After coming back from an extended vacation last August, I started thinking about improving how I manage projects and workflows.
What structural changes in my routines can I make to work more effectively?
So I decided to explore
GTD:
"Getting Things Done, also referred to as “GTD,” is a work/life management approach that is based on the principle that you have to get things out of your head and recorded in a system you can trust. This frees your mind from the job of remembering everything that you need to do, and allows it to concentrate fully on actually doing those things.
Central to the GTD method is a simple thought process that you must go through with every task or problem that you are faced with. Two questions must be answered: “What is successful outcome?” And, “What is the next action?” By clarifying what must be achieved, and then deciding on the very next physical step that is required, we can generate a clear set of next actions that can be taken as soon as we are in the right context to do them. Thus, a key part of the GTD method is creating lists of tasks that are specific to a context, such as a list of calls to make or things to do at the office.
The author of Getting Things Done, David Allen, summarizes the approach this way: “Get everything out of your head. Make decisions about actions required on stuff when it shows up–not when it blows up. Organize reminders of your projects and the next actions on them in appropriate categories. Keep your system current, complete, and reviewed sufficiently to trust your intuitive choices about what you’re doing (and not doing) at anytime.”
Still thinking through how this would all function as I transition between home and work environments.
Open questions...
Straight from the horses mouth says "Avoid cumbersome hanging files"...but how to
organize non-hanging folders in file drawers?
Some definitions...
Project: A project is any outcome that will take more than one action step to complete.
Areas of focus: a high-level checklist of all the areas in life and work that you want to keep your eye on, ensuring that you are doing what you need to be doing to maintain them at your standards. Examples might be health, relationships, career, finances, creative expression, etc.; if the area is fine and “on cruise control,” no need. But if it’s not where it needs to be, you need to ensure that you have projects and actions to get them there.
Someday Maybe’s: things that you might want to do (about anything) at some point, but not yet. You just want to be reminded about them on some regular basis to ensure that you are OK with the fact that you’re not doing it yet. For example, learn Italian, climb Mt. Everest, own a vineyard. You will probably have “Someday Maybe’s” in many of your areas of focus as well as active projects.
On tools...
It's more important that it clearly serves the purpose of
reflecting the reminders and information in the most appropriate way for you.
How should I choose which system to use (digital vs. paper)? Pay attention to your intuition, or just simply: What do you feel like using as a system? We’ve discovered people tend to resist the GTD implementation process enough as it is, so you need all the help you can get to be motivated to work the system. If you know you’d like to be digital, don’t waste time on a paper system. But if you like the look and touch and feel of a cool notebook, go for it. No system works unless you work it.
On getting started...
"Implementing and maintaining are two different things. To capture, clarify, and organize a lot of old backlog and set up a system from scratch may require two or more uninterrupted days of your time and focus. (Though we have never had anyone say that process wasn’t worth every minute of the investment!) Once you are current, it does require time and energy to keep it maintained, processing and organizing everything you collect (typically from 30 to 90 minutes each day). But what’s the option? It will take you at least that long, whenever you do it. It takes a lot more time and effort (and creates a lot more stress) to continually rehash the unprocessed stuff."
"Much of what happens with and around you during the week won’t be on any of your lists–
it’s the ad hoc stuff, but having something that represents a stable inventory as best you can define it, to work against, is the only source of stability." (
via)
The most complex-looking part of the process is the set of various lists for next actions (at phone, at computer, at the office, at my boss, etc.) (
Via)
What can be done to keep from getting overwhelmed at work? Rigorously capture, clarify, and track every commitment you make–little or big, urgent or not urgent, personal or professional–in a trusted system (not your head). Make a clear distinction between the projects you are actually committed to finish, as soon as you can, and the ones that should be moved to a Someday Maybe list. Review and update your active projects list regularly, to mature your intuitive ability to know what your limits really are. Decide immediately the next physical action required to move each active project forward (call, email, talk to, buy, etc.), and
organize reminders of those actions based upon the critical context for the action (does it need to be done with a phone? a computer? at home? at the office?). Review those lists whenever you have any discretionary time, in those contexts. (
Via)
http://www.moleskineus.com/largeruled.html
http://markettorrent.com/topic/8774?page=1
http://www.gtdtimes.com/2010/08/02/which-list-manager-should-i-use-for-gtd/
http://www.david-web.appspot.com/cnt/GettingThingsDone/
http://www.davidco.com/faq%23gtd
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