Four-Eight-Four [dot org]

Today was the first work day wherein I tried to seriously implement the "Getting Things Done" methodology from the very start. Yes, that’s right, I was working on a Saturday … mainly because I lost a good bit of time during the week while we had guests, so I spent the day catching up. That means I lost most of my Saturday, but it’s really okay with me. After all, I got to spend several hours with my cousin Michael, who I haven’t seen in three years now, and my parents, who I don’t get to see very often. So, in a sense, I had my Saturday all through the week.

Actually, I didn’t just use the GTD methodology for my work. I started off the day and did a number of tasks I had put in my "next actions" to-do list, and made my wife very happy … mainly because I had been forgetting some of them for weeks now. Next Saturday I should be able to finish the others, and by then she’ll be ready to buy me enough mead to keep me happy for months.

Anyway … my reflections:

1. Clearing up the "open loops" and "stuff" in your life really does clear your head.

As I mentioned yesterday, I spent a good bit of time in the afternoon cleaning up my office … shredding old documents, throwing stuff away, and filing stuff I might need but don’t need in the office somewhere out in the garage where I can find it again. Today I continued that … I cleaned up my email inboxes, culled through the stacks of printed documentation on my desk and filed some away for future reference and tossed other bits that weren’t relevant any more or were completely outdated, and generally made things neat. Most importantly, as I went through the notes and such on my desk, I entered pertinent information into the Inbox app I bought yesterday. Now, when I sit down, there isn’t as much stuff distracting me.

Yes, I knew before that having my office clean was a good thing, and generally surrendered the the impulse to clean things up every 3-4 months … but now I understand why the clutter distracted me, and why things didn’t really get any better. When the office was cluttered, there was a constant reminder of all the "stuff" that was up in the air in my life. So, cleaning it up helped … because I lost the reminder. But … I still wasn’t filing the useful information away somewhere I could find it again … somewhere I could then decide how to act on it, and look at all of my action items at once and determine what my next best action was. I’ve fixed that problem now.

2. Processing my inbox really does help me feel more "in control" of my tasks.

As I mentioned earlier … I spent a great deal of time processing the information in my email inboxes. I also have now processed the information in the Inbox application three times (I’ve resolved to do so twice a day), and taking all the incoming information and determining what my next action will be for each item makes a big difference. Now, I can switch to Inbox, switch to the Review task, and immediately view everything I need to do.

I started out my work day by doing that, and I’ve already marked five items off that list. The feeling of doing that is nice … but the real benefit is that as soon as I complete and mark off one action item, I can easily scan all my tasks and make a quick decision about which one is the best one for me to do next based on time constraints, deadlines, etc.

I can’t say enough about how much more productive I was today because of that. Generally when I completed one task prior to GTD, I had to determine what to do next by reviewing things in my head (I never did keep to-do lists on a regular basis because they didn’t do much for me), and that took time … time to try to remember things I needed to do, etc. Invariably, there were certain important things I never thought of … and then a client would call me up and ask about the task, and then I’d have to scramble to complete it quickly. I can see that those days will be a thing of the past if I stick to the GTD methodology.

3. Using the GTD methodology has already made me focused on keeping "stuff" and "clutter" out of my life.

During the day today, five times I found myself thinking about places in my office where clutter still existed … and each time, I created a note in my Inbox about the area. Then, in the early afternoon, when I created actionable items, I made processing those cluttered areas my top priority … and took care of those before going back to work. Never before have I been so motivated to do that … previously, I’d just have left clutter like that alone, until I couldn’t stand it any more.

4. Doing things that take less than two minutes NOW really is a good thing.

One thing that Allen recommends (that I don’t think I’ve mentioned before) is that when you process your Inbox, if there is an item that you can take care of in two minutes or less, you go ahead and do it right then. I’ve started doing that, and once again, I find that it helps me feel in control of my to-do list.

Why? Well, previously, I’d put those things off … because I was busy doing "important" things … invariable big projects that needed to be done quickly. So, I’d put off those little items over and over and over again until they piled up and became unmanageable and very distracting. Then I’d feel like I needed to do them, and spend lots of time trying to figure out which ones to do first, and rushing through them, never quite completing all of them … all the while feeling like I was getting further and further behind.

In short, I felt like I didn’t have time to do them when they came up. That’s not true … not only do I have time to do them ‘right now’, if I do them immediately, then they don’t bother me any more, and I’m more likely to complete them in a satisfactory manner than I was if I put them off until I couldn’t stand it any more.

So, there they are … four reflections on GTD, based on only trying it out for a day and a half now. And heck … I’m only slightly into chapter two now. I can’t wait to get further along …

Tags: GTD, Getting Things Done