Zen to done (1.14MB)
-
Upload
mitesh-take -
Category
Spiritual
-
view
63 -
download
0
Transcript of Zen to done (1.14MB)
ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd ztd
zen to doneThe UlTimaTe Simple prodUcTiviTy SySTem
by Leo Babauta
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd �
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
4 Introduction
7 1WhyZTD?
11 2Overview-Whatisit?
17 3MinimalZTD-thesimpleralternative
20 4Formingthe10Habits
24 5Habit1:Collect
28 6Habit2:Process
32 7Habit3:Plan
35 8Habit4:Do
39 9Habit5:Simple,trustedsystem
44 10Habit6:Organize
48 11Habit7:Review
51 12Habit8:Simplify
56 13Habit9:Routine
60 14Habit10:FindYourPassion
66 15ADaywithZenToDone
70 16ZTDFAQ
77 17Resources
00 Thankyou
Table of Contents
Dedicated to Eva
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd �
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
Thisbookwaswrittenforthosewhowanttoget
theirlivesorganizedandactuallyexecutethethings
ontheirto-dolist.
Ifyou’reoneofthosepeople,you’llfindsomevaluable
conceptsinthisbook.
ZenToDone(ZTD)isasystemthatisatoncesimple,and
powerful,andwillhelpyoudevelopthehabitsthatkeepall
ofyourtasksandprojectsorganized,thatkeepyourworkday
simpleandstructured,thatkeepyourdeskandemailinbox
cleanandclear,andthatkeepyoudoingwhatyouneedtodo,
withoutdistractions.
That’salottoaskofalittlee-book.Andinfact,thisbookwon’t
doallofthesethingsforyou--youhavetodoit.Youhaveto
reallywanttochangeyourhabits,butwhat’sprovidedinthis
systemarethetoolsfordoingthat.
Andletmesaythatchangingyourhabitsarepossible.Using
thehabit-changingtechniquesIdescribeinthisbook,andon
mysite,ZenHabits,Ihavemademanyhabitchanges:Iquit
smoking,startedrunning,startedeatinghealthier,completed
amarathon,doubledmyincomeandgotmyfinancesin
order,becameavegan,havealmosteliminatedmydebtnow,
completedatriathlon,lostmorethan20pounds,andstarted
asuccessfulblog,tonameafew.Soyes,habitchangesare
Introduction
“�Much�of�the�stress�that�people�feel�doesn’t�come�from�having�too�much�to�do.�It�comes�from�not�finishing�what�they’ve�started.”�David�Allen
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd �
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
definitelypossible,ifyoustartsmall,findtherightmotivation,
andmaintainyourfocus.
I’vealsobecomemoreorganizedandproductive.Onlyacouple
ofyearsago,mydeskwascluttered,Ikeptmultiplelistsof
thingsthatIwasalwayslosingorforgettingabout,Ihada
tonofthingstodoandwasoverwhelmedbythechaosand
complexityofmyday.Emailinboxwasoverflowing,andsowere
myphysicalinboxandvoicemailinbox.Ikeptforgettingtodo
things,andingeneralwasdisorganizedandunproductive.
ButIbeganchangingthosehabits,onebyone.Today,my
inboxesareallempty.Mylistofthingstodotodayisasimple
listofthreeveryimportantthings.Igetthemdone.Iamable
tocleardistractionsandfocus.Iwritethingsdown,inone
place,soIdon’tforgetthem.
Mylifeismuchmoresanenow,moresimplifiedandmore
focused.IgetaLOTmoredone--fromalltheworkinmy
dayjob,towritingtheblog,towritingforsixotherblogs,to
completingpersonalprojects,andstillhavingtimeformy
family.Iamhappierandmoreproductive,andit’sallduetoa
fewsimplehabitchanges.
Youcandothistoo,believeme.I’mnosuper-human--Isimply
madethecommitmenttoimprove,andbeganchangingmy
habits,oneatatime.
Youhavetoreallywant
tochangeyourhabits,
butwhat’sprovided
inthissystemarethe
toolsfordoingthat.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd �
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
Readon,andseehowyoucandothesethingstoo.Now,I
don’texpectyoutoadopttheentiresystem--everyoneworks
differently.That’sthebeautyofZTD:youcanchoosethose
habitsthatworkbestforyou.
Goodluck,andenjoythisbook.Changingyourhabitscanbe
exciting,andIurgeyoutoenjoythejourney.
ButIbeganchanging
thosehabits,oneby
one.Today,myinboxes
areallempty.Mylistof
thingstodotodayisa
simplelistofthreevery
importantthings.Iget
themdone.Iamable
tocleardistractions
andfocus.Iwrite
thingsdown,inone
place,soIdon’tforget
them.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd �
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
Idecidedtotakesomeofthebestconceptsfrom
someofthebestproductivitysystemseverinvented,
including,DavidAllen’sGettingThingsDoneand
StephenCovey’s7HabitsofSuccessfulPeople,add
someotherusefulconcepts,anddistillthemintoa
verysimpleandusableproductivitysystemcalled
ZenToDone(ZTD).
Why“ZenToDone”?Well,firstoff,theblogiscalledZen
Habits,and“HabitsToDone”doesn’tsoundcoolenoughto
me.Ialsothoughtof“SimpleToDone”buttheacronymdidn’t
seemright.Second,ZTDcapturestheessentialspiritofthe
newsystem:thatofsimplicity,ofafocusondoing,inthehere
andnow,insteadofonplanningandonthesystem.
Ifyou’vebeenhavingtroublewithGTD,asgreatasitis,
ZTDmightbejustforyou.Itfocusesonthehabitchanges
necessaryforGTD,inamorepracticalway,anditfocuses
ondoing,onsimplifying,andonaddingasimplestructure.
Readonformore.
