As modern knowledge workers, we are overwhelmed day-to-day by the immense growth in the volume of new information and increased variety of new work responsibilities. A coherent and trustworthy system for managing this deluge of inputs and commitments is integral to leading a quality, productive, and stress-managed life. Introduced in 2001, GTD provides a complete framework for time/ task management that has grown in recognition as one of the best life information management systems. I took a training class on GTD in 2016 and became convinced of its soundness and power. I implemented many parts of the system to further organize my life. A few parts I found most useful were: 1) recognizing and then breaking up projects into smaller actionable tasks; 2) the 2-minute rule, 3) “inbox zero” and the “mind like water” philosophy. I also referenced the ‘Horizons of Focus’ model to help articulate and design my life mission, areas of focus, and goals. The book reinforced and delved deeper into all the concepts I had previously learned. Perhaps, as a converted intermediate practitioner, is why I found the book to be overly long and tedious. It’s written for both a neophyte (Part 1 introduced the concepts) as well as an intermediate (Part 2 imparts practical implementation tips), and includes too many examples and anecdotes, and other bits to justify/ validate the GTD system. Nevertheless, the core concepts and principles are tremendously useful for ambitious achiever-types.
- “Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them.” Using memory as an organizing system is ineffective because it is not built for efficient recall. It gets quickly overwhelmed.
- Getting Things Done system is designed to clear your “mind like water”, so you can focus, with peace and without stress, to do the most productive work.
- An “open loop” is anything that is pulling your attention—a mental commitment—how ever big or small, that isn’t where you would like it to be. Without capturing and clarifying these items, a significant part of your mental energy will be wasted preoccupied with these things. “A task left undone remains undone in two places—at the actual location of the task, and inside your head.”
- How to think about a project or raw “stuff”: 1) translate it into a desired outcome (“what does done look like”), and 2) the next physical action (“what is the very next thing to be doing”).
- Five-step workflow management: Capture –> Clarify –> Organize –> Reflect –> Engage
- Capture: collect all inputs into one place
- Use capture tool “containers”: physical (in-tray, mailbox, notebook) and virtual (email, text message, voicemail)
- Mind Sweep: get everything out of your head, all open loops, into a system you trust
- Clarify: process what it is and what to do with it next
- Go through each item one by one. Is it actionable?
- No:
- Trash: delete or garbage
- Incubate: “tickle” it for future reassessment in ‘Someday/ Maybe’ list or on Calendar
- Reference: file it in appropriate reference folder
- Yes: decide the next physical action step
- Is there a project (multi-step tasks leading to a desired outcome within 1 year)?
- Yes:
- Track on a ‘Projects’ list and decide next action
- No: does the next step take <2 minutes?
- Yes:
- Do it: if it takes an inordinately short amount of time, just do it now
- No:
- Delegate it: if you are not the best person to do it, assign it to somebody else.
- Track the handoff and date in ‘Waiting For’ list
- Easiest to track: email > paper note > text message > voicemail > phone call
- Defer it: put into the organization system
- Track it in a ‘Next Actions’ list (do as soon as possible) or on Calendar (do at a specific day/ time)
- Delegate it: if you are not the best person to do it, assign it to somebody else.
- Yes:
- Yes:
- Is there a project (multi-step tasks leading to a desired outcome within 1 year)?
- No:
- Go through each item one by one. Is it actionable?
- Organize: put things into where it belongs
- Have “hard edges”: clearly defined, non-overlapping categories (lists and folders).
- Use Calendar only for “must do” items on a specific time/ day. “Nice to do” items should be on a ‘Next Actions’ or ‘Someday/ Maybe’ list.
- A ‘Call’ and ‘Read’ list with accessible phone numbers/ reading materials could be productive for those unexpected little windows of time that open up when you have nothing to do.
- Lists depending on context, e.g. ‘Home’, ‘Office’, talking ‘Agenda’, could be helpful
- ‘Waiting For’ list: track open commitments for what, from whom, and when (original request and agreed due date).
