Getting Things Done – Keeping It Short And Sweet
If you’ve been browsing personal development or productivity sites you have no doubt encountered the term GTD. If you have and are unfamiliar with it or don’t quite understand what all the hype is about I will attempt to give you a short and sweet summary of it right now.
GTD
GTD is an acronym for Getting Things Done, from the book Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity byDavid Allen.
Objectives and benefits
Objective: Document every task you need to get done (now or in the future, personal and work related) so that you don’t rely on your memory. Benefit: Reduces stress since everything is captured and you don’t worry about forgetting anything.
Objective: Creating lists that you refer to often so you know which task makes sense to work on next. Benefit: You are able to make better decisions about what to work on based on where you are, what you’re doing (emails, phone calls), and how much time you have available.
Major components of GTD
1. Collect things that need to be done or addressed and put them in one central location. Gather todo lists on scrap pieces of paper or napkins, gather calendars with entries, emails, books and magazines.
2. Process or address each thing you collected above. There are several steps to this point but basically you need to decide if something needs to be done. If yes, list out next physical thing you need to do (aka actionable item) then do it, delegate it or defer it. If no, then throw it out, keep it for later date, or file it as reference material.
3. Organize the lists, projects and next actionable items in a meaningful way. Allen suggests storing them in: a project list, a “next actions” list, a calendar, 43 folders (used for paper based organizing systems, this requires one folder for each of the 31 days in the longest months and one for each of the 12 months of the year – totaling 43), reference files, “waiting for” list (when you’re waiting on something from someone else), “someday/maybe” list, email folders, read/review stack.
4. Review next actions of a particular task.
5. Do it.
Crux of the system
Daily action:
- Look through your organizing systems listed in point 3 above and determine if there’s anything that needs to be done today.
Weekly actions:
- Review lists and highlight uncompleted tasks emphasizing those that need to be finished soon.
- Collect new things that need to done and add them to your system (starting at point 1 above).
Yearly action:
- Review the content of the folders and decide if you still need everything in them. If not throw it out or add it to a reference folder.
Always have on hand:
- Paper and pen to capture things as they come up
- An item to read or review for when you have sime to spare (waiting for meetings to start, Dr’s office etc.)
So there you have it, a very high level summary of the GTD productivity system. I have given it a try and found it to be good and bad (how’s that for sitting on the fence? 
). It works very well in a work environment as it helps keep multiple projects moving forward. I didn’t like using it at home as I found there never seemed to be an end in sight. By continually capturing things and adding them to lists, folders and piles I never had the feeling that I was getting on top of it. Instead, I use parts of the system such as keeping a list of projects, keeping my email Inbox empty, and for every task I list out the next physical thing that needs to be done. While I don’t use the entire system, these parts have made this book well worth the read.
What has been your experience with GTD? Is this the first you’ve read about it? If you want more information you can buy David Allen’s book Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
See also:
Eliminate Clutter Part 1: The Cost of Clutter and Where Does it Come From?
Photo courtesy of: CHINNY!
11 Responses to “Getting Things Done – Keeping It Short And Sweet”
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Sherri,
I’ve used GTD and it works fairly well when you have many tasks.
There are parts of the system I didn’t like. For instance, you can work on a lower priority task because it’s easier or more convenient to do. This made me ignore some undesirable high priority tasks.
Roger – A Content Life’s last blog post..Constructing a Content Marriage
@ Roger – What I find appealing about the GTD system is that it’s really customizable. You don’t need to follow the whole system to the letter, it’s nice to be able to pick and choose what works for you and leave out what doesn’t.
My personal organisation is a complete mess right now. This is really useful summary of GTD (I’d heard of it but not really studied it). Now I’m going away to see which elements I can use! Thanks for this.
GTD, more than a system, it’s a framework for you to build on. I have combined it successfully with the 5S of Toyota and it really works that way too.
Miguel de Luis’s last blog post..Thursday Haiku: Circle of spears
Hi Sherri,
This is the first time I have heard of GTD. Based on what you wrote, I kind of have a similar system. I guess we all incorporate the same ideas and make them our own.
BTW, I have found in terms of blogging, it is ideal to always have paper and a pen (you can even use your mobile phone) with you to write down ideas for posts. Inspiration can come in various forms! Actually, Hemingway said this years ago and it is so true.
Nadia-Happy Lotus’s last blog post..Don’t Mess With Mother Nature
@ Ian – I’m glad this summary was useful to you! Good luck with getting your organizing back on track.
@ Miguel de Luis – You’re right it is a highly customizable system/framework that you can adapt to suit you. I wasn’t familiar with the 5S of Toyota but I am now (thanks!) and I can see how it would fit in with GTD quite well.
For anyone else who is unfamiliar with 5S it’s the Japanese concept for house keeping. From http://www.isixsigma.com:
Seiri – Put things in order(remove what is not needed and keep what is needed)
Seiton – Proper Arrangement(Place things in such a way that they can be easily reached whenever they are needed)
Seiso – Clean (Keep things clean and polished; no trash or dirt in the workplace)
Seiketsu – Purity (Maintain cleanliness after cleaning – perpetual cleaning)
Shitsuke – Commitment (A typical teaching and attitude towards any undertaking to inspire pride and adherence to standards established for the four components)
@ Nadia – Since we’ve started this blog I know exactly what you mean about inspiration coming from anywhere, especially from where you least it expect it. I’ve been burned a couple of times now with no pen or paper but I’m learning
Hi Sherri,
I was going to look into GTD, but now I don’t have to. That’s one of the great things about this blog. You’re always educating me about how to get things done.
@ Michael – That’s great I really hope this helped and that you can apply some of it to your own productivity improvement (if needed
)
Sherri, you have a very succinct explanation of GTD; now I don’t have to find out about it! Thanks.
For many years, as a busy executive, I juggled priorities and with varying degrees of failure, tried many productivity systems. Ironically, it was with awakening, that is resting in awareness and releasing the past, that I came upon the most effective one. When the constant lurching is given up, true passions arise in the presence, and in passionate presence, things get done, without effort or system.
Kaushik’s last blog post..Awareness and Release –The Two-Step Dance of Awakening
@ Kaushik – Welcome! I’m glad you found the article useful. I like your perspective on how to get things done, it makes complete sense. Doing what you love is so much easier than struggling with something you don’t.