keninabu!

Getting Things Done

I've been using bits and pieces of Dave Allen's Getting Things Done system, in particular with his principles of capturing what's on your mind i.e. your incomplete "open loops" (which you usually fret and think about, but which you aren't capable or willing to execute and "close" the loop at that point in time) into various baskets. In my case, my basket is an open-email from my email program, in which I list all the stuff that I have to do.

There's also an art of listing: putting an item like "Groceries", "settle lawyer", "placate horny other-half" is about as useful as using a dodo for time management. The list of 'stuff' needs to be explicit and clear. Preferably, it should be the 'next action step', spelled out so that when you look at the list, you know exactly what to do. So instead of "groceries", put "buy lettuce, tomatoes and mushrooms"; instead of "work on assignment", put "start reading pages 1-4 of reader; summarize".

You then routinely clear your basket by looking through each item and deciding one of four options: do it, defer it, delegate it, or drop it.

It's amazing, but just these basic principles got me off my arse, and got me to get a lot more things done than I can recall.

Without the stress from the usual "prioritization" recommended by other time-management gurus.

Dave Allen points out a very important thing: what we should be managing is not time, but our actions.

I haven't had the time this weekend to finish reading his book, but I've read enough to get me excited about it... can't wait to get more tidbits for improving my ability to get things done!

(And do I sound AMERICAN... or what??)

posted by keninabu @ 12:26 AM