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The art of getting things done

A new practice for a new reality

"work is defined as anything that isn't the way that it needs to be" //{David Allen David Allen, Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, http://davidco.com/ , Penguin Books, January, 2003}

This is a wonderful physical definition of work

Anxiety is caused by lack of control, organization, preparation, and action. //{David Kekich}

The problem

Promise:"Ready State"

Principle: dealing with internal commitments

Process: managing action

Getting control of your life: 5 stages of mastering work-flow

  1. Collect things that command our attention
  2. Process what they mean and what to do
  3. Organize results
  4. Review options and chose
  5. Do
If any of the stages are week the whole system is week.

Collect

Have system and use it

  1. There needs to be a place for all open loops
  2. As few buckets as possible
  3. Empty buckets regularly

Process

Organize

  • action items
  • non action items

    • Review

    Review your lists as often as you need, to get them off your mind.

    Most people feel best about their work when they have, cleaned up, closed up, clarified, and renegotiated all their agreements with themselves and others. Do this weekly instead of yearly.1

    Do

  • criteria
  • evaluating
  • scope of levels

    • Getting projects creatively underway: the five phases of project planning

    Enhancing vertical focus

    "plan" to reduce stress

    Natural planning model: your brain!

    Unnatural planning model

    Most meetings go against the natural planning that your mind can do.

    Outlines skip the goal, vision and purpose stages. The reactive planning phase goes backwards and then hires a consultant for vision and purpose that should have been done in the beginning.

    I. Purpose (juice and direction)

    Ask why!! it:

    II. Principals (parameters and criteria for excellence)

    To help define principals ask: "I would give free reign as long as?"

    III. Vision/output (parameters and criteria for excellence)

    There is extraordinary fabrication in your brain to that wires itself to fashion on what it focuses or spends its time.

    par:bible thoughts

    "The mind set on the spirit will keep it's mind on the spirit".

    This is another reason why the mind is a muscle and it is so important to be careful what we do set our minds on.

    How does this match with an inappropriate dreaming that could never be fulfilled.

    You have to envision the path of the moguls to go through them, you body will take care of the details! You have to make it up in your mind, before going to the unknown territory, We need guidance to know how to get there. This is why it is "most important to clarify clear outcomes". Use the question "wouldn't it be great if?"

    IV. Brainstorming (empty your head)

    Capturing many ideas, don't judge, evaluate or criticize, put analysis on the back burner.

    V. Organizing (natural structure appears at the emptying of ideas)

    1. Identify significant pieces
    2. Sort by components, sequences, priorities
    3. Detail to required degree

    VI. Next Action (grounded reality is critical point)

    It is fundamental to clarify the next action to stay relaxed and in control.

    Things are on your mind because the next action or a reminder has not been made.

    Review

    Work each phase of the project until you have exhausted your ideas.

    Practicing Stress-Free Productivity

    Getting Started: Setting Up the Time, Space, and Tools

    It's all about tricks

    Some simple tricks applied make a big difference. I find this with a good magic trick.

    Setting aside time todo this

    Setting up the space

    Use it at home also, in transit, don't share with others

    The needed tools

    Critical filing system factor

    Make it simple fast and fun, keep it yours, use on alpha filing system, have lots of fresh folders, keep the drawer < 3/4 full, use auto labeler, high quality mechanics, don't use hanging files and purge once a year.

    Collection: Corralling your "stuff" putting it in the "in" box

    Take a day or two to collect everything.

    Physical gathering

    Some stays where it is: supplies, references, decoration, equipment

    Mental gathering

    What comes to your mind, and trigger list.

    Processing: Getting "In" to empty

    You need to read and understand "Collection" and "Organizing": to understand the full picture of what to do here.

    Guidelines

    Key question: what is the next action?

    What to do

    Identify projects

    Organizing: setting up the right buckets

    Basic categories (keep hard edges, just lists and folders)

    Action reminders

    Organizing Project reminders

    Organizing Non-actionable data

    Checklists

    Reviewing: Keeping your system functional

    This is the important discipline in order to see the Forrest among the trees.

    What to look at when

    1. Calendar
    2. Actions list

    Updating your system

    Doing: Making the best action choices

    Four-criteria's

    Three work evaluations

    Six level review

    1. Life
    2. Three to five visions
    3. One to two year goals
    4. Areas of responsibility
    5. Current projects
    6. Current actions

    Getting projects under control

    Need more informal planning

    Have a pen with you at all times! Wish he was raised as a kid to value ideas!

    Project planning

    Planning steps

    Thinking tools

    Power of the Key principles

    Power of the collection habit

    Personal benefit

    Three options to preventing negative agreements

    1. Don't make agreements
    2. Complete the agreement
    3. Re-negotiate the agreement

    Benefits of an organization and relationships use the system

    Power of the next action decision

    Creating the option of doing

    Why bright people procrastinate the most

    Next action as a standard

    Power of outcome focusing

    Determining outcomes and actions for everything we consider work

    There are a number of New-Age comments made through this final chapter.

    Conclusion

    Habbits to make

    Final tips

    Software systems

    Textmate/Aao

    I have been modifying and adding tools for Aao for a simple todo, inbox and project listing in aao. However it does not generate nice reports.

    Textmate/GTDalt

    This is now my favorite. It is ruby and has many nice features to work with textmate.

  • issues
    • 1 I have found this especially true with semester reviews and even weekly meetings
    © 2010 Life's End by Aaron J. Radke