ZTDattemptstoaddressfiveproblemsthatmanypeople
havewithGTD.IshouldnotethatGTDisn’treallyflawed,
anddoesn’treallyneedmodification,buteveryoneisdifferent,
andZTDisawaytocustomizeittobetterfitdifferent
personalitytypes.
1 Why ZTD?
“�Simplicity�is�the�ultimate�sophistication.”��Leonardo�DaVinci
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd �
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
ZTD addresses five problems people have with GTD:
1)GTDisaseriesofhabitchanges.Thisisthemainreason
whypeoplefallofftheGTDsystem—it’sabunchofhabit
changesthatareattemptedallatonce.AsItalkaboutonmy
blog,ZenHabits,focusingononehabitatatimeisbest,and
guaranteesthemostsuccess.Inaddition,GTDersdon’tapply
provenhabit-changemethods(theonesItalkaboutonZen
Habits)tochangetheirhabits.
Solution:ZTDfocusesononehabitatatime.Youdon’thave
totrytoadopttheentiresystematonce—it’soverwhelming
andit’stoohardtofocusonyourhabitchangesifyoudotoo
manyatatime.Instead,focusononeatatime,andadoptthe
systeminphases.Useprovenhabit-changingmethods(30-day
challenge,commitment,rewards,motivationhacks,etc.)to
successfullyadopteachnewhabit.
2.GTDdoesn’tfocusenoughondoing.Whileit’scalledGetting
ThingsDone,oftenwhatweendupdoingmostofthetime
isGettingThingsinOurTrustedSystem.Thebook,while
presentinganexcellentsystem,focusesmoreonthecapturing
andprocessingstagesthanitdoesontheactualdoingstage.
Solution:ZTDfocusesmoreondoing—andhowtoactually
completeyourtasks,inasimple,stress-freemanner.
ZTDcapturesthe
essentialspiritofthe
newsystem:thatof
simplicity,ofafocus
ondoing,inthehere
andnow,insteadofon
planningandonthe
system.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd �
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
3.GTDistoounstructuredformanypeople.Thiscanbeone
ofthebrilliantthingsaboutGTD—itslackofstructure,its
in-the-momentdecisionmakingaboutwhattodonext—but
itcanalsobeahugesourceofconfusionformanypeople.
Somepeopleneedmorestructureintheirday,andGTDcanbe
disorienting.Differentpeoplehavedifferentstyles.
Solution:ZTDoffersacoupleofhabitstoaddressthis:theplan
habit,whereyousimplyplanyourthreeMITsforthedayand
yourBigRocksfortheweek,andtheroutinehabit,whereyou
setdailyandweeklyroutinesforyourself.Thesehabits,likeall
thehabitsofZTD,areoptional.Iftheydon’tworkforyou,don’t
adoptthem.Butformanypeople,theywillcomplimentthe
othergreatpartsofGTDperfectly.
4.GTDtriestodotoomuch,whichendsupstressingyouout.
GTDdoesn’tdiscriminateamongalltheincomingstuffinyour
life,whichagainispartofitsbeauty.Buttheproblemisthat
weputeverythingonourlists,andendupbeingoverloaded.
Wetrytodoeverythingonourlists.Thisisn’treallyaproblem
withGTD,butaproblemwithhowweimplementit.Butit
shouldbeaddressed.
Solution:ZTDfocusesonsimplifying.Takeasmuchstuff
offyourplateaspossible,soyoucanfocusondoingwhat’s
important,anddoingitwell.
ZTDfocusesmoreon
doing—andhowto
actuallycompleteyour
tasks,inasimple,
stress-freemanner.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd 10
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
5.GTDdoesn’tfocusenoughonyourgoals.GTDispurposely
abottom-up,runway-levelsystem.Whileitdoestalkabout
higherlevels,itdoesn’treallygointoitmuch.Asaresult,GTD
ismorefocusedondoingwhatevercomesatyouratherthan
doingwhatyoushouldbedoing—theimportantstuff.
Solution:ZTD,asmentionedabove,asksyoutoidentifythe
bigthingsyouwanttodofortheweekandfortheday.Another
habitinZTDisforyoutoreviewyourgoalseachweek,asaway
ofstayingfocusedonthemthroughouttheyear.GTDcontains
anelementofthis,butZTDextendsit.
Again,GTDisabrilliantsystem,andworksverywell.ButZTD
takessomeoftheproblemsthatpeoplehaveinimplementing
it,addsotherpowerfulconcepts,andadaptsthesystemfor
reallife.
ZTDfocuseson
simplifying.Takeas
muchstuffoffyour
plateaspossible,so
youcanfocusondoing
what’simportant,and
doingitwell.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd 11
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
Solet’stakealookatwhatZenToDonereallyis:it’sasetof10habitsthatwillhelpyougetorganized,simplifyyourlife,getthingsundercontrol,andactuallygetthingsdone.
IfyouadoptZTD,youareundernoobligationtodoall10
habits...youshouldpicktheonesthatwillworkforyour
individualstyle,andfocusonmasteringthose.
Eachofthesehabitsshouldbelearnedandpracticedoneat
atimeifpossible,or2-3atatimeatthemost.Focusonyour
habitchangefor30days,thenmoveontothenext.
Thatcanbedifficult,Iknow,butinthelongrunthehabits
willstickbetterifyoufocusonthemoneortwoatatime.And
overthecourseofayear,you’llhavemasteredthemall--and
Idon’tthinkbecomingcompletelyorganizedandproductivein
oneyearissuchabadaccomplishment.
Theorderlistedbelowisjustasuggestion—youcanadopt
theminwhateverorderworksbestforyou.Habits1-8arethe
mostessential,butIsuggestyougiveHabits9-10serious
considerationtoo.Iwillexpandoneachofthese10habitsin
thechapterstofollow.
