My Dempsey Parker Project Journey
Okay, so I finally decided to really try out this whole “Dempsey Parker method” everyone keeps whispering about. Felt like jumping into the deep end, honestly. Figured I’d just roll up my sleeves and see what happens.
First thing Monday morning, I grabbed my notebook. Not some fancy app, just plain paper. Wanted that old-school feel, you know? Started scribbling down all the random goals bouncing in my head. Wanted clearer mornings, less email chaos, maybe even finally tackle that backyard project looming over me. My list looked messy, total brain dump.
The next step had me circling things. Felt kinda silly, honestly. But I did it. Circled two things that made my stomach clench just thinking about them: fixing that broken fence gate (hated dealing with it) and prepping for that awkward client meeting on Friday. Ugh.
Now, the Parker thing said I had to physically do something right then for those circled items. No planning, just action. For the fence, that meant walking outside right that minute, grabbing my toolbox from the shed (dusty as heck!), and actually taking the gate off its hinges. Took maybe ten minutes. For the meeting? Sent one short, super direct email asking for the key reports I needed. Hit send before I could chicken out.
Tuesday rolled around, and my circled list looked different. Fence gate was still off, but now I needed sandpaper and paint. Meeting prep needed reviewing those reports when they came in. More action: drove to the hardware store immediately after coffee (even though traffic sucked), and blocked one hour in my calendar only for report review later.
By Wednesday? Things got weirdly easier. The gate was sanded. Got paint on my jeans (of course). The reports were sitting in my inbox, ready. I felt… lighter? Less foggy for sure. Even added a new circling item: tackling my overflowing inbox. That afternoon, I smashed the unsubscribe button on a dozen junk emails immediately and replied to three quick ones needing only short answers. Done.
Friday afternoon? Crazy. Client meeting went smoother than expected because I wasn’t scrambling. Gate was back on, painted (not perfectly, but functional). Inbox wasn’t screaming at me. Did I solve world peace? Nope. Did my week feel totally different and way less stressful? Absolutely.
So yeah, my messy takeaways after butchering it for a week:
- Starting simple with paper worked. No app overwhelm.
- Circling the gnarly tasks forces you to look at the monster.
- The “action right now” rule is brutal but magic. Even tiny, dumb actions.
- It doesn’t make the hard stuff easy, just makes it… clearer and way less scary.
- Feeling less buried under the “stuff” pile is pure relief.
Still learning, totally making mistakes. But man, finally seeing some forward motion. Thumbs up from me so far.
