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Transcript of =8 S#8 N SS#8 · ëí =` j`# a ëð 8 #sn ëô ss#8 ;ns js ìí gswj ìð 1 j# g ìò =j 8#l íë j...
GE T T I NG
THE QU I CK S TAR T GU I D E
TH I NGS
DONE
02
OVERV I EW
05
BENE F I T S
09
GE T T I NG S TAR T ED
12
CAP TURE
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C LAR I F Y
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ORGAN I Z E
20
RE F L E C T
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ENGAGE
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SUMMARY
O V E R V I E W
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Getting Things Done, often referred to as GTD, is
a productivity and time management framework
developed by David Allen.
The core principal of the GTD methodology is to
move ideas, projects and tasks out of your mind
and into an external system of record.
The idea is to remove distraction, and free your
mind, so that you can focus on the tasks that
need doing.
There are five pillars to the GTD methodology,
including:
OVERV IEW
Capture
Clarify
Organize
Reflect
Engage
Unlike many other productivity frameworks, the
GTD approach does not specify any particular
tools or processes for organizing this information.
While this lack of rules can initially deter some
from adopting the GTD methodology, the
flexibility of its approach is ultimately what makes
it such an effective process for boosting your
productivity.
In particular, without a set way of recording ideas
or tasks, the GTD approach allows you to adopt a
system that best suits you.
This could be anything from using pen and
paper, to sticking post-it notes on a whiteboard,
or using an online task management application.
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B E N E F I T S
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The GTD approach to productivity and task
management is recognized for a number of
benefits including:
BENEF I TS
Focus on reducing stress
David Allen, creator of the GTD methodology
believes that stress can be reduced by putting
reminders into a “trusted system external to your
mind”.
The GTD approach supports this as the process
of capturing your thoughts, ideas and tasks is
designed to remove the burden of
remembering these things from your mind.
Turn tasks into action lists
The GTD approach takes items on your do to list
and turns them into actionable steps.
This underlines that the GTD approach is all
about getting things done, and not just creating
lists for the sake of it.
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GTD is not restricted to just tasks
The GTD framework should not only be used to
manage work tasks.
In fact, ideas, dreams, experiments, and other
points of interest should all be recorded in your
GTD system.
They do not need to be prioritised straight away,
but if you believe a thought is of importance, then
it should be noted down.
This then allows you to focus your mind and
energy on more immediate things.
You should improve over time
The fourth pillar of the GTD methodology forces
you to reassess your tasks and how you
approaching your day to day life.
Because GTD has inbuilt flexibility this pillar
should encourage you to constantly change and
fine tune your approach to task management
and productivity.
Just like the GTD methodology doesn’t
distinguish between tasks and ideas, there
doesn’t need to be a separation between work
and family life.
If you believe a task in your personal life has to
take priority over a work-related task, then it
should be at the top of your list.
This encourages a healthy work-life balance
where you can objectively recognize what
requires your time and effort on that particular
day or occasion.
GTD encourages work/life balance
At the end of the day you need to believe in the
system so that it works best for you. Trial and
error often brings the best results.
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Accepting that you don't need to do it all
If a task isn’t actionable then the GTD approach
means that it is either discarded or filed away for
future reference. This allows you to quickly work
through incoming content, ideas and tasks so
that you can focus on what is truly important.
G E T T I N G
S T A R T E D
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The GTD approach to productivity and task
management, like all other tools and frameworks,
is only as strong as the person who chooses to
implement it.
Therefore, before you dive in you need to be
willing to give it the time and effort required to
benefit from its approach.
In fact, research published by Phillippa Lally from
the University of College London showed that it
took more than 2 months (66 days in fact) before
a new behaviour becomes automatic (i.e. habit
forming).
Therefore, it is not realistic to expect that the
GTD approach will be immediately in sync with
your daily workflow. It will take time, and it does
require commitment.
Once you have chosen to commit the GTD
methodology you need to decide on a system of
record keeping. David Allen recommends
GETT ING STARTED
starting with pen and paper, and I would echo
that sentiment.
During the early days of adopting the GTD
methodology, you need to be flexible. You need
to spend the time finding what method of record
keeping works best for you, and that can involve
some level of trial and error.
Personally, I tried everything from pen and paper
to Excel spreadsheets and online applications,
before deciding to build a tool that worked just
how I wanted it to (the result being the task
management application called Task Pigeon).
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C A P T U R E
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The first pillar of the GTD methodology is
“Capture”.
This is a core principle of the framework and
requires you to capture everything that could be
of value or occupy space in your mind.
This includes:
THE F IRST P I L LAR
To do lists
Ideas
Recurring tasks
Longer term projects
Basically, anything that requires your time
and attention.
This information then needs to be recorded in a
"trust system" that you will actually use, not just left
on scrap pieces of paper in your office.
The principle behind this approach is what David
Allen calls “emergency scan modality”. In
essence, this means that if you fail to capture the
things that require your attention you will
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constantly jumping from one thing to the next.
And that is not the most productive way to tackle
your to-do list!
To capture this information you can use any
method that you prefer. Some popular methods
and applications used include:
Pen and Paper
Excel Spreadsheets
Task Pigeon
Evernote
Todoist
iOS Reminders App
C L A R I F Y
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The second pillar of the GTD methodology is
Clarify. This pillar is all about creating actionable
steps for your list of outstanding tasks or ideas.
For example, let’s assume one of your tasks is to
“book a flight to the United States”. That is the task
that you wish to accomplish. But how are you
going to actually do that?
In the clarify stage you could break this down to:
THE SECOND P I L LAR
Choose dates for vacation and submit
leave request to work.
Search for flights to New York and book
one that is under $1,500.
Check passport is still valid
As you can see this takes a task or idea and
breaks it down into a step, by step action plan,
thus giving clarity to what actually needs to be
done.
O R G A N I Z E
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Not all tasks are going to have the same level of
priority, and that's where the third pillar of the GTD
methodology comes into play.
Organize is essentially the prioritization step in the
process and sees you categorize or group
information and tasks in places that are easy to
recall.
For example time sensitive tasks can be added to
your calendar, ideas for new blog posts could be
added to your to-do list or task management tool,
etc.
While this seems like it could be done on the fly,
as you create each task, remember that the first
pillar is really just a “data dump”.
No matter where you are, or what you are doing
in the capture phase you are just writing the item
down. Nothing more, nothing less.
THE TH IRD P I L LAR
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You then need to schedule time each day to
proactively manage your tasks, clarify and
organize what you have to do.
This is often easier said than done. People often
fall apart at this stage as they struggle to work out
what takes priority in their life.
An alternative way of looking at this is to consider
what provides the most value. For example as a
Manager in a business is your time better spent
on revenue generating activities, or writing back
to an email from an old colleague?
If you judge tasks by their value to you, your team
or your company then prioritizing them suddenly
becomes a lot easier.
R E F L E C T
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The fourth pillar in the GTD methodology is to
reflect. This should not be viewed as a step per
say, but rather a process that you run on a regular
basis.
The purpose of the reflect pillar is to regularly
review the tasks on your list.
THE FOURTH P I L LAR
Are they still important?
Do some need to take on a new level of
priority?
Or can some be forgotten about altogether?
By taking this approach you will not get hung up
on needing to complete a task if it is no longer
relevant or providing value to you or the
business.
In addition to this, you should reflect on the entire
GTD process. Are you noting enough things
down? Are you prioritizing effectively? And
determining clear next steps for each task.
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This feedback loop should help you improve
your own knowledge and understanding of how
you work and what makes you most productive.
E N G A G E
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The fifth and final pillar of the GTD methodology is
the action stage, engage!
If you have followed the rest of the methodology
correctly you should now have a clear list of tasks
that are priorities and have a series of next steps
that need to be taken.
By the time you get to this stage there should be
no question about what tasks you should be
working on first and have completed by when.
Often there is a misconception that to-do-lists are
created to keep you busy. That is not their
purpose.
To do lists are created so that you can prioritise
and complete tasks! That is to say, they should not
stay on your list any longer than they need to.
Another facet to the engage pillar is relevant for
people who lead and manage others. While the
item may be on your to-do list are you in a
THE F I FTH P I L LAR
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position where you are delegating the task to
someone else.
If so, the engage process needs to also take into
consideration who in your team is best suited to
that task and how will you assign and manage
that task while they work on it.
In these instances, you may find that a task
management tool provides the extra functionality
you require to effectively manage this aspect of
your workflow/to do list.
S U M M A R Y
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In summary the Getting Things Done
methodology is a flexible and easy to understand
approach to time management and productivity.
To get started all you need is a pen and paper!
While you can certainly make the system more
sophisticated than that, start with the basics and
find a rhythm and flow that works best for you.
Most importantly however remember that every
thought, idea or task is important.
Write it down, clear your mind, and schedule time
to prfioritize and reflect on your list
This ebook was prepared by Task Pigeon, a
task management application that makes it
easy to create, assign and manage the tasks
you and your team work on each day.
To learn more visit: www.taskpigeon.co
IN SUMMARY