How I Started Getting Things Done with David Allen’s GTD.
I’ve had a recent change in my thinking when it comes to ‘getting things done’ and productivity… I no longer rule my day based on ‘priorities’… it’s now all about ‘context’
This new outlook is comes from David Allen’s book ‘Getting Things Done’, where David outlines the way to get more done is by focusing on context; such as your location, time and energy levels. Obviously phone calls can only be made when I’m near a phone… I can only reply to emails when I am near my laptop (or iPhone)… etc etc…
And it’s this focus on ‘actions’ and ‘contexts’ that have changed my productivity so dramatically.
But before I go on a big rant about ‘contexts’, let me outline the core principles to Getting Things Done:
1. Collect
The first step is a pretty obvious one, but like most ‘obvious success principles’, it seems to be overlooked due to it’s simplicitly…
Anytime anything crosses your mind that requires some sort of response or action from you, Write It Down; carry a notebook, a little tape recorder, email yourself or put an in-box on your desk… Any tool that gets it out of your head and into the ’system’.
2. Process
Next you clear the items from the memory bucket(s). Start at the top of the list, deal with one item at a time, and do not move onto the next until one of the following things are done and never put anything back into the in-box, every item on the list has one of the outcomes below.
So with every entry ask yourself one simple question “is there an action I need to take about this item?”
- If an item requires action:
- do it right way (if it takes less than two minutes*),
- delegate it to someone else, or
- defer it for action later (using the method below).
- If it’s not something that can be ‘actioned’,
- file it,
- toss it out, or
- save it for possible action later.
The underlying rule of this is The 2-minute Rule: If it takes less than 2 minutes to do something, do it right away.
3. Organize (The Defered Items)
The foundation of this entire GTD system is lists. I love lists - it gives you structure and makes your memory redundant (something I really need)
The first set of lists you need are Projects. A project is anything that will need more than one action to complete. Think; ‘create new website for X’ or ‘Prepare presentation for Y’ or ‘Relaunch MCG Carpet Business’ etc etc.
Just to clarify here - ‘creating a website’ or ‘Relaunching MCG Carpet Business’ isn’t an action; it’s a project made up of a bunch of little ‘actions’.
And it’s in this principle that I had one of my biggest ‘awakenings’ - One of the major reasons I wasn’t getting through my to-lists is that my to-list was filled with projects, not actions… and I always felt overwhelmed… But as I outlined in a previous post “It’s this focus on actions rather then goals , that allow us to get started and see progress, which stimulates motivation and instills habits.
Instead of looking at a project or goal as a result, try looking at it as a series of small cumulative actions; and if you do those ‘simple’ actions the result will take care of itself.
So once you have all your ‘Projects’ outlined, you need to list all the Actions required to complete that ‘Project’…
So for every item/project/goal requiring your attention, decide what is the next action you can take. (For example - if the item is ‘Relaunch MCG Business’, the next action might be ‘count how many MCG Carpet squares are locked in the safe’, or ‘call Ken about framing cost estimates’, or something similar.) No matter the number of steps and actions required to complete the project, there will always be something that you need to do next/first, and this should be recorded in the next actions list under each project. .
Next (and and the most powerful step of GTD) is to give each ‘Action’ a ‘Context’. And the context is based on what/where the action is completed such as ‘@office’ for actions that can only be done in the office, ‘@phone’ for actions that require a phone call, or ‘@email’ for email related actions.
And if you’re super anal give it a time context based on how long it *should* take to complet; @10m, @30m, @2h etc etc
4. Review + Do
Now that you’ve processed your actions and organized your projects, you need look at those lists. You need to review the lists throughout the day, and choose what needs to be done next based on:
* context (where you are)
* time available
* energy available
By breaking down your to-do list into projects and actions there are two amazingly freeing outcomes:
1. By sitting down and focusing on single project and working through those already planned actions.. the cumulative effect principle kicks in, and you begin to see progress and build momentum.
Not to mention the benefits of sitting down and focusing a solid block of time on one project… as opposed to doing what most of us do, and jump from project to project based on what’s on the top of the pile and the ‘biggest’ priority.
2. Plus by focusing on ‘contexts’; if I am in an ‘email mood’ I can simply filter my ‘next action list’ by @email and just knock off all the emails I need to send across a series of projects very very quickly….or I can still work towards my goals in a sequential manner based on ‘Where I am’ or ‘What I have available’… So if I am driving between meetings I can simply filter my actions by @Phone and make all the calls needed.
With the power of context, whether you want to work through a projects actions, or want to focus on a type of action (like make a bunch of phone calls in the car) the ‘context’ tag gives you flexibility and never leaves you asking “What should I do next?”
