Are you band-aid ready?

A while back my wife was at a local park with the kids. Something happened and one of our kids skinned their knee. She was in need of a band-aid. She did not have a band-aid. :(

There was an older man at the park that day. Seeing my wife in need, he walked over to her and with a band-aid in hand. He said, "I am a a grandfather and have many grandchildren. I always keep a couple band-aids in my wallet just in case."

She told me this story and I thought to myself, "Wow! What a great piece of practical wisdom." So from that day forward I started putting a couple band-aids in my handy dandy David Allen note taker wallet.

Thank you Mr. Wise Old Man where ever you are. You've set a great example for me and have helped many others with your wisdom and kindness.

Are you band-aid ready?

Capture... "Great idea can you write that down for me?"

(Click the picture to enlarge)

Capturing... what a great thing!

The kids love it. You can create fertile ground for capturing ideas by creating capture ready spaces. The standard 3x5 blank card is working well for my family. We did a brainstorm at the beginning of the summer of all the things we wanted to do. Throughout the summer we moved things over to the done side. When we were trying to come up with an plan for the day the kids would go to the board and look for something from their "project list" (note: I did not call it that. That is a seed that will grow later down the road).

They are also durable. As kids learn to write they tend to press down hard so the extra thickness protects our table

In "landscape mode" they are great for capturing ideas, quote, actions, things to remember at school, things to ask your teacher and more. My daughter was on Quote of the Day duty today and here is what she came up with:

In "portrait mode," they are great for checklists. My daughter started a new activity today, field hockey, so I asked her to make a checklist of things she needs to bring. She is a lefty. I love where she placed the boxes. That is the other amazing thing about these little pieces of paper. You get to see the unique way your child processes information.



All this from a simple white 3x5 card strategically placed and nurtured with questions and encouragement. This is fun stuff!

Here is a related post that uses 3x5 cards to help with one of the many life questions I will face as a father: Daddy am I good at anything?

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PS: If you are in the market for a book bag, my daughter is loving her Yak Pak (pictured above).

The core of my GTD approach with my kids (aka The GTD Seed Company)

In my life, and in our family, I have breakfast with the kids on almost a daily basis. This is sacred space for me because it is where I listen, offer guidance and plant my "GTD seeds."

This setting is so ubiquitous to our family routine that it makes for an incredibly powerful teaching setting. I know I will sit down with the kids 200+ times per year in this setting. I funnel most of these conversations through the GTD filter because it is so powerful.

I am going to write bunch of posts that focus on this diagram. You will find them under the tag "GTD Seed Company (GTDKids)" going forward. I chose this name because I identify with the image of planting seeds and nurturing them as they grow. Some will grow fast, some won't, some will grow years later when you least expect it.

Do you have a family routine that you could "re-purpose" for a new purpose? (Dinner, drive to school, etc.)

Any new "phases" sneaking up on you?