� Overview - What is it?
“��The�things�that�matter�most�should�never�be�at�the�mercy�of�the�things�that�matter�least.”��Goethe
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd 1�
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
1.Collect
Habit:ubiquitouscapture.Carryasmallnotebook(orwhatever
capturetoolworksforyou)andwritedownanytasks,ideas,
projects,orotherinformationthatpopintoyourhead.Getit
outofyourheadandontopaper,soyoudon’tforgetit.ZTD
asksyoutopickaverysimple,portable,easy-to-usetoolfor
capture—asmallnotebookorsmallstackofindexcards
arepreferred(butnotmandated),simplybecausetheyare
mucheasiertouseandcarryaroundthanaPDAornotebook
computer.Thesimplerthetools,thebetter.Whenyougetback
toyourhomeoroffice,emptyyournotesintoyourto-dolist.
2.Process
Habit:makequickdecisionsonthingsinyourinbox,donot
putthemoff.Lettingstuffpileupisprocrastinatingonmaking
decisions.Processyourinboxes(email,physical,voicemail,
notebook)atleastonceaday,andmorefrequentlyifneeded.
Whenyouprocess,doitfromthetopdown,makingadecision
oneachitem:doit(ifittakes2minutesorless),trashit,
delegateit,fileit,orputitonyourto-dolistorcalendar
todolater.
3.Plan
Habit:setMITsforweek,day.Eachweek,listtheBigRocks
(mostimportanttasks)thatyouwanttoaccomplishforthat
week,andschedulethemfirst.Eachday,createalistof1-
3MITs(basicallyyourBigRocksfortheday)andbesureto
Idon’tthinkbecoming
completelyorganized
andproductiveinone
yearissuchabad
accomplishment.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd 13
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
accomplishthem.DoyourMITsearlyinthedaytogetthemout
ofthewayandtoensurethattheygetdone.
4.Do
Habit:doonetaskatatime,withoutdistractions.Thisisone
ofthemostimportanthabitsinZTD.Youmustselectatask
(preferablyoneofyourMITs)andfocusonittotheexclusion
ofallelse.First,eliminatealldistractions.Shutoffemail,cell
phone,Internetifpossible(otherwisejustcloseallunnecessary
tabs),clutteronyourdesk(ifyoufollowhabit2,thisshould
beprettyeasy).Then,setatimerifyoulike,orotherwisejust
focusonyourtaskforaslongaspossible.Don’tletyourself
getdistractedfromit.Ifyougetinterrupted,writedownany
requestorincomingtasks/infoonyournotepad,andgetbackto
yourtask.Don’ttrytomulti-task.
5.SimpleTrustedSystem
Habit:keepsimplelists,checkdaily.Youcanusecontextlists,
suchas@work,@phone,@home,@errands,@waiting,etc.,
ifthoseworkforyou.ZTDsuggeststhatyoukeepyourlistsas
simpleaspossible.Don’tcreateacomplicatedsystem,and
don’tkeeptryingoutnewtools.It’sawasteoftime,asfunas
itis.Eitheruseasimplenotebookorindexcardsforyourlists,
orusethesimplestlistprogrampossible.Youdon’tneeda
planneroraPDAorOutlookoracomplicatedsystemoftags.
Justonelistforeachcontext,andaprojectslistthatyoureview
eitherdailyorweekly.Linkingactionstobothprojectsand
Justfocusonyourtask
foraslongaspossible.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd 1�
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
contextsisnice,butcangettoocomplicated.Keepitsimple,
andfocusonwhatyouhavetodorightnow,notonplayingwith
yoursystemoryourtools.
6.Organize
Habit:aplaceforeverything.Allincomingstuffgoesinyour
inbox.Fromthere,itgoesonyourcontextlistsandanaction
folder,orinafileinyourfilingsystem,inyouroutboxifyou’re
goingtodelegateit,orinthetrash.Putthingswherethey
belong,rightaway,insteadofpilingthemuptosortlater.This
keepsyourdeskclearsoyoucanfocusonyourwork.Don’t
procrastinate—putthingsaway.
7.Review
Habit:reviewyoursystem&goalsweekly.ZTD’sweeklyreview
asksyoutodoaquickcheckofyoursystem,andalsofocuses
onreviewingyourgoalseachweek.Duringyourweeklyreview,
youshouldgoovereachofyouryearlygoals,seewhatprogress
youmadeontheminthelastweek,andwhatactionsteps
you’regoingtotaketomovethemforwardinthecomingweek.
Onceamonth,setasidealittlemoretimetodoamonthly
reviewofyourgoals,andeveryyear,youshoulddoayearly
reviewofyouryear’sgoalsandyourlife’sgoals.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd 1�
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
8.Simplify
Habit:reduceyourgoals&taskstoessentials.Ifyouattemptto
tackleallincomingtasks,youcanquicklybecomeoverloaded,
andbeleftwithoutthenecessaryfocusontheimportant
tasks(MITs).Soinstead,ZTDasksyoutoreviewyourtask
andprojectlists,andseeifyoucansimplifythem.Remove
everythingbuttheessentialprojectsandtasks,soyoucan
focusonthem.Simplifyyourcommitments,andyourincoming
informationstream.Besurethatyourprojectsandtasksline
upwithyouryearlyandlifegoals.Dothisonadailybasis
(briefly,onasmallscale),duringyourweeklyreview,andyour
monthlyreview.
9.Routine
Habit:setandkeeproutines.Ifotherproductivitysystemsare
toounstructuredforyou,trythehabitofcreatingroutinesto
seeifitworksbetter.Amorningroutine(forexample)could
includelookingatyourcalendar,goingoveryourcontextlists,
settingyourMITsfortheday,exercising,processingemail
andinboxes,anddoingyourfirstMITfortheday.Anevening
routinecouldincludeprocessingyouremailandinboxes
(again),reviewingyourday,writinginyourjournal,preparing
forthenextday.Weeklyroutinescouldincludeanerrandsday,
alaundryday,financialday,yourweeklyreview,familyday,etc.
