|
We believe that GTD is the best way for people and organisations to address a wide variety of needs centred on personal productivity, effectiveness, good teamwork and enjoyment of the productive experience.
At the same time, we recognise that not everyone browsing this site for the first time has come here looking specifically for information or help about Getting Things Done.
So will Getting Things Done meet the needs that led you to this site?
Perhaps this page will help you decide...
What is “Getting Things Done”?
Getting Things Done, or GTD, is a personal management system which individuals can use to understand, organise and do their work.
GTD was created by David Allen, management consultant, author and personal productivity guru. “Getting Things Done” is also the name of his best-selling book, which describes the system.
Who is GTD for?
GTD applies to people who do knowledge work – people who need to define their work to some degree before they can do it.
People use GTD successfully in their personal lives and for their work in a huge variety of lines of business. GTD can be used in any organisational role where there is some discretion concerning the choice of outcomes or the means to achieve them. It is also very suitable for business owners and self-employed people.
What do I need?
GTD can be practised using a variety of paper-based or electronic tools and systems, according to your needs and preferences. You may need, or choose, to get some stationery supplies, hardware, software or other equipment that you don’t already have, but you don’t have to buy any specific tools or equipment from any specific supplier. Areas involved may include:
- Note-taking
- Trays (In/Out etc.)
- Calendar/Diary
- Action (“To Do”) List Manager
- Email
- PDA / Smartphone
- Filing (Paper and electronic)
Those working in organisations may have some of these choices, eg their email system, made by the organisation.
What are the benefits of using GTD?
The key outcomes for individuals are
- improved productivity
- increased enjoyment of the productive experience.
The key outcomes for teams where many members practise GTD are
- clarity of aims and responsibilities
- reliability of performance
achieved through establishing a common set of concepts, vocabulary and standards for managing work.
The key outcome for organisations which adopt GTD as a standard for behaviour is the promotion of a culture of trust, elegance, professionalism and growth.
Other areas in which GTD can be of benefit are:
- Achieving or maintaining work/life balance
- Improving delegation
- Preparing people for ”stretch” roles
- Avoiding diary congestion
- Getting better alignment between strategy and execution
- Appropriate use of email
- Avoiding management bottlenecks
- Improved definition and execution of projects
- Making time for “blue sky” thinking
GTD is complementary to corporate standards such as ISO9000, Six Sigma or any formal project management methods.
How does GTD work?
GTD works by recognising some key facts about human beings and the nature of life these days, accepting these facts and building a way to make best use of our strengths while minimising exposure to our weaknesses.
Fact: There is too much to do. There will always be things that need to be done, but aren’t done yet. We need a way to be reminded what those things are.
Fact: we can only do things when we are in the right context to do them. When we’re in doing mode, we want to be reminded of things we can do here, now, with the available tools and people. Being reminded of anything else is a distraction.
Fact: our memories are (almost) infinite, but are not very good reminder systems. If we rely on our memories as reminder systems, “psychic RAM” gets full and things start bugging us.
Fact: If things are bugging us, it decreases our productivity and enjoyment. It doesn’t matter whether what’s bugging us is job-related or personal. Attempts to screen out thoughts which are “inappropriate” to the context are at best only partly successful.
Fact: we get interrupted. We need ways to keep track of what we need to return to when the present interruption is over.
Fact: Things change rapidly. Planning out and writing down anything which is unlikely to be useful by the time we get round to it is a waste of time.
Fact: We resist doing things when it is unclear exactly what needs to be done. Deciding on the very next physical action makes doing things seem easy and perhaps even attractive.
Fact: We resist doing things when it is unclear why we are doing them, or what the ground rules are. Deciding on outcomes and guiding principles makes doing things seem attractive and perhaps even easy.
Fact: When we review things on paper (or on screen), we make better judgements about their relative importance. Anything held only in our minds is likely to be treated as too important or not important enough.
Fact: Just deciding about outcomes and next actions makes us feel and work better. Having those decisions recorded in a trusted reminder system makes us feel and work a lot better.
What does “GTDing” consist of?
At the heart of GTD is the five-stage best-practice process for managing work:
1. Collect
Collection consists of making sure that everything which has your attention appears somewhere in your world in an “in” tray. “In” trays may be physical trays for collecting paper and other objects, email inboxes, voicemail systems or folders which you carry around for collecting on the move.
Best practice for collecting is to carry a note-taking tool (e.g. a pen or pencil and a pad) for making notes whenever anything occurs to you, and to have trays wherever you need them. At a minimum, this probably means one at home and one at your office. Have as many as you need to avoid “leaks”, but no more.
Worst practice is to collect action reminders in your head. You may seem to have less to do, but only because you have no chance of remembering most of it.
2. Process
Processing is going through the contents of your in trays, one item at a time, and deciding what each thing means to you. The answer may be “nothing”, in which case, put it in the bin and forget it forever. For each item which has meaning, decide what is the successful outcome associated with it and what is the next action. For multi-step outcomes, do as much planning as you need to get it off your mind.
Best practice for processing is to decide on outcomes and next actions as soon as something turns up.
Worst practice is to wait until it becomes a crisis and you’re forced to decide (or someone else decides for you). It may be easier to decide once it has become a crisis, but only because you have fewer options.
3. Organise
Organising is putting reminders of the outcome of your processing decisions (what’s the successful outcome, what’s the next action) in places where they will be available to you when you are next in a position to do something about them.
Best practice for organising is to group together things with similar meaning and put them in places which correspond to what they mean to you.
Worst practice is to leave things wherever you happen to put them down. Every once in a while, have a “purge”. While you are moving, you may move faster. But sooner or later you will have to find something you really need…
4. Review
Review takes place on a short (minute-to-minute) time cycle, to help you decide what to do next. Review your next action reminder system and your calendar frequently. Review also takes place on a longer (weekly) time cycle to make sure that your reminder system stays clean and current, and deserves your trust.
Best practice is to do a structured review once a week.
Worst practice is not ever to do a review, or only to do one when there’s a crisis. This will allow you to spend an extra hour most weeks doing “real” work. But is it the right work?
5. Do
This is the pay-off! Look at your reminder system and consider only those things that can be done here, now, and with the available people and tools. Choose what intuitively matches your current energy level, the amount of time you expect to have available and the payoff you get from doing it.
Best practice is to make intelligent moment-to-moment action choices based on consideration of all your available options.
Worst practice is to be driven by latest and loudest. Fine if you really are a fireman…
These five stages are not extra work. Everyone does them anyway, in some shape or form, with everything that comes into their world. The only real choice we have is whether to use best practice in doing them.
What's the next action?
You could:
Get a copy of "Getting Things Done"
Sign up for David's "Productivity Principles" newsletter
Check the public seminar schedule
Ask us a question
Go to Top
|
