Productivity guru David Allen is the author of Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, the 2001 book that has sold more than a million copies and has been translated into 30 languages. His eponymous, $8 million time-management empire spans everything from $595 per-person public seminars to corporate speaking engagements that can earn him $40,000 to $60,000 a pop.
Widely abbreviated as GTD, Allen’s method of getting things done focuses on two basic concepts.
The first is that by dumping all the tasks floating around in our heads (everything from “buy toothpaste” to “write strategic plan”) onto paper or into software, and then sorting them into a system of lists, we become better able to deal with the unexpected crises that disrupt our days.
The second is that the complex projects that populate our to-do lists (say, “hire marketing manager”) should be broken into granular “next actions” (”e-mail recruiter” and “call HR about firing current one”).
Here are four key ideas from Allen’s seminar:
1. Write it down. Jot down everything from ‘buy dog food’ to ‘build vacation home’ before processing it into a set of lists.
2. Break it out. Too many to do lists are composed of complex projects that say little about what should eb done next.
3. Do it now. If a task can be done in two minutes, do it right away.
4. File it away. A good filing system, both for paper and emails is essential.
Just saved you $595.
Photo by Max S. Gerber.
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