It’suptoyou—setyourownroutines,makethemwork
foryou.
Ifyouattempttotackle
allincomingtasks,you
canquicklybecome
overloaded,andbeleft
withoutthenecessary
focusontheimportant
tasks(MITs).
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd 1�
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
10.Findyourpassion
Habit:seekworkforwhichyou’repassionate.Thiscouldbe
yourlasthabit,butatthesametimeyourmostimportant.
GTDisgreatformanagingthetasksinyourlife,andtryingnot
toprocrastinateonthem.Butifyou’repassionateaboutyour
work,youwon’tprocrastinate—you’lllovedoingit,andwant
todomore.Thehabittoformhereistoconstantlyseekthings
aboutwhichyou’repassionate,andtoseeifyoucanmakea
careeroutofthemwhenyoufindthem.Makeyourlife’swork
somethingyou’repassionateabout,notsomethingyoudread
doing,andyourtasklistwillalmostseemlikealistofrewards.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd 1�
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
Forsomepeople,implementing10newhabits,evenifthey’redoneoneatatime,isoverwhelming,andstilltoocomplicated.Soforthosewhowanttoimplementthesimplestsystempossible,here’stheminimalistversionofZTD—awaytobeproductivewithoutallthefuss.
It’sonlyfourhabits:collect,process,plan,anddo.Italsoonly
usestwotools:asmallnotebook,andapen.
1.Collect:Carryasmallnotebookandwritedownanytasks,
ideas,projects,orotherinformationthatpopintoyourhead.
Getitoutofyourheadandontopaper,soyoudon’tforgetit.
2Process:makequickdecisionsonthingsinyourinbox,
donotputthemoff.Processyourinboxes(email,physical,
voicemail,notebook)atleastonceaday,andmorefrequentlyif
needed.
3.Plan:setMITsforeachweek,andeachday.DoyourMITs
earlyinthedaytogetthemoutofthewayandtoensurethat
theygetdone.
4.Do:focusononetaskatatime,withoutdistractions.
Eiminatealldistractions,thenjustfocusonyourtaskforas
longaspossible.Don’tletyourselfgetdistractedfromit.Don’t
3 Minimal ZTD — the simpler alternative
“�Everything�should��be�made�as�simple��as�possible,�but��not�simpler.”��Albert�Einstein
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd 1�
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
trytomulti-task.
WhattheMinimalZTDsystemleavesout
Thisversionleavesoutsixhabits:keepingasystemofsimple
lists,organizingeverything,weeklyreviews,simplifyingyour
tasksandprojects,settingroutinesforyourself,andfinding
yourpassion.
WhileIthinkthesesixhabitsarevaluable,theyarenot
absolutelynecessaryforaminimalistsystem.
Theminimalistimplementation
Sohowdoyouimplementthissystem,andwhatdoyouneed?
Firstthetools:Asmallnotebookandapen.That’sall.
Sohere’showyouimplementthesystem:
1.Useyournotebooktowriteeverythingdownasyouthinkof
it.Thisallowsyoutogetthingsoffyourmindandnotforget
them.
2.Whenyougettoyourdeskorhome,addthosenewtasks
toyourMasterTo-doList,whichyoucanalsokeepinyour
notebook.
3.Atthebeginningofeachday,reviewyourlist,andwrite
down1-3MITsthatyou’dliketoaccomplishfortheday.That’s
yourwholeplanningsystem.Youdon’tneedanymorethan
that.
It’sonlyfourhabits:
collect,process,plan,
anddo.Italsoonly
usestwotools:asmall
notebook,andapen.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd 1�
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
4.GetyourMITsdoneasearlyaspossible.Whenyoudoeach
task,clearawayalldistractionsandfocusondoingthatone
taskonly.Donotmulti-task.Whenyou’redone,moveontothe
nextMIT.
5.IfyoucompleteyourMITs,gotoyourMasterListandsee
what’sthenextmostimportanttaskonthelist.DoitasinStep
4above.Repeatasneeded.
Youdon’treallyneed10differentlists,andifyoudon’tkeep
thosedifferentlists,youdon’tneedaweeklyreview.Iwould
stillsuggestyousetasinglegoalfortheyear,andalwaysfocus
onthenextstepneededtoachievethatgoal.
Alsooptional:addanyofthehabitsthatareleftoutofthis
minimalistsystemlater,ifyouthinktheywouldhelp.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd �0
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
AnessentialpartofZTDistheformingofthe10Habits,oneatatime.Oneofthemainproblemspeoplehavewithotherproductivitysystem,probablywithoutknowingit,isthattheyareaseriesofhabitchangesthatpeopleattempttoundertakeallatonce.
Theygetenthusiasticaboutit,andtryanddoitallinoneshot,
andthenfalloffthewagon.Theygetbackon,andthenfalloff
again.It’salmostlikedietingorexercise—ifyoudon’tadopt
successfulhabitchangemethods,youwillkeepfailingand
eventuallygetdiscouragedandquit.
Well,inmyexperience,habitchangesaren’tsomethingto
betakenlightly.Theycanbesuccessful,butittakesalotof
energyandfocusandmotivation,andit’shardtodothatwitha
bunchofhabitsallatonce.Ihighlyrecommendthatyoustart
withonehabit,andapplyprovenhabit-changemethodologyto
thathabit,andthenoncethathasbecomeahabit,moveonto
thenexthabit.
