I’ve browsed/read through the entire book and system of Getting Things Done and realize there is a crucial first step I really need to make. David Allen, the author, suggests that you set aside two full days to do this step, and though I’ve planned on using a full weekend, I don’t think it’s going to happen (especially not at work).
The 1st step to really being able to fully implement the system is getting to Ready. Allen suggests taking literally everything on or in your desk and putting it in your inbox (exceptions are: supplies, reference material, decorations and equipment). Then, you take everything out of your head and place it in your inbox by simple writing down each item and putting it in your inbox. He’s even got a four page list of trigger words that might help you think of other incomplete items to write down.
After placing everything in your inbox, you must then process it, one item at a time, through your new system, into an appropriate place (you’ll have to read the book more, or watch for future post to learn more of the system) where you’ll be able to Get Things Done. And the stickler is that you must go through your entire inbox until it’s empty (He said a lot of people have stacks and stacks of stuff).
If you can manage getting through those two steps, putting it all in and then processing all of it, then you’ve gotten to Ready. For those, like me with less time to do this all in one sitting, I’d suggest putting in and processing as you go, but make it your top priority to do it until you’ve gone through everything.
Tag Archives: getting_things_done
File folders and Paper vs. My granola soul
I’m continuing to read David Allen’s Get Things Done system and I’ve come to a difficult decision point. David makes a few interesting suggestions that make a whole lot of sense. First, he suggestions,especially when starting out, to write one task per individual sheet of paper to put in your inbox. All I’m thinking is “What about all the trees?” I like the idea of writing one idea per notecard too, but then I’d go through a lot of notecards, and even though I have a closet full of them, it just seems like a waste of paper.Along the same paper lines, he suggest using a LOT of manila file folders. Basically being willing to put one sheet of paper in a folder and labeling it and filing it. His reasoning and startegy makes a whole lot of sense, but I keep on worrying about the redwoods. I think I’m writing all of this to just to say that I am going to follow through on his system and just trust the power of recycling over my period of paper consumption.
P.S. This is speaking mainly about work. As for at home I refuse to fully by into the system because it’s going to require too much space. So I’ll be tweaking it a little.
GTD Notes: Using Containers
Basically a container is anything you collect information with. Here’s the basic natural ones: email inbox, voicemail, mailbox, etc. Then I’ve got all kinds of other ones: scraps of paper, physical inbox, planner, calendar, my hand, on my blog, etc. Having too many containers is a bad thing. The thing is you need as few containers as possible and you need to fully trust in your containers. You need to trust in your system so that you can get things out of your head and into your containers and trust they’ll be taken care of so you don’t have to think about them anymore. You need fewer containers so that you don’t forget things or lose them (like I do with my scraps of paper).
The other thing is you have to go through your containers daily, otherwise it doesn’t work. You can’t let your stuff pile up in your inbox. This is going to be tougher and I’m hoping to learn better how to do this as I read. I’ll post more when I figure it out.
So here’s what my containers will be at home (and similar at work):
- physical inbox
- voicemail
- planner