Getting Things Done

• There is no one-size-fits-all solution to Productivity.
• In the modern age, in addition to increasing stimulation, complexity, demand and expectation, whether things are “done” or not is no longer well-defined.
• The goal is to have many things to do while functioning productively and maintaining control by:
  • Capturing all the things that need to get done, not keeping it in your head, but in a trusted system.
  • Disciplining yourself to make decisions so that you will always have a plan for the next action.

The Idea §

• Get things done by being relaxed and maintaining focus. Have a mind like water, neither over nor under-reacting; neither giving too much nor too little attention.

  • Most of the stress people experience comes from inappropriately managed commitments they make or accept — the open loops or things that pull us away from our true goals.
  • Managing commitments requires the following. This procedure helps get a clearer definition of the outcome and lets us think on the problem at a sufficient level to solidify the commitment.
    • If it’s on your mind, your mind isn’t clear, write down what’s on your mind. Put anything unfinished in a trusted system outside the mind. Something is in your mind typically because
      • You do not know the intended outcome
      • You do not know the next physical step
      • You are not reminded of either of the above.
    • Clarify what the commitment is and what you have to do.
    • Keep reminders of what actions you need to take to keep organized.
  • You have to think about stuff more than you realize but not as much as you think.
    • The mind tends to remind us of stuff we should be doing but thinks it should be done now.

• It’s a waste of time and energy to keep thinking about:

  • Something that you make no progress on.
  • Something you have already thought of already unless you like having that thought.
  • Something that you cannot change or have influence over.

• Transform Stuff - the things you have allowed into your space that doesn’t belong where it is, but for which you haven’t determined the desired outcome and the next step.

  • A common pitfall is making to-do lists that contain only stuff but not things that actually need to be done.
  • Once stuff comes up (not when stuff has already become a problem), we must define what we are going to do with it.
  • There’s only so much stuff that we can keep in our short term memory.
  • When stuff is something we say we “need to” do, it becomes incomplete. It also becomes incomplete when it is done but we haven’t acknowledged it as done.

• The key to managing stuff is having clearly defined actions, and managing them. That is, answer:

  • What you do with your time
  • What you do with information
  • What you do with your focus and body.

Topics §

• Getting Things Done - Five Step Workflow
• Getting Things Done - Project Planning
• Getting Things Done - Practical Tips

Links §

• Getting Things Done — The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen
• The Cult of Done Manifesto - a related topic.