Getting Things Done - Five Step Workflow

• There are five stages we go through when dealing with work. The trick is to not do the five phases at one time.

• Collect things that command our attention.

  • Collect and gather everything — what you can’t gather, put in a placeholder. Keep in mind stuff can collect passively as well.
  • The goal during this phase is as follows:
    • Every open loop in the collection system and out of your head.
    • Have as you few collection buckets as you can but as many as you need. These buckets should be available within every context (even outside of work).
    • Empty the bins where stuff collects frequently. Buckets that are not emptied do not serve their purpose. Emptying is not equal to finishing it. Emptying simply means for stuff :
      • Define what it is
      • Define should be done
      • If unfinished, organize it into the system.
      • Never put it back in.

• Process what they mean and what to do about them

  • Processing all the things in your world will make you more conscious of what you are going to do and what you should not be doing
  • If no action is required, then we have three verdicts.
    • Trash - no longer needed.
    • Incubate - no action is needed now, but something might need to be done later.
      • Put it here to get it out of your mind right now.
    • Reference - the item is potentially useful information that might be needed for later.
      • Maintain a “to file” pile to track things you cannot immediately file for reference.
  • If action is required, then we need to determine the following;
    • Is it attached to a project? If yes, then capture the outcome in a projects list.
    • If not, what’s the next action?
  • And if a next action has been determined, determine what to do:
    • Do it - if the action will take less than two minutes, it should be done at the moment it is defined.
      • The two minute rule derives from the fact that beyond two minutes, it’s much quicker to file than to do.
      • Adjust the two minutes depending on how long it takes to file something.
    • Delegate it - if the action will take longer than two minutes, and you are not the right person to do this, delegate it to the appropriate entity.
      • If you delegate an action and care if something happens, track the handoff.
      • Keep track of the date on everything you hand off to others.
    • Defer it - the action will take longer than two minutes , and you are the right person to do it. Track it as a next action for the future.

Processing Workflow. Image taken from Allen

• Organize the results

  • Do not organize what’s incoming, organize the actions you need to take based on the decisions you have made about what needs to be done
  • There are eight discrete categories of reminders and material that should result from processing:
    • Trash - non-actionable, unneeded and has no value.
    • Incubation tools - non-actionable, reassess later
      • Someday / Maybe - maintain an ongoing list of things you might want to do at some point but not now. You put stuff that you’d like to be reminded of here.
      • Suspended / Tickler - mail something to your future self.
    • Reference storage - non-actionable, file and refer to it another time. These require no actions but are valuable reference material.
      • Establish a good working system for categorizing material.
      • As a general rule, it is best to stick with one general reference system except for a very limited number of discrete topics.
      • If material is purely for reference, the only issue is whether it’s worth the time and space required to keep it .
    • Project list - for things that require more than one action step. It is your list of open loops.
      • We don’t do projects, only the actions related to it up to the point we say the project is “done” .
      • Look at the contents of all projects as often as needed (typically during Weekly Review).
      • It doesn’t matter how you list projects and subprojects as long as you know where to find all the moving parts.
    • Project plans and material
      • Project support materials are not for reminders.. This should go to your action list instead.
      • Make project plans more accessible than pure reference materials.
      • Consider where you’re keeping tabs on a project or topic, how you might add information to it, and where you might store extensive data associated with it.
      • If you use attachments to keep track of specific data, remember to look at it.
      • Consistently look for any action steps inherent in project notes and review the notes as often as necessary.
      • Clear out stale, inactive, or unreal notes .
    • Calendar - actions that need to happen at a specific time of day.
      • The following go in the Calendar
        • Time specific actions - appointments, meetings, etc.
        • Day specific actions - things you need to do sometime on a certain day but not a specific time.
        • Day specific information - keep track of things to know about on specific days.
      • Don’t put to-do lists in the calendar.
        • Constantly shifting priorities reconfigure daily work that items in the to-do list would shift and may necessitate re-writing them for the next day.
        • If there’s something on the to-do list that doesn’t have to get done that day, it dilutes the emphasis on things that truly do.
      • What is put in the calendar is done at that moment in time or not at all
    • Next Actions list - contains all action reminders. If there are many actions in this list, we can subdivide it further.
      • Organize as-soon-as-possible actions by context. This is more efficient as it removes context switching.
      • The most efficient way to track your action reminders is to add them to lists or folders as they occur to you
      • Action reminders should be in discrete categories based on the action required.
      • Organize emails within the email software itself.
      • Out of sight, out of mind is not really out of mind. Know where all your actionable items are located, what they are, and that they will wait.
    • Waiting List - List of reminders of things you’re waiting for

• Review the results as options for what we choose to.

  • Have a consistent review phase.
  • Frequently review the Calendar as these are actions that are to be done in a specific date.
  • Then review, the Next Actions list to see things you can do.
  • Other lists can be reviewed as often as needed.
  • All open loops should be reviewed once a week. During the Weekly review:
    • Gather and process all stuff
    • Review the current system
    • Update the lists
    • Get clean, clear, current and complete.
  • Make the system complete and you will trust it even more and the more motivated you will be to keep it.

• Do. Choose actions in the moment based on the following models:

  • Four Criteria Model
    • Context - action choices may be limited because they can only be done in certain contexts.
    • Time Available- when do you have to do something else?
    • Energy Available - how much energy do you have to carry out the action?
    • Priority - given the current context, time, and energy available, what action will give the highest payoff?
  • Threefold Model for Evaluating Daily Work - There are three kinds of activities one can be engaged in. It is up to us to choose which is the most important.
    • Doing predefined work - actions from the New Actions list are done.
    • Doing Work as it Shows Up - doing something that was unplanned.
    • Defining Work - cleaning up the in-basket and deciding what to do.
  • The Six-Level Model for Reviewing One’s Work - Use the following model to evaluate a model based on its goals or standards
    • Current Actions - the actions you need to take.
    • Current Projects - short-term outcomes you want to achieve.
    • Areas of Responsibility - the areas where you want to achieve results and maintain standards.
    • One-to-Two Year Goals - more medium-length goals
    • Three-To-Five Year Goals - more long-term goals
    • Life Goals - the bigger picture. Goals here are tied to our existence or purpose.

Links §

• Getting Things Done — The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen