Getting Things DoneA quick look at time management, drawing on the David Allen book Getting Things Done

Put together by Jennifer L. Bowie

Why: Mind Like Water

• Insufficient time for the vast demands

• Boundary issues: work not clearly bound, issues with life beyond work

• Keeping track of the big picture and day to day

• Promises mind like water: Always in an efficient and effective ready state. Clear mind ready to work with no nagging thoughts of what you should be doing.

Why Things are on Your Mind• Mind doesn’t have a mind of its own:

Doesn’t only worry about things when you can do them, worries all the time

• Things on your mind because:– You’ve not clarified the intended outcome

yet– You haven’t decide what the next step is– You haven't put reminders into a system

• Major Challenge: get it out of your head!

What is GTD?

• A workflow process • A framework with 6 levels of focus • A natural planning method • Often more bottom up• Combines all aspects of life: work,

home, relationships, relaxation, hobbies. Thus good for us academics with out clear separations

The Process

Check out the Workflow Diagram• Collect • Process • Organize • Review • Do

Collect• Important to capture everything to get mind like

water state (MLWS)• Gather 100% of open loops/incompletes:

everything that should, needs to , or ought to get done

• Tools:– Physical in-box– Paper-based note taking supplies– Electronic noted-taking supplies– Voice-recording devices– E-mail

• Collect every open loop by one of these methods• Have as few collection devices as possible• Empty collection devices regularly

Process

• Go through each collected item and decide:– What is it?– Is it Actionable?

• No:– Trash– Incubate– Reference

• Yes:– Is it a project? Capture it on a projects list, which you

review weekly– What is the next action?

» Do it: if less than two minutes» Delegate it» Defer it: make sure you track next actions and

capture it on a list or calander

Organize

• Create Projects lists: A Project is anything with more than one action step.– May want multiple lists or one general list– Some ideas:

• A list of publication projects• The Diss list• Class work list• Teaching list

– But don’t subdivide too much– Likely have at least 50 projects at any one time– Collect support materials, but store out of site

(you don’t need the reminders now!)

Next Actions• Calendar: Use to collect all

– Time-specific action– Day-specific actions– Day-specific information: info need on a certain date– Do not put on things you would like to do that day

• Next Actions list: where all the action reminders go, kind of a to-do list, but better– If 20-30: fine to have one Next Actions list– If More: divide the lists into context and action based lists:

• Calls• At school• At home• Errands• People: SO, colleagues, “boss”, teachers, chair…..• Read/Review: Love this!!!• Waiting for

Nonactionable Items

• Trash• Incubate: Things you might want to do and

need to be reminded of– Someday/Maybe: Wish list of possible future

projects and ideas such as a book you can’t write now, a dream vacation, house remodel for next year, things you may want to buy (books, cds,…), things to do with SOs,…

– Tickler file: a file of things you need to be remind of at a certain time, such as a bill to pay, a CFP deadline, and so on. Create a hard copy 43 folder file.

• Reference: valuable info you must keep. File it out of the way

Review• Weekly review for “runway” and 10,000

levels – Gather and process in-boxes– Review system

• Projects lists: ?• Calendar• Next Actions

– Update Lists– Clean, clear, complete

• Higher levels as appropriate: monthly? Yearly? (marriage book)

Sadly this is where my saved slides end• I’ll try to find the rest and get it up.