Now,Iunderstandthat’snoteasy.Whenyoutakeona
productivitysystem,youwanttodoitallatonce.You’re
excitedandenthusiastic!Trustme,I’vebeenthere.Buttake
thatexcitementandchannelitintoonehabit,andyouwillbe
hugelysuccessful.
� Forming the 10 Habits
“��The�beginning�is�half�of�every�action.”��Greek�Proverb
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd �1
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
Doingonehabitatatimewilltakesomepatience,butatthe
sametimeit’snotasoverwhelmingandit’smucheasierto
adoptthisway.Forsomepeople,becomingproductiveand
organizedcanbeoverwhelming,andamajorlifechange.Iam
anadvocateofgraduallifechanges,onesthatwilllastfora
longtime,notjustforafewweeks.
Ifyouarealreadygoodatsomeofthesehabits,andifyouare
goodatchangingyourhabits,it’spossibletodomorethan
oneatatime.Iwouldn’trecommendmorethan2-3atatime,
though,becausethemoreyoudo,thelessyourchancesof
success.Ifyouarealreadygoodatubiquitouscapture,for
example,youcouldtryadoptingitasahabitalongwith,say,
processingyourinboxes.Butdon’ttrytodomuchmorethan
that.Startsimple,andgraduallyaddtheotherhabitsasyou
seefit.
Now,whichhabitsshouldyouadoptfirst?Irecommendthe
orderthatthey’relistedin,butthat’sfarfrommandatory.You
couldeasilydotheminreverseorscramblethem,orforman
algorithmtodecide.Isuggestthatifyoudon’twanttodothem
intherecommendedorder,seewhichoneswillbenefityouthe
most,andgivethoseahigherpriority.
Romewasn’tbuiltovernight,andyoucan’tchangefrombeing
undisciplined,unorganized,procrastinating,unproductive(as
Ioncewas—I’mnotaccusingyouofbeingthesethings)to
organized,productive,withado-it-nowhabit.Giveyourself
Iamanadvocateof
graduallifechanges,
onesthatwilllastfora
longtime,notjustfora
fewweeks.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd ��
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
timetomakethesechanges.Attheendofthisyear,ifyoustart
nowandadopt1-2habitspermonth,youwillhavesomegreat
habitsadopted.
HabitChangeMethodology
Whatarethemethodsyoucanusetomakethesehabit
changessuccessful?Herearesomeofthemostimportant:
1.Commitment.Commityourselftoyourhabitchange,big
time.Makeyourcommitmentaspublicaspossible—putit
onyourblog,joinanonlineforumandtellthemaboutit,tell
yourfamilyandfriends,sendoutadailyemailupdateonyour
progress.Themorepositivepublicpressure,thebetter.
2.Practice.Changingyourhabitsisaskill,andlikeanyskill,
ittakespractice.Commityourselftoa30-dayChallenge,and
trytodoyournewhabiteverysingledayfor30days.Youwill
betrainingyourselftodothatnewhabit,overandover.Ifyou
messup,don’tbeatyourselfup,butjusttryagain.Practice
makesperfect.
3.Motivation.Findasmanywaystomotivateyourselfas
possible.SeetheTop20MotivationHacks.
4.Tracking.It’sbestifyoulogyourprogressonyourhabit
everyday.Thismaysounddifficult,butitwillmakeyourhabit
changemuchmorelikelytobesuccessful.Logitinbeforeyou
gotobed,placingyourlognexttoyourbed.It’llmotivateyou,
Giveyourselftimeto
makethesechanges.
Attheendofthisyear,
ifyoustartnowand
adopt1-2habitsper
month,youwillhave
somegreathabits
adopted.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd �3
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
andwillmakeyoufeelgreatasyoulookbackonall
yourprogress.
5.Support.Joinanonlinegroup,ordoyourhabitchangewith
apartner.Howeveryoufindit,getotherstodoahabitchange
withyou,anditwillbemucheasier.
6.Rewards.Rewardyourselfoften,earlyon—attheendof
eachofthefirstthreedays,andthenattheendofeveryweek,
andthenabigoneattheendofyour30-dayChallenge.
7.Focus.It’sextremelyimportantthatyoumaintainyourfocus
onthisnewhabitforthefull30days.That’swhyit’shardto
domorethanoneortwohabitsatatime—youcan’tmaintain
focus.Findwaystobringyourfocusbacktoyourhabit.Postup
signsorpostersaroundyourdeskorhome.Sendyourselfemail
reminders.Putitonyourdesktoppicture.Howeveryoudoit,
keepalaserfocus!
8.Positivethinking.Thisisperhapsthemostimportant
element.Ifyoutellyourselfthatyoucandothis,thatyouwill
doit,thenyouwill.Squashallnegativethoughts,andreplace
themwithpositiveones.Youcandothis!Readthisarticle
formore.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd ��
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
Toooftenideaspopintoourheads,mailcomesintoourhomes,paperworkcomesontoourdesks,phonenumbersandappointmentsaregiventouswhilewe’reonthego...andtheydisappearorareforgot-tenorarerelegatedtoadustydrawer,nevertobeseenagain.
Theproblemisthatwehavenosystemforcollectingallofthe
informationandpapersandemailscomingintoourlives,and
keepingthemorganizedinasystematicway.
Toaddressthatproblem,we’regoingtotrytohaveaplacefor
everythingcomingintoourlives,andgetintothehabitofwrit-
ingthingsdownimmediately,insteadofrelyingonourbrainsto
keeptrackofitall.Ifwerelyonourbrains,it’soverwhelming,
andourbrainshaveahabitofforgettingwhatweneedwhen
weneedit.
Thecollectionhabitissimple:haveaveryfewamountofplac-
estocollectinformationandpapers,andsticktothatsystem.
So,forpaperscomingtoyourdesk,youshouldhaveoneplace
tocollectthem:aninbox.Don’teverstuffapieceofpaperin
adrawer,putaPost-itsomewhereonyourdesk,orstacksome
incomingmailanywherebutyourinbox.That’syouroneplace
tocollectthings,andyouneedtostickwithit.
