![]() If something is going to take more than one task to complete (e.g. It’s free at the most basic level, which may well be enough to get you started, and it has apps to work with your computer, tablet, and phone so you can check your to-do list from pretty much anywhere. This could be in a notebook that you use for task tracking, or it could be in a web app or a piece of software on your computer.Īfter a lot of false starts with GTD over the years, I now use Nozbe to track my tasks. Defer it – if you need to do it, but it’ll take more than 2 minutes.ĭeferred tasks should go onto some sort of list.Delegate it – if someone else can handle it instead of you.Do it (straight away) – if it will take 2 minutes or less.Delete it – if you don’t really need to do it at all!.Once you’ve recorded your initial list of everything that’s on your mind, go through everything in your inbox and decide what to do with it. Ongoing: Whenever something new comes into your life – like “find a short story to enter for local writers’ group competition” – just pop it in your inbox: you can process it during the weekly review (or sooner, if you want to go through your inbox daily). You want as much head-space as possible for ideas, for back-of-the-mind ruminating, for inspiration to take hold.Īllen recommends putting each item on a separate sheet of paper: I just write mine in a long list on lined paper. This should all go into your inbox (whether that’s a physical tray on your desk, or a virtual inbox).įor me, this is a particularly important step for writers. Write down everything that’s currently on your mind – anything you feel you should be doing, or you want to do, or you might want to do. Here’s how it works, assuming you’re implementing it from scratch. Unlike some systems, GTD doesn’t begin with setting ultimate goals or objectives: David Allen feels (and I think at least somewhat rightly) that it’s very difficult to focus on your ultimate vision when your day-to-day life is in chaos. This was the hardest thing for me to get to grips with because I’d integrated mine years before, and was used to managing tasks by assigning them to a specific date. Separate your calendar and your to-do list.What do you physically need to do next in order to make progress? (This could be almost anything from “get that book from the library” to “spend 15 minutes brainstorming”.) Projects often get stuck because you’ve not identified your “next action”.Professional and personal actions all matter, and all need to be tracked in (ideally) the same system.You should process this inbox on a regular basis, deciding what to do with the stuff in it.You need an “inbox” – one single place to collect all the incoming “stuff” in your life (this is NOT the same thing as your email inbox).If something has your attention in any way, write it down. Keeping everything in your head is a bad idea: it’s stressful and inefficient.The key principles of Getting Things Done (GTD) are: I’d recommend getting hold of a copy of Getting Things Done, but if you want the in-a-nutshell version (and one with examples geared for writers), here it is! It’s both the title of a book, Getting Things Done, and the actual system presented in the book. Getting Things Done could be what you need. Do you ever feel swamped by way too many different things to do … and to keep track of until you can actually do them?ĭo you find yourself forgetting important commitments or struggling to make progress on the projects that really matter to you?
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |