For months I had been hearing folks wax poetic about David Allen's book "Getting Things Done", but I have to admit that it took me a bit to buckle down and implement his system in earnest.
So, far things are going great. I've been
doing GTD full-on for about 4 months now, and no major hiccups so far.
It really is a process, and I've heard David
Allen say that it can take 2 years to
really "get it", although the system isn't all that complicated.
I think the "getting it" part has
to do with accepting the zen attitude of "stop trying so hard, and you'll
get more done
Relax, and you'll
accomplish more.
Intellectually, it's easy to understand the
whole "mind like water" attitude, but the tricky part is convincing
your brain to calm down and trust this system. There's an adjustment period for
getting used to any new way of doing things, so you just need to stick with it
until it starts to feel completely natural.
The elements of the GTD system are pretty
down to earth ideas, but sometimes the simplest approaches are sheer genius.
Let’s look at the first step to mastering
workflow in the GTD system-- “collecting”.
You know those "open loops" we talked about?
David says we need to gather 100% of the open loops in our lives, whether they're coming to us from email, voicemail, paper mail, or other sources, and capture them in "containers".
Our collection tools (the containers) are
our email, voicemail, physical in-basket, and paper and electronic note taking
devices.
Remember, if it needs to get done, and if we
don't herd it into a trustworthy outside system of containers, then we're
relying on our poor, easily distracted, overused,
not-that-good-at-prioritizing-stuff brains to keep track of it which we've
already established is not that bright an idea.
There are 3 factors for successful collection
of info:
1. Every
open loop must be in your collection system and out of your head.
Your collection tools should become part of your lifestyle, things you keep
with you everywhere you go. They should be as much a part of your life as your
toothbrush, your glasses or your purse/wallet. The big idea is that in order
for your collection system to be effective, it has to be available to you in
every context of your life, because we all know that our minds never take a
break. No matter what we're doing during the day, there's a good chance that
random "stuff" will be popping into our heads and nagging at us. We
need to have our system handy so we can zero-out our brains.
2. Use
as many containers as you need, but as few as you can get away with.
Again, we're looking for a zen-like, streamlined, "doesn't make your brain
hurt" kind of system. If you have too many collection zones your system is
going to feel clunky, and you're going to have a hard time keeping track of
tasks, projects and ideas.
3. You
must empty your collection recepticles regularly. If you don't
process (empty) your collection buckets regularly (think about your email
inbox), then you're really storing, not collecting.
You can relax, though: "emptying" does not mean "finishing".
It just means that you take the item out of the
"container", decide what it is, determine what should be done with
it, and if it's not something you can do right then, you then organize it into
your system.
Don’t just look at it and leave it in the
collection container! (BTW—this is how we end up with 250 emails sitting in our
inboxes.)
David wants us to start making front end executive
decisions about information that comes to us.
So, collecting is the first step toward mastering workflow. If you make a start by implementing this step, you'll see an immediate impact on your productivity.
P.S. A little visual riddle: What does the above photo have to do with this post? (Maybe this riddle is too easy...)
Zeroing out the inbox?! Egad, that's shocking. How many containers do you have for your inbox?
Posted by: Maryam in Marrakech | February 26, 2007 at 02:31 PM
Sharon,
I've looked at this system for myself and my business for about a year now. One of my clients actually implemented the system and then stopped using it. Why? That's a long story for another time and space, but it did work while he used it.
I'd love to know how you are using this system in your business and what type of 'containers' you use. Any chance you'd like to expand on this in another post? :):)
Posted by: Cindy Hillsey | February 26, 2007 at 06:18 PM
Hey Maryam--yes, I zero it out every day! It used to be that I didn't though, and now that I do it feels so much better, so much more in control. In my email, I have an inbox and an archive folder. Everything that I want to save just gets put in the archive folder. If I want to find something, I do a search. Very simple.
******
Hi Cindy--Fabulous idea! Yes, I love that suggestion. I'll do another post where I talk about my "containers" (very simple stuff--I find that simpler is better). I'll get to work on it....
Posted by: Sharon Sarmiento | February 26, 2007 at 07:26 PM
But if I take the chaos out of my life how can I continue to serve it?
I might get my collection habit under control but what about my desire for disorder?
Posted by: Gavin Heaton | February 26, 2007 at 09:41 PM
Ha!
We certainly would not want to risk losing the irrepressible Servant of Chaos.
"Servant of Tidiness" just doesn't have the same ring. :-)
Posted by: Sharon Sarmiento | February 27, 2007 at 08:46 AM