Youshouldalsohaveaninboxforyourhome,tocollectall
� Habit 1: Collect
“����Much�of�the�stress�that�people�feel�doesn’t��come�from�having�too�much�to�do.�It�comes�from�not�finishing�what�they’ve�started.”��David�Allen
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd ��
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
incomingmail,papersfromworkorschool,phonemessages,
stuffyoubringinfromyourerrands,receipts--everything,
actually.Nowthingswillnevergetlostagain.
Foremails,trytoonlyhaveoneaccount(itpreventsmultiple
inboxesandconfusion).Youmighthaveabunchofother
inboxesyoucheckeveryday,somewhereonline,althoughyou
mightnotthinkofthemasinboxes--MySpaceorFacebook
accounts,forums,otherplaceswhereyougetmessages.These
areallinboxes,andyoushouldkeeptrackofthemandhandle
theminthesameway.Thefeweryouhave,thebetter.
We’llgettohowtoprocessalltheseinboxestoemptyinthe
nextchapter,inthehabitcalled“process”.Fornow,justbe
consciousofyourinboxes,andtryingtokeepallincomingpa-
persinthephysicalinboxesonyourdeskandathome.
Your notebook
Butwealsoneedtolookataspecialkindofinbox--your
collectiontoolforyourideas,notes,informationgiventoyou
onwhileyou’reontheroad,tasksyourememberyouneedto
do,actionitemsthatcomeoutofmeetings.Inshort,
everythingthatcomesintoyourlifethat’snotinawritten
orrecordedform.
Upuntilnow,youmighthavebeenrelyingonyourmindto
rememberthosethings,andmaybeyouaddedthemtoato-do
listwhenyougotbacktoyourdesk.Unfortunately,yourmind
We’regoingtotry
tohaveaplacefor
everythingcoming
intoourlives,and
getintothehabitof
writingthingsdown
immediately,insteadof
relyingonourbrainsto
keeptrackofitall.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd ��
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
isafaultytool.Itforgetsthingswhenweneedthem,andthen
thinksaboutthemwhenwedon’tneedthem.
Soinstead,we’regoingtomakeitahabittogetthingsoutof
yourmind,andintowrittenform.Carryasmallnotebook(or
whatevercapturetoolworksforyou)andwritedownanytasks,
ideas,projects,orotherinformationthatpopintoyourhead.
Getitoutofyourheadandontopaper,soyoudon’tforgetit.
Whenyou’reinameetingandanactionitemcomesupthat
youneedtodolater,writeitdown.Whenyourbosscallsyou
toaskyoutoworkonaproject,writeitdown.Whensomeone
givesyouaphonenumberoremailaddressatasocialgather-
ing,writeitdown.Yougettheidea.
ZTDasksyoutopickaverysimple,portable,easy-to-usetool
forcapture—asmallnotebookorsmallstackofindexcards
arepreferred(butnotmandated),simplybecausetheyare
mucheasiertouseandcarryaroundthanaPDAornotebook
computer.Whenyougetbacktoyourhomeoroffice,empty
yournotesintoyourto-dolist(asimpleto-dolistwillworkfor
now—contextlistscancomeinalaterhabit).
Apopularchoice,butnotnecessary:theMoleskine.It’smy
collectiontoolofchoice,simplybecauseit’sportable,durable,
andaestheticallypleasing.Ilovewritinginit.However,any
smallnotebookwilldo,really.Youmightalsotrythe
HipsterPDA.
ZTDasksyoutopicka
verysimple,portable,
easy-to-usetoolfor
capture—asmall
notebookorsmallstack
ofindexcardsare
preferred.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd ��
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
Irecommendanalogue(paper)overdigitalforthishabit,but
ifyourPDAorsmartphoneworksforyou,goforit.Thereason
Ithinkanalogueworksbetteristhatit’smuchfaster—for
digital,younotonlyhavetopullitout,butyouhavetoturnit
on,gototherightprogram,clickonanentry,andthenenter
throughyourentrysystem.Withanalogue,youjustpulloutthe
notebookandpenandwrite.Eitherwayworks,butIthinkthat
thesimplerandeasierthetools,themorelikelyyouaretouse
them.Dowhatworksforyou,though.
Thekeywiththiscapturehabitistowritethingsdownright
away,beforeyouforget,andtoemptyoutyournotebookas
soonasyougethomeortowork.Don’tprocrastinatewiththese
twosteps,ortheywillpileupandyouwillbelesslikelytodo
them.Stayontopofit!
Also,carryitaround,everywhere.Nomatterwhatsystemyou
use,itshouldbeveryeasytocarryaround,andeasytojot
downideasquickly.Youneedtocarryitwhereveryougo,in-
cludingtobed,instores,ifyou’rehospitalized,wherever.
Thissimplehabitofcollectingalltheinformationthatcomes
intoyourlifeintoatinynotebook(andinafewotherinboxes)
willgreatlyimproveyourorganizationandeventuallyyour
productivity.Youwillstopforgettingthings,stoplosinginforma-
tion,andalwaysknowwherethingsare,allthetime.
Thissimplehabit
ofcollectingallthe
informationthatcomes
intoyourlifeintoa
tinynotebook(andin
afewotherinboxes)
willgreatlyimprove
yourorganization
andeventuallyyour
productivity.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd ��
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
Onceyou’vegottenintothehabitofcollecting
thingsinafewinboxes,includingasmallnotebook
(orothersimplecapturetool)thatyouusetocarry
aroundwithyoueverywhere,thequestionremains:
whatdoyoudowithallthestuffonceyou’ve
collectedit?
