Getting things done fights procrastination
It was Wednesday noon. I still hadn’t prepared for a crucial meeting with my company’s suppliers on Thursday morning.
I hadn’t even identified the topic I was going to write about for my weekly Thursday blog, let alone write it. I also had a speaking engagement to fulfil on Friday.
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I was procrastinating big time. To make things worse, I was angry as to why I allowed myself to be in such a position. It wasn’t that I’d taken on too many commitments.
Instead, I had mismanaged them. I was left completely overwhelmed.
Clearly, this was not an ideal or enjoyable way to handle my commitments.
That was two years ago. It was before I adopted the Getting Things Done or GTD productivity method that helps organise and track tasks and projects. David Allen introduced the technique in his 2001 seminal book of the same name which has since gone on to sell over two million copies.
The basic premise of Allen’s idea is that “you must use your mind to get things off your mind.”
What that means is that we often just list things we want to do without digging deep and clarifying:
1) What exactly do we want the outcome to be? In my example above, what exactly did I want my outcome to be with the suppliers? A wider array of products, lower prices or better payment terms. If I had thought out what I truly desired, the pre-meeting points would’ve come easily.
2) What action steps are involved in reaching the outcome? The action steps were to have a meeting with my team, discuss ‘the numbers’ of their products, any issues that arose with their products, and look at our competition. Then capture all in a presentation and ready it for the meeting.
3) Whether the work required is a task, a one-off activity, or a project which may need many small tasks to be completed. This meeting could be treated as a project as it could easily spawn many tasks required towards its completion. From finance getting the numbers, to sales giving us their assessment and finally customer service reporting on customer feedback.
Execution
When we recognise the above three points, we proceed to execute our tasks effortlessly. However, if we leave everything till the last minute as I did on that Wednesday, the results won’t be as pleasing as we want them to be.
We need to take control of our day-to-day life as otherwise it’s almost impossible to plan effectively, leaving us in a reactive mode rather than a more strategic frame of mind.
The GTD system, when taken on fully, could be complicated but I’ll keep it simple. This is how I use it effectively:
A) The five distinct phases:
Step 1-Capture: Here, use a “collection basket” or an ‘in’ list to collect everything that has your attention. This ranges from small ideas that are borne in the shower to big ones that come out after a brainstorming session and from issues that affect our personal life to tasks that arise in the professional world. I also add quotes and writing ideas that come up during the day.
Step 2-Clarify: Process what it means. For everything you capture, decide if it is actionable. If not, trash it, incubate or file it. If it is, do it now (2-minute rule), delegate it or defer it by putting it in the ‘next list.’
Step 3-Organise: Put it where it belongs. Put it in a system you trust, so you don’t have to remember it all. This could be on paper, the many apps that are available or in an excel file.
Step 4-Reflect: Review frequently, by examining and updating the results of your work, revising the strategy, tasks and projects.
Step 5-Engage: Simply do. Use your system to work through the tasks that you can accomplish immediately.
The 2-Minute Rule
If a task takes less than two minutes, then do it immediately. Don’t waste time by writing it down so you can do later. The goal of GTD is to get things done and not have a perfectly designed task system.
For example, things like making a call, taking out the garbage or sending that email are things that can be done at once.
List non-immediate next actions
Sometimes we would like to capture things that we want to do in the future. Instead of putting it as a project or as a next item to-do, it’s easier to have a separate list for it, which you can call “someday.” This I use aspirationally and will have goals such as climb Kilimanjaro, visit Vienna, a medical check-up by the end of the year.
Weekly review
This is the heart and soul of the GTD system. This is where you empty the collection basket, update all the lists and get a big-picture view of the upcoming week and month. Life moves fast, and we often find ourselves lost in the day-to-day activities with not enough time to step back and reflect.
I like to do this either on a Sunday evening or Monday morning. It takes no longer than 30 minutes. It fires me up for the upcoming week where all my tasks and projects are updated and ready to be worked on.
The challenge we have when organising our thoughts and actions is that our minds never rest until the idea that is humming away in our heads is either forgotten or acted upon. The loop has to close.
It is those thoughts that are still hanging about that cause us much overwhelm, which then leads to stress. We end up not doing the task or worse, doing it poorly.
If before Wednesday I have clearly identified what needs to be “done” and what the “doing” looks like, I’ll go on to do my tasks easily.
The GTD approach will make you more productive, less of a procrastinator and will reduce much of the stress that overthinking brings you.
Keep your system simple and effective.
What are you waiting for?
Start today!