What does it mean to save time? No one can put aside three hours from today and choose to use it next week.
When someone says they want to save time, she typically means that more efficiency is desired so that more time will become available for other things. Those things might include enjoying more quality time with family, reading more articles about time-saving tips, or perhaps focusing additional time on more highly valued tasks.
When I first began using GTD®, the first behavior that produced a feeling of clarity for me was Capture. I have an average memory, but I frequently forget thoughts I had only moments ago. Perhaps this is because I often have numerous additional thoughts in quick succession and I just cannot retain all of them. It turns out that nobody can — at least not without intentionally using memory tricks (which is not something that I typically do).
In my last article, I wrote about the time-consuming nature of using the Getting Things Done® method of productivity. Often it can seem to take more time to maintain my GTD® system than it is worth. To look at this another way, despite being worth it, I often don’t have the required time to maintain my GTD® system.
The weekly review has been my scapegoat. With the difficulty of finding a two-hour block of time for quiet reflection, every week, I stated that even when I do squeeze in a weekly review, I am often so low on energy and focus that the outcome of the review is less than optimal.