Youprocessit,makingquickdecisionsoneachitemand
disposingofthemuntilyourinboxesareemptyoreverything
youcapturedonyournotebookisprocessed.
Processtoempty.
Lettingstuffpileupisprocrastinatingonmakingdecisions.If
youprocessyourinboxes,makingquickdecisionsandputting
thingswheretheybelong,thingsdon’tpileup.Processyour
inboxesatleastonceaday,andmorefrequentlyifneeded.
First,minimizeyourinboxes.Everyplaceyouhavetogoto
checkyourmessagesortoreadyourincominginformationis
aninbox,andthemoreyouhave,theharderitistomanage
everything.Cutthenumberofinboxesyouhavedowntothe
smallestnumberpossibleforyoutostillfunctionintheways
youneedto.
Listallthewaysyoureceiveinformation,evaluateeachtosee
ifitgivesyouvalue,andfindwaystocombineoreliminate
� Habit �: Process
“��There�is�more�to�life�than�increasing�its�speed.”��Gandhi
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd ��
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
inboxes.Ifsomething’snotgivingyouvalue,consider
eliminatingitfromyourlife.Seeifyoucangoaweekwithout
missingit.Foralltherest,seeifyoucancombinemultiple
informationstreamsintooneinbox.Forexample,howmany
placesinyourhomedoincomingpapersgetplaced?Haveone
inboxathomeforallmail,papersfromwork,schoolpapers,
phonenotes,computerprintouts,schedules,andmore.Have
fouremailservices?Seeifyoucanforwardthemalltoone
service.Thefewerinboxesyouhave,thebetter.Aimfor4-7
inboxesifpossible.
Next,masteryourinboxes.Thisstagewillsoundfamiliartomy
long-timereaders,butitshouldbecoveredhere:Don’tallow
yourinboxestooverflow.Thiswillcreateahugebacklogof
stuffforyoutogothrough,anditwilldefinitelystressyouout.
Instead,becomethemasterofyourinboxes.
Checkandprocessyourinboxesonceaday.Forsomeinboxes,
youmayneedtocheckmorethanonce(Icheckmyemailevery
hour),butdon’tcheckconstantlyandobsessively.Thatjust
wastesyourtimeandcutsintoyourproductivityandreallife.
Butdon’tchecklessthanonceaday,becauseotherwiseyou’ll
allowittopileup.Pilesareyourenemy.
Here’s how to process:
1.Processitfromthetopdown,makingquickandimmediate
decisions.Startwiththetopiteminyourinbox,andmake
Lettingstuffpileup
isprocrastinatingon
makingdecisions.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd 30
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
animmediatedecision.Don’tskipoveritorputitbackinor
delaythedecision.
2.Delete.Ifyoudon’tneedit,trashit.Makethisyour
firstchoice.
3.Delegate.Areyouthepersonwhoshouldbedoingthis?If
not,sendittosomeoneelseandgetitoffyourplate.
4.Dodoitimmediately.Ifthetaskwilltake2minutesorless,
justdoitratherthanaddingittoyourto-dolist.
5.Deferitforlater.Ifitwilltakemorethan2minutes,addit
immediatelytoyourto-dolisttodolater.
6.Fileit.Ifit’sjustsomethingyouneedforreference,fileit
immediately.Don’tuseaMiscellaneousorToBeFiledfile
—that’sjustputtingoffthedecision.Don’tletyourthings
tobefiledpileup—justfileitrightaway.
7.Inallcases,don’tleavetheiteminyourinbox.Deleteorfile
it.Workyourwaydownthrougheachitemuntilyourinboxis
empty.Note:ifyouhavehundredsofitemsinyourinbox,it
mightbegoodtotossthemallintoafoldertobeprocessed
later(andscheduleacouplehourstodothat),andthen
startthisprocesswithallnewitemsfromthatpointon.
8.Repeatthisprocess,tokeepyourinboxesempty.Ifyou’ve
minimizedthenumberofinboxesyouhave,thisshouldn’t
betoohard.Celebratewhenyourinboxisempty!It’sa
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd 31
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
wonderfulfeeling.Remember:Don’tcheckthemalldaylong
—scheduleyourprocessingtime—anddefinitelydon’t
haveinstantnotificationon.
SeeGettingYourEmailtoEmptyandKeepingYourDeskClear
formore.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd 3�
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
Soyouhavealistofthingstodo,andawhole
brandnewdaystaringatyou.Whatdoyoudo
today?
Thedecisionsyoumakeaboutwhattodoeachweek,eachday,
eachmoment,adduptoaprocesscalledworkflow.InZTD,I
suggestthatyoutaketheunstructured,moment-to-moment
workflowofGTDandshapeitintoanoptimalstructure.
Whyshouldyouaddstructureandplanoutyourdayandyour
week?Becauseotherwiseyouaretoomuchatthemercyof
thewindsofchange,reactingtowhatcomesyourwayinstead
ofdecidingwhat’simportantandwhatyoureallywantto
accomplish.Takecontrolofyourday,insteadoflettingthe
needsandwantsandprioritiesofotherscontrolitforyou.
Now,eachpersonhasadifferentworkingstyle,andifstructure
isn’tforyou,Isuggestyoutrythemoment-to-momentstyleof
GTD.It’snotabadwaytogoatall.
However,here’stherecommendedworkflowofZTD:
Eachweek,listtheBigRocksthatyouwanttoaccomplish,
andschedulethemfirst(moreonthatinamoment).Eachday,
createalistof1-3MostImportantTasks(MITs--basically
yourBigRocksfortheday)andbesuretoaccomplishthem.
DoyourMITsearlyinthedaytogetthemoutofthewayandto
ensurethattheygetdone.
