Getting Things Done - 3 Experts Tell How
Goals → Projects → Tasks → Get 'em done
All the planning in the world is useless unless you get things done. Here’s how.
This post excerpted from my book How to Be Successful in Life summarizes the “getting things done” methods of three leading experts.
Goals get done by breaking them down into smaller steps called projects, and projects are often further divided into tasks.
A project has a defined objective, a beginning and an end. It might last a few days or a few months, or in the case of writing a book or constructing a building, a few years.
Tasks are necessary steps in projects. They might be things like: Create an outline, Research competitors, or Create several possible titles for a book. In addition to project components, you will often need to accomplish tasks which are not related to a specific goal. An example might be: Pick up some milk on the way home, or Call Mother and wish her a happy birthday.
I have kept a to do list for my work and life projects and tasks for more than 40 years. I can’t imagine living without such a list, although its actual form (paper, Excel, to-do app etc.) has varied over time. Currently I use the Notion app, which I highly recommend.
Long ago I learned the joy and peace of writing down things I had to do so I did not have to commit them to memory or worry about forgetting them. The organizing expert David Allen, author of the book and system known as Getting Things Done, recommends a five-step process to organize your life[i]:
(1) Capture – write down or record anything and everything that catches your attention into a “collection tool” like a to-do app, Word or Excel file, paper notebook, whatever you like. This can include tasks, errands, ideas, useful information – anything that resonates with you so that you want to remember it.
(2) Clarify – decide if this new item is actionable, and if so, decide the next action to take or create a project if more than one action is needed. If not, decide if this item is something for reference, something to be put on hold, or something you can trash.
(3) Organize – put the information item in a document, file, app, folder, drawer etc. where you can easily find it later, and create an index or reminder of your categorized content in appropriate places. (For example, I created a diagram of all the file drawers in my office, what goes into each drawer, work or personal etc., and kept that diagram on my desk under a sheet of glass so I could always remember the right place to file or unfile something. Now I store most information in the cloud using OneDrive.)
(4) Reflect – update and review all pertinent contents of your system to maintain control, update as needed, and focus on what is most important now. (I review my to do list every weekday morning. Some people prefer to do this on Sunday night as they plan their week.)
(5) Engage – use your trusted system to take actions with confidence and clarity, all day every day.
When you have an information recording and retrieval system like this, you have more peace of mind, you don’t forget things, you get more done in the time available, and you focus on your priorities instead of whatever pops in your head.
More recently, Tiago Forte has advocated an online system he calls Building a Second Brain. Rather than trying to keep everything you need to know in your active memory (first brain), like Allen he advocates offloading into a note-taking system. But whereas Allen’s system was originally paper-based, now basically free note-taking apps such as Evernote, OneNote and Notion allow you to keep it all online in the cloud, instantly accessible with any computer or smartphone. Forte simplifies the process into four steps abbreviated CODE:
· Capture – Keep what resonates
· Organize – Save for actionability
· Distill – Find the essence
· Express – Show your work
You can easily create your own versatile system (including a Unique Success Power System) of note-taking and planning to suit your needs. This way a to-do list is just a part of a total system of information, always at your fingertips with any desktop computer or smartphone. All the information you need to back up your tasks and goals, including your vision and mission statements, can all be part of your ”Second Brain” system for managing your life and making it better and better.
I currently use Notion and OneDrive to organize all my information. On my To Do list, I rate each action item A, B, or C in importance, and 1, 2, or 3 in urgency. Distinguishing important from urgent helps you focus on the right things at the right time.
Stephen Covey, author of the highly influential 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, popularized a four-quadrants, important-urgent matrix developed by General and President Dwight “Ike” Eisenhower in the 1940s to help establish priorities during World War II. It looks like this:
The Eisenhower Matrix
Q1 Important and urgent
Q2 Important but not urgent
Q3 Not important but urgent
Q4 Not important, not urgent
The big challenge, Covey emphasized, is to not let things which are Not important but urgent (Q3) crowd out things that are Important but not urgent (Q2). We humans are hard-wired to respond to urgency and often forget the importance of importance in the process.
Some people create a big four-quadrant table on paper or on a computer file and put their to-do items into the four quadrants as appropriate. Again this helps you focus on the right things and not get distracted by minor stuff.
Whatever system or method you use, the objective here is to turn your goals into daily actions or tasks, to do things that accomplish your goals, and not just to gaze at them like a pretty picture. Get better organized and get things done!
To your ultimate life success,
Buck Lawrimore
[i] https://gettingthingsdone.com/what-is-gtd/