Getting Things Done

www.marketingsavant.com888.989.7771The MarketingSavant GroupThe MarketingSavant Group

Getting Things Done (GTD)The MarketingSavant Group

www.marketingsavant.com

888.989.7771

[email protected]

Based on the book “Getting Things Done”

by David Allen

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0142000280/ref=nosim/foldedspaceor-20/

www.marketingsavant.com888.989.7771The MarketingSavant Group





WT* is GTD?

• GTD embodies an easy, step-by-step and highly efficient method for achieving this relaxed , productive state. It includes:– Capturing anything and everything that has your attention– Defining actionable things discretely into outcomes and concrete next

steps – Organizing reminders and information in the most streamlined way, in

appropriate categories, based onhow and when you need to access them

– Keeping current and “on your game” with appropriately frequent reviews of the six horizons of yourcommitments (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.


This is Your Brain…


The Basic Concept

• Remembering everything is…– Difficult– Cluttered and annoying

• Recording with GTD is…– External to your brain– Uncluttered (like your new

brain)

• You can now concentrate on:– Performing tasks & next

actions– Completing projects– Getting Things Done!



What GTD is Not

• Won’t do things for you

• Idiot-proof

• An easy fix (you really have to read the book, no, really, you really have to read it…)

• A cure for procrastination

• A motivator for your delegates (especially if they don’t use GTD)

• Easygoing (if you’re really anal retentive, this is just for you!)

The Objective: Mind Like Water and Balance



Mind Like Water

• Deal effectively with internal commits:

• How many incompletes or open loops are pulling your attention?

• There are many more than you think

• Basic requirements in Managing Commitments:

First: Clear your mind by emptying it! Anything you consider unfinished in any way

must be captured in a trusted system outside your mind where you come back to

regularly and sort through!

Second: Clarify exactly what your commitment is and decide what you have to do,

if anything, to make progress toward fulfilling it.

Third: Once you‘ve decided on all the actions you need to take, you must keep

reminders of them organized in a system you review regularly



The GTD System

“If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything; it is open to everything.”

Shunryu Suzuki



GTD Principles & MethodsThe Five Phases of Mastering Workflow-Learn the 5 key steps to workflow processing as taught by David Allen.

The Incompletion Trigger List-Free up 'psychic RAM' by capturing any incompletions.

The Workflow Diagram-Use the 'Rosetta Stone' of GTD to work smarter, not harder.

The Weekly Review-Master the weekly review- the practice that keeps us 'sane and in control.'

The Natural Planning Model-Manage and plan your projects with streamline precision

The Project Planning Trigger List-Capture the key actions that make your projects flow from start to finish.

The Horizons of Focus-Use vertical thinking to define and clarify everything from your next action step to your life's purpose and vision.



The 5 Phases of Mastering Workflow

1. Collect

2. Process

3. Organize

4. Review

5. Do



1. Collect

• Stress-free productivity starts with off-loading what needs to get done from one's head, capturing everything that is necessary to track, remember, or take action on, into what Allen calls a bucket: a physical inbox, an email inbox, a tape recorder, a notebook, a PDA, a desktop, etc.

• The idea is to get everything out of one's head and into a collection device, ready for processing.

• All buckets should be emptied (processed) at least once per week.

• Allen doesn't advocate any preferred collection method, leaving the choice to the individual.

• He only insists upon the importance of emptying the "buckets" regularly.



2. 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, it should be done immediately. The two-minute rule is a guideline, encompassing roughly the time it would take to formally defer the action.



3. Organize

The four key action categories are:• Projects — Every open loop in one's life or work which requires

more than one physical action to achieve becomes a project. • Calendar — Items that are to be done on a specific day or time• Next actions — For every item requiring attention, decide what is

the next action that can be physically taken on that item. For example, if the item is, "Write project report", the next action might be, "Email Fred for meeting minutes", or, "Call Mary to ask about report requirements". Though there may be many steps and actions required to complete the item, there will always be something that needs to be done first.

• Waiting for — When an action has been delegated to someone else, or when one is waiting for some external event before a project can be moved forward.



3.1 Organize

Organizing deferred tasks• Organize according to scope• Next actions - immediate single actions• Projects - consist of multiple actions• Waiting for - things delegated or pending• Someday/maybeOrganize according to context (location)• Home• Work• Phone• Errands• Online



4. Review

• Review calendar and action lists daily (or whenever you could possible do any of them)

• Conduct a weekly review to clean up, update, maintain and advance your systems (GTD is adaptable…one size won’t fit you)

• Review the longer horizon list of goals, values, visions and keep your project list updated



5. Do

• Make choices about your action based on what you can do and in what context

• Stay flexible – maintain a “total life” action reminder system

• Ensure the best choices by focusing on priorities

• Revisit and recalibrate commitments regularly



The Workflow Diagram!



GTD Life Hacks: Exercise I

• The Mind Sweep

– Identify and write down the largest tasks that you have facing you

– Write, in one sentence, your intended successful outcome for that task

– Write down the very next physical action required to move the objective closer.


Mastering GTD

“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.”

Albert Einstein



The Weekly Review

• Loose Papers – business cards, receipts, etc. - put in in

basket for processing

• Process Your Notes • Previous Calendar Data

– review for remaining action items, reference information, etc.

• Upcoming Calendar • Empty Your Head

– write down any new projects, action items, etc.

• Review "Projects" (and Larger Outcome) Lists – ensure that at least one kick-start action

is in your system for each

• Review "Next Actions" Lists – Mark off completed actions & review

for reminders of further action steps to capture

• Review "Waiting For" List – Records appropriate actions for any

needed follow-up & check off received items

• Review Any Relevant Checklists • Review "Someday/Maybe" List

– Check for any projects that may have become active and transfer them to "Projects" & delete items no longer of interest

• Review "Pending" and Support Files – Browse through all work-in-progress

support material to trigger new actions, completions, and waiting-fors

“The primary success factor for managing the practical aspects of your life is a consistent revisiting of the projects, actions, and checklists that represent anything you are responsible for.”

David Allen



Five Phases of Natural Planning Techniques

1. Purpose / Guiding Principles (why are we doing this?) 2. Mission / Vision / Goals / Successful Outcome (what would wild

success look, sound, or feel like?) 3. Brainstorming (how would we accomplish it?)

– View the project from beyond the completion date – Envision wild success (suspend "yeah, but. . .") – Capture features, aspects, and qualities you imagine in place

4. Organizing – Identify components, subcomponents, sequences, events, and/or

priorities; what must occur and in what order? – When do we do these things?

5. Next Actions (where do we start?)

"If the project is off your mind, your planning is sufficient. If it's still on your mind, keep applying the model until it's clear."

Horizons of Focus• On the Runway [Daily Current Actions]

These are the agreements you have with yourself about the actual physical and visible next actions you are committed to doing.

• 10,000 FT [Weekly & Current Projects]What relatively near-term outcomes are you committed to for which you are taking many of the next actions on the runway? The answers to this question essentially create your project list, or 10,000 ft.

• 20,000 FT [Monthly Current Responsibilities]This level represents the agreements you have with yourself about your responsibilities, interests and areas of focus. You can think of it as the job description for your life and work.

• 30,000 FT [1-2 Year Goals: Quarterly Review]These are the specific and measurable medium-term goals and objectives to which you are committed. I think about this level as the uber-projects. In other words, you're probably going to need the completion of a whole bunch of smaller and shorter projects at 10,000 ft to actually get to the goal at 30,000 ft

• 40,000 FT [3-5 Year Goals: Annual Review]As you get higher in the altitude of your agreements, your longer-term aspirational agreements start showing up. 40,000 ft is all about articulating your vision.

• 50,000 FT [Career, Purpose, Lifestyle : Annual Review] 50,000 ft represents your ultimate purpose and core values, either as an individual, or as a group.

David Allen's "Horizons of Focus" model is essentially a map of the six different types of agreements that you can have with yourself. Clarifying what your agreements are at these levels and reviewing them as often as you need to will help you maintain a sense of perspective


GTD Tools

“Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life

consists in the elimination of non-essentials.”Lyn Yutang (Chinese writer)



What tools do I need?

GTD is simple - A minimal setup would include a notebook, pen, inbox, filing drawer, folders and labels. However, there are many other tools you could use, including but not limited to:• a mobile device such as a PDA for everything – capture,

lists, reminders• an electronic labeler for neat labels• a calendar or calendar program (highly recommended)• computer software (off-line or online) to handle your lists

or your capture• a tickler file, either using folders (see 43 Folders) or

software• index cards for capture and lists



43 Folders

What is a tickler file or 43 folders, and do I need it?A tickler file, as spelled out in the book, is a system of 43 folders: 12 folders labeled for each month, and 31 folders labeled for the days of the month. So the way it works:

• If you have a piece of paper (or a concert ticket, etc.) that you don’t need to think about until later this month, put it in one of the daily folders (let’s say the folder labeled “20″ if we want to look at it on the 20th of this month).

• If you don’t need to think about it until a later month, put it in that month’s folder.

• Each day, you look in the folder with today’s date on it and see what you need to think about today. If you want to postpone it until later, simply put the paper in a later folder. In this way, you could have a recurring reminder. Each day, the folder with today’s date should be at the front of the pile —rotate yesterday’s folder to the back of the pile.

• At the end of each month, rotate the past month’s folder to the back of the month folders pile, and look in the next month’s folder — take out the papers in it and redistribute throughout the 31 day folders.



Hipster PDA

• Low-tech & cheap

• Foolproof

• 3 Steps:

1. Get a bunch of 3"x5" file cards

2. Clip them together with a binder clip

3. There is no step 3



Mind Mapping



GTD’s Dirty Little Secrets

• The best way to get things done is to do them.

• The best way to do them is to start doing them.

• GTD is of no help at all with making you want to do things.

• Until you want to do them, though, GTD can be just another way to put them off.



GTD Links List

• Zen Habits GTD FAQhttp://zenhabits.net/2007/06/the-getting-things-done-gtd-faq/

• GTD Toolbox: 100+ Resources for Getting Things Done

http://mashable.com/2009/01/29/getting-things-done/

• Introducing the Hipster PDAhttp://www.43folders.com/2004/09/03/introducing-the-hipster-pda

• Wikisummaries: Getting Things Donehttp://www.wikisummaries.org/Getting_Things_Done:_The_Art_of_Stress

-Free_Productivity

• Kitchen Sinks and Tickler Fileshttp://planetpooks.wordpress.com/2006/12/05/kitchen-sinks-and-tickler-files/

• Wikipedia on GTDhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getting_Things_Done#GTD_Core

_Principles

• Horizon of Focushttp://www.davidco.com/blogs/michael/2008/03/horizons_o

f_focus_1.html

• David Allen Companyhttp://www.davidco.com/

• Get the book…

http://zenhabits.net/2007/06/the-getting-things-done-gtd-faq/
















http://www.43folders.com/2004/09/03/introducing-the-hipster-pda







http://www.wikisummaries.org/Getting_Things_Done:_The_Art_of_Stress-Free_Productivity



http://planetpooks.wordpress.com/2006/12/05/kitchen-sinks-and-tickler-files/









http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getting_Things_Done

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getting_Things_Done

http://www.davidco.com/blogs/michael/2008/03/horizons_of_focus_1.html

http://www.davidco.com/blogs/michael/2008/03/horizons_of_focus_1.html

http://www.davidco.com/




GTD In Review

The Five Phases of Mastering Workflow-Learn the 5 key steps to workflow processing as taught by David Allen.

The Incompletion Trigger List-Free up 'psychic RAM' by capturing any incompletions.

The Workflow Diagram-Use the 'Rosetta Stone' of GTD to work smarter, not harder.

The Weekly Review-Master the weekly review- the practice that keeps us 'sane and in control.'

The Natural Planning Model-Manage and plan your projects with streamline precision

The Project Planning Trigger List-Capture the key actions that make your projects flow from start to finish.

The Horizons of Focus-Use vertical thinking to define and clarify everything from your next action step to your life's purpose and vision.


Getting Things DoneThe MarketingSavant Group

www.marketingsavant.com

888.989.7771

[email protected]

Based on the book “Getting Things Done”

by David Allen




Photo Credits

The Hipster PDA Keychain

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kadavy/83534478/

Minimum Speed Limit

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thetruthabout/2727717062/

Thank You

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nj_dodge/187190601/

Buddha Doghttp://www.flickr.com/photos/superfantastic/50088733/


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Getting Things Done