Welcome back to SpedSafari Book Club! This installment is a good one- Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen!
Purchase from Amazon (not an affiliate link, just trying to make life easier :-))
Purchase from Powell’s Books (not an affiliate link either, just trying to make life easier :-))
Let’s face it- we are all extremely busy people. We are any combination of roles; teachers, administrators, business owners, spouses, parents, family members, community members, the list could go on forever! Each of those roles is multifaceted and requires a portion of our time and attention. How do you keep track of everything without losing things, forgetting things, or feeling like your head will explode?
Enter GTD (Getting Things Done)! Throughout the book, David Allen outlines a step by step process to manage projects, action steps, and keep track of all the ideas, inspirations, reflections, and questions that show up every day, all day long.
If you need a quick refresher on the book, I highly recommend this summary. No judgement!
Anyway, the biggest goal that GTD sets out to accomplish is to get all of your stuff (ideas, projects, tasks, reminders, info, goals, etc.) out of your head and into a system where you can reference it, instead of having to remember it. Clear directions are provided for how to capture all the things, clarify what needs to be done with them, organize them, and take action! I’ve been using GTD now for over a year and I can 100% say that it works and delivers on allowing me to stop worrying that I’ve forgotten something and to take action on the things I need to act on.
One of the first concepts that has an immediate payoff in the GTD system is the Two Minute Rule. The Two Minute Rule says that, while you’re compiling all the information about all the “stuff” you have going on, stop and do any task that comes up that will take two minutes or less. Send an email, call someone, file something, shred something, put something away where it goes; the task could take any form, but get it done! Once you start accomplishing the little things that we spend some much time trying to remember, it’s amazing how relieved you feel! If you take nothing else away from the GTD experience, this practice here is worth the price of admission.
Probably my favorite thing about the GTD methodology is how you can adapt the same principles through a variety of means to fit the productive habits you already have. I’m a devoted digital person and rely on my digital calendar to stay organized, but if you’re a paper planner person or prefer hard copies of things the system works exactly the same. The point is to cultivate the habit of working through the different steps of the process and using the tools that suit your preference accordingly. By having nothing in the way of having good ideas, I’ve felt more productive and creative and also have fewer barriers towards completing tasks and activities (like going to the gym, meal prepping, even maintaining a weekly grocery list) that make me a happy, healthier person overall.
This quote from the book really resonated with me because I consider myself one of those bright people who, yes, can freak out faster and more dramatically than anyone else, particularly if I feel like I’ve forgotten something or am missing a crucial piece of information! By having a consistent system that I use to capture all the different projects, tasks, and goals that come up in my personal and professional life, I maintain the focused control that David Allen talks about in the book, and I don’t have to deal with that gross feeling that I’ve forgotten something! In my next blog post, I’ll introduce you to TasksBoard, the app that really made the GTD system real for me and allows me to maintain it, even when things are crazy busy.
Have you heard of the Getting Things Done system? Have you used it? What tips and tricks to stay organized and focused would you share with others?
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