� Habit 3: Plan
“��Spend�some�time�alone�every�day.”��Dalai�Lama
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd 33
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
ThisisoneofthesimplestoftheZTDhabits,butalsooneof
themostimportant.Why?Becauseitgivespurposetoyourday
andweek.Insteadofjusttryingtocrankoutabunchoftasks
onyourto-dolist,youaretryingtodothemostimportantones.
Sure,you’llalsodoothertasksonyourlist,butyou’re
identifyingtheonesthatyoureallywanttoaccomplish—the
oneswhereyoucanlookbackonyourdayandfeelproudof
accomplishingsomething.Oftenweworkhardanddoalot,but
whenwelookbackonourday,wehaven’treallyaccomplished
anything.
Sohowdoyoudothishabit?Herearesometips:
1.BigRocks.Atthebeginningofeachweek(eitherSunday
orMonday,youchoose),sitdownandlookatyourto-dolist.
Whatdoyouwanttoaccomplishthisweek?Theseareyour
“BigRocks”.ThetermcomesfromStephenCovey’s“7Habits
ofHighlyEffectivePeople”.Itmeansthatyoushouldputthe
BigRocksinyourschedulefirst,andletthesmallerrocksand
gravelfillintheschedulearoundtheBigRocks--otherwise,
ifyouputthesmallrocksandgravelinfirst,theywillfillup
theschedule,leavingnoroomfortheBigRocks.Trytokeep
yourBigRockstojust4-6accomplishmentsperweek,atfirst
—later,asyougetafeelforwhatyoucanaccomplish,you
mightbeabletoaddmore.Trytobesuretoincludeatleasta
coupleoftaskstofurtheralongyouryearlygoals.
Takecontrolofyour
day,insteadofletting
theneedsandwants
andprioritiesofothers
controlitforyou.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd 3�
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
2.Schedule.Nowtakethese“BigRocks”andplacethemin
yourweeklyschedule.Placeonlyoneortwoperday,soyou
aren’toverwhelmed.Placethemin1-2hourblocks,earlyinthe
dayifpossible.Nowthattheseimportanttasksareblockedout,
youcanscheduleotherstuffaroundthemwhenevernecessary
—butthesearealreadythere.
3.MITs.Eachmorning,decidewhatyourMostImportantTasks
areforthatday.ThesewillprobablybethesameasyourBig
Rocksfortheday,althoughasthingschangeyoumighthave
differentMITs.Chooseabout3MITsfortheday—thiscould
includeaBigRockandacoupleotherimportanttasks.Block
outtimeforthemearlyinthedayifpossible—ifyouputthem
laterintheday,otherthingspopupthatwillgetintheway.
4.Completethem.Nowhere’sthemostimportantpart:get
themdone.Firstthinginthemorning,beforeyouevencheck
email,getthatfirstMITdone.Clearawayalldistractions,and
besuretofocusononlythattaskuntilit’sdone.Whenyou’re
done,rewardyourself…butbesuretomoveontoyournext
MITshortly!
5.Lookbackandsayahh.IfyoucompleteyourMITs,youwill
feelgreat.Besuretolookbackonwhatyou’veaccomplished
andpatyourselfontheback—orevenrewardyourself.
Eachmorning,decide
whatyourMost
ImportantTasksare
forthatday.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd 3�
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
The“HabitofDo”isthekeytotheZTDsystem.It’s
thehabitthat’smissingfrommanyotherproductivity
system,andyetit’sthemostimportant.Alltherest
isjustbusyworkifyoudon’tactuallydothethings
onyourto-dolist.
Emphasizethedoingabovethesystem,thetools,theplanning,
theto-dolists.
ZTDfocusesondoingyourtasksoneatatime,tothe
exclusionofallelse.Don’tmulti-task,anddon’tletyourself
getinterrupted.Toooftenduringthedaywearecheckingour
email,answeringphonecalls,talkingtopeopleastheycometo
ourdesk–alltothedetrimentofthetaskwe’resupposedtobe
doing.
Theresult?Thingsdon’tactuallygetdone.Single-taskingand
focusarethekeystoexecution.Herearesometipsforfinding
focusandactuallydoingthingsonyourlist:
1.ChooseaBigRock.First,selectatask(preferablyoneofyour
MITs)anddecidethatyouaregoingtoworkoniteitheruntilit’s
done,orforasetamountoftime(say30minutes).
2.Getzoned.Beforeyougetstarted,eliminatealldistractions.
Shutoffemail,cellphone,Internetifpossible(otherwisejust
closeallunnecessarytabs),clutteronyourdesk,anythingthat
mightinterruptyou.
� Habit �: Do
“��Talk�doesn’t�cook�rice.”���Chinese�Proverb
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd 3�
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
3.Timedburst.Setatimerifyoulike(asimpleonelike
CoolTimerwilldo),orotherwisejustfocusonyourtaskforas
longaspossible.Don’tletyourselfgetdistractedfromit.
4.Interruptions.Ifyougetinterrupted,writedownany
requestorincomingtasks/infoonyournotepad,ortossthe
documentintoyourinbox,andgetbacktoyourtask.Don’ttry
tomulti-task.
5.Ifyoufeeltheurgetocheckyouremailorswitchtoanother
task,stopyourself.Breathedeeply.Re-focusyourself.Getback
tothetaskathand.
6.Theinevitable.Therearetimeswhenaninterruptionisso
urgentthatyoucannotputitoffuntilyou’redonewiththe
taskathand.Inthatcase,trytomakeanoteofwhereyouare
(writingdownnotesifyouhavetime)withthetaskathand,and
putallthedocumentsornotesforthattasktogetherandaside
(perhapsinan“action”folderorprojectfolder).Then,whenyou
comebacktothattask,youcanpulloutyourfolderandlookat
yournotestoseewhereyouleftoff.
7.Relax.Takedeepbreaths,stretch,andtakebreaksnow
andthen.Enