Be More Productive With the "Getting Things Done" Method

Getting Things Done, aka GTD, is a popular task management technique developed by productivity expert David Allen. The concept is founded on a basic truth: the more information floating inside our heads, the more difficult it is to identify what has to be prioritised. As a result, we spend more time planning our duties than carrying them out. When knowledge accumulates in our minds, it causes stress, overwhelm, and doubt.

Allen discovered that human brains are far better at processing information than storing it. His GTD approach explains how to dump all our mental clutter into an external system and then organise it so we can focus on the right things at the right time. 

When your GTD process is properly set up, you'll be able to confidently answer "what should I be working on?" at any time without fear of forgetting something crucial you need to accomplish later.

 

How GTD works

Most of us have no clear distinctions between the projects we must complete. We have increased internal and external commitments, and we need new methods, tools, and work habits to manage them effectively.

To manage our commitments, we have to: 

1. Capture everything we consider unfinished in a logical and trusted system, out of our heads, 

2. Clarify every commitment and decide what to do to make progress in its achievement, and

3. Keep organised reminders of them in a system we can review regularly.

 

The basic workflow is to 

1. Capture all the stuff that catches our attention, 

2. Clarify what they mean and what we want to do with them, 

3. Organise the results, 

4. On which we will reflect to 

5. Choose what we want to engage with.

 

1. Capture

We can only feel good about what we are not doing when we know what we are not doing.

For our minds to work freely, we must know that we have captured everything that might represent something we have to do and that sometime soon, we will process and review everything we captured.

We must capture all the things we consider incomplete in our universe; personal or professional, big or small, urgent or not.

To make the collection phase work, we must capture 100% of our open loops, use the minimum amount of inboxes and remember to empty them regularly.

 

2. Clarify

When we let something come into our life or work, we make it a commitment we have to deal with. We must define and clarify, one by one, all the things in our inbox until it is empty.

If it does not require any action, you can 

1. if it is worthless, trash it, 

2. If you think you may need to do something in the future, incubate it in your Someday/Maybe list or Tickler File OR 

3. If the information is potentially helpful, keep it as Reference Material.

 

If it does require doing something, you need to define precisely what the following action should be and 

1. Do it, if the action requires less than two minutes, 

2. Delegate it, if we are not the right person for the task or 

3. Defer it to do it at the right time.

If you require more than one action to achieve the desired result, you should add the result to the Projects List, so it can remind you that there are still things to be done.

The GTD Flowchart. Click on the image for the original size.

3. Organise

To organise actionable things, you require:

1. A Projects List, 

2. A place to keep the material support for the projects, 

3. A Calendar, 

4. A list of reminders for the Next Actions, and lastly, 

5. A list of reminders for what you are Waiting For (delegated actions).

When you defer an action, you can put it on your Calendar (if it must happen at a specific time or day) or on your Next Actions list if you have to do it as soon as possible.

The best way to organise your Next Actions is to give them the context in which they must be completed, such as at home, at work, with a PC, or online. It will help you understand what actions you need to take under a given context.

The Calendar is vital. If you put something there, it's because you must complete it on the date indicated. To organise things that are not actionable, you need: 

1. A Trash, 

2. A Someday/Maybe list, 

3. A Tickler File and 

4. A Reference Material list. 

To manage these lists properly, divide them into categories since they tend to grow over time.

The Tickler File is a savvy way to manage "future" or "suspended" actions that you want to complete at a specific date or later in the future.

 

4. Reflect

The system cannot be static. To choose your actions correctly, you must keep the system current. You must review the whole picture of your life and work at regular intervals and at the appropriate levels.

Every day, you must review your Calendar and Next Actions list organised by context.

Every week, you need to review the remaining lists to ensure your system is clear, clean, updated and complete. The goal of the Weekly Review is to empty your mind again.

Every so often, you should reassess the big picture. It will clarify your long-term goals, visions and principles that determine your decisions.

 

5. Engage

All this management and workflow facilitates the decision of what you should be doing at any time.

To choose your next action:

1. Filter your next actions in the context in which you are, 

2. Consider the time needed for every action and time you have available, 

3. Consider the energy you need for every action and your current energy, and 

4. Trust your intuition to determine the action that can produce a higher profit under your context and your available time and energy.

You set your priorities by a hierarchy of levels of perspective, from the top down: 

1. Your life purpose, 

2. Your vision of yourself in the future,

3. Your medium-term goals,

4. Your areas of responsibility,

5. Your current projects and

6. The actions you must do every day.

 

The concept of projects in GTD

A project is an outcome for which you require more than one action step to achieve. You cannot do projects, and you can only do actions related to them.

The Natural Planning of Projects is a great way to think about the projects that need some elaboration. It produces maximum value with minimal effort and time and involves: 

1. Defining the purpose (why): Principles and values​ of the project, 

2. Visualising the desired outcome (what),

3. Brainstorming (how), 

4. Organising the ideas, and 

5. Identifying the next action steps.

 

Millions of individuals worldwide believe that Getting Things Done has significantly improved their lives, and there's a reason for this. While rigid GTD isn't for everybody, you're bound to develop one or two habits that will help you worry less and accomplish more. Everyone who wants to be less stressed and more productive should give it a try at least once.

Try it out and find which elements of GTD work best for you.

Source: FacileThings