Getting Things Done

I have come across one very nice concept today. It’s called “Getting Things Done”. This concept/method was developed by David Allen and it is also widely known in its abbreviated form GTD. A simple google would end up with horde of results about the method and I got instantly attracted to it. I’m dedicating one article on my blog for this beautiful concept.

All of us have the problem of having too many things to do and not having enough time to do them. I’m one of them. GTD’s principle, an action management concept, rests on the need to document all of these tasks that we need/want to do so that we can actually concentrate on doing things rather than keep thinking about them. David Allen summarizes his principles in his book which can be bought at a paltry sum worth every penny.

What is GTD?
GTD is a powerful method to manage commitments, information, and communication. It includes:
• Capturing anything and everything that has our attention
• Defining actionable things discretely into outcomes and concrete next steps
• Organizing reminders and information in the most streamlined way, in appropriate categories, based on how and when you need to access them
• Keeping current and "on your game" with appropriately frequent reviews of the six horizons of your commitments (purpose, vision, goals, areas of focus, projects, and actions)
Implementing GTD alleviates the feeling of overwhelm, instills confidence, and releases a flood of creative energy. It provides structure without constraint, managing details with maximum flexibility.

GTD’s Methodology:

In Time Management, priorities usually play a central role but David Allen promotes two key elements, control and perspective. According to Allen, there are three major models for gaining control and perspective:

1. A Workflow Process
2. A framework with 6 levels of focus
3. A natural planning method

The three models are sub categorized as follows:

Workflow process:

Work flow process is to gain control over the tasks and commitments. Below are tasks in it.
a. Collect
Capture everything that is necessary to track, remember, or act on- in a bucket. Get everything out of the head into a collection device, ready for processing. All buckets should be emptied (processed) at least once per week.
b. Process
When processing a bucket, a strict workflow is followed:
• Start at the top.
• Deal with one item at a time.
• Never put anything back into 'in'.
• If an item requires action:
• Do it (if it takes less than two minutes), OR
• Delegate it, OR
• Defer it.
• If an item does not require action:
• File it for reference, OR
• Throw it away, OR
• Incubate it for possible action later.
If it takes under two minutes to do something, just do it immediately. The two-minute rule is a guideline, encompassing roughly the time it would take to defer the action formally.

c. Organize

Organize the bucket into:
• Next Actions
• Projects
• Waiting for
• Someday/May be


d. Review
e. Do

Focus:

a. Current Actions
b. Current Projects
c. Areas of Responsibility
d. Yearly Goals
e. 5 year vision
f. Life goals

Planning Method:
The planning model consists of 5 stages which are:
1. Defining the purpose and principles
2. Envisioning the outcome
3. Brainstorming
4. Organizing
5. Identifying next actions
A capsule description of GTD from Allen's book Ready for Anything:
“Get everything out of your head. Make decisions about actions required on stuff when it shows up — not when it blows up. Organize reminders of your projects and the next actions on them in appropriate categories. Keep your system current, complete, and reviewed sufficiently to trust your intuitive choices about what you're doing (and not doing) at any time.”

eProductivity Equation from Allen:

KWP = M x T x K

Put another way:

Knowledge Worker Productivity [or results] =
Methodology x Technology x Knowledge

That is, the outcome of any project will be influenced (one way or the other) by how well you use and apply (your methodology) your knowledge and tools to the problem at hand.

GTD provides an outstanding framework for managing work productively - the methodology, action, and knowledge management — the technology. As far as what your knowledge… only you know that.

Think about how this equation applies to your knowledge work. What are your methodologies (defined or undefined)? What tools do you use?

How does what you know influence the work that you do?


Use G-Mail for GTD:
http://www.geek.com/feature-getting-things-done-with-labels-and-filters-in-gmail-20/
Blog Sources:

http://www.davidco.com/index.php
http://www.davidco.com/what_is_gtd.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getting_Things_Done

There is hell lot of information available on GTD all over the web. Anybody interested can start off with a simple google and start drilling down. I sincerely believe this will help us in organizing and achieving our goals in a systematic manner. Kudos to David Allen.

Have fun and happy blogging.