Jury Duty: A Blessing in Disguise

We’ve all been filled with dread upon opening the jury duty letter, wondering aloud how to get out of it, how long to postpone and calculating the chances of getting picked to serve. For those super busy people out there, jury duty throws a wrench into an already jam-packed schedule, but failure to serve can mean a hefty fine.
 
When Michelle Slatalla received her summons, she was concerned about her life unraveling, but approached it with a plan. Armed with her “most important organizational tool,” her laptop, she decided to use the time to peruse productivity blogs like Unclutterer.com and 43folders.com. Then she was put on a jury and almost “blacked out from panic.”
 
She called up David Allen, author of Getting Things Done, who then instructed her to take inventory of her life by listing all of the projects that need to get done in the next year. That way, the next time an unexpected responsibility like jury duty is thrown into the mix, it does not cause utter chaos.  
 
With free WiFi and downtime, jury duty can offer a prime opportunity for getting organized--pay your bills online, organize bookmarks, and catch up on emails or blogs. 

Do you have a “contingency plan” for when you receive a jury duty summons? [Nytimes.com]