- Reflect: regroup, review, and reflect on at least a weekly basis
- Weekly Review:
- Get Clear: capture all loose inputs, empty your head (Mind Sweep), clarify/ organize everything, inboxes down to zero
- Get Current: review Calendar, Next Actions daily; review Waiting For, Projects list weekly
- Get Creative: review Someday/ Maybe list; transfer some to Next Actions, add any new ideas, delete old ones
- Periodically review higher Horizons”—big picture review of life purpose, vision, and objectives.
- “You must be assured that you’re doing what you need to be doing, and that it’s OK to be not doing what you’re not doing.”
- Weekly Review:
- Engage: take action, do work
- Choose what to do from the Next Actions list based on heart or instinct. Failing that, three models to consider:
- Four-Criteria Model:
- context: location or tools available (e.g. computer)
- time available: best for unexpected pockets of window
- energy available
- priority: importance, urgency
- Threefold Nature of Work:
- defining your work
- doing predefined work
- doing (ad hoc) work as it shows up: easy to get sucked into urgent but not important “busyness”
- Horizons of Focus Model: purpose and principles –> vision –> goals –> areas of focus/ accountabilities –> current projects –> current actions
- Four-Criteria Model:
- Choose what to do from the Next Actions list based on heart or instinct. Failing that, three models to consider:
- Capture: collect all inputs into one place
- “If the project is still on your mind, there’s more thinking (planning) required.”
- Natural Planning Model: is easy to use and sensical, but paradoxically, most people do not use it for important projects. They often jump into the middle straight into work (instead of starting with why) or resort to reacting from the bottom (“fire-fighting”).
- Defining purpose and principles: start with “why”; clarifies focus, expands options, defines success and decision criteria, creates motivation.
- Principles: the standards/ boundaries of acceptable behavior; avoid actions that undermine long-term purpose.
- Outcome visioning: the “what” of how the successful outcome would look, sound, and feel like; a clear forward-looking focus marshals the mind.
- Brainstorming options: all ideas out on the table; capture or mind-map; emphasize quantity/ expansion not quality/ constriction; resist judging, challenging, or criticizing ideas yet
- Organizing: challenges, comparisons, evaluation; structure the components, sequencing, priorities; identify milestones, dependencies, deliverables
- Deciding ‘Next Actions’: determine next concrete, physical action; allocate resources; delegate
- This may be a litmus test to clarify plan even more; if unclear of direction, move up level on the Model scale.
- Defining purpose and principles: start with “why”; clarifies focus, expands options, defines success and decision criteria, creates motivation.
- Best practices tips:
- Capture:
- Once you have a full inventory of all your tasks, helps to refine and decline unimportant commitments (helps you say no).
- Transforms forgotten, unconscious commitments you’ve made to yourself that takes up space in the mind, into visible, conscious ones on a list, that helps free the mind.
- A systematic, consistent, and complete capture prevents things “falling in the cracks” (of our mind) or “dropping the ball” (forgetting).
- Have digital capture/ writing tools always accessible.
- Filing system: keep close at hand and easy/ fun to use. Reduce required time to file an item to <1 min. Purge obsolete files and notes periodically.
- While the world is moving towards everything digital, paper still has its place. Many people find paper easier to use and unlike digital, it isn’t as easy to lose into a “black hole”.
- Next Actions:
- Intelligent people are more prone to indecision and procrastination, because they can better envision the negative scenarios in their heads.
- Break complex tasks into simple ones that help you just ‘get started’—the most important step!
- When the next physical action is decided, it greatly helps clarify, motivate, and energize a project. Empowers you to be action-oriented.
- The thinking and deciding has to eventually be done anyway—do it on the front-end, not on the back-end when things “show up or blow up”.
- Be outcome-focused: the art and challenge is to define what “done” (success) means and what “doing” looks like.
- Weekly Review critical! If the lists are not up-to-date or complete, you will not be able to trust the system and relax your mind. Make it a (weekly) habit.
- Capture:
- GTD is a self-management system that helps clear and focus your mind, makes explicit and increases awareness to what is implicit and often vague in us, makes us more efficient and effective to eventually handle bigger, more important things. Mastery of GTD or a version of a life management system, frees us up to be more creative and intentional with the priorities in our lives.
Finished: 25-Apr-2019. Rating: 8/10.
