Productivity guru David Allen is the author of Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, the 2001 book that has sold more than a million copies and has been translated into 30 languages. His eponymous, $8 million time-management empire spans everything from $595 per-person public seminars to corporate speaking engagements that can earn him $40,000 to $60,000 a pop.
Widely abbreviated as GTD, Allen’s method of getting things done focuses on two basic concepts.
The first is that by dumping all the tasks floating around in our heads (everything from “buy toothpaste” to “write strategic plan”) onto paper or into software, and then sorting them into a system of lists, we become better able to deal with the unexpected crises that disrupt our days.
The second is that the complex projects that populate our to-do lists (say, “hire marketing manager”) should be broken into granular “next actions” (”e-mail recruiter” and “call HR about firing current one”).
Here are four key ideas from Allen’s seminar:
1. Write it down. Jot down everything from ‘buy dog food’ to ‘build vacation home’ before processing it into a set of lists.
2. Break it out. Too many to do lists are composed of complex projects that say little about what should eb done next.
3. Do it now. If a task can be done in two minutes, do it right away.
4. File it away. A good filing system, both for paper and emails is essential.
Just saved you $595.
Photo by Max S. Gerber.
Getting Serious About Getting Things Done
August 21, 2008 by Rich | 4 Comments
In Operations, Productivity, Strategy
Matt Helphrey on August 21st, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Writing things down is extremely helpful. It kind of keeps you accountable for the things that you want to get done.
Thanks for sharing.
Matt
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cassy on August 21st, 2008 at 9:05 pm
3. Do it now. If a task can be done in two minutes, do it right away.
If you can make it now, why spend another time to do it?
Dan on August 22nd, 2008 at 4:26 am
If you’d like a tool for implementing GTD you might try out this web-based application:
http://www.gtdagenda.com
You can use it to manage your goals, projects and tasks, set next actions and contexts, use checklists, schedules and a calendar.
A mobile version and iCal are available too.
Hope you like it.