t really care if I’m on the right path or not or if there is another path that’s better. I know that I am happy and content working on the material that I have and I have a long way to go before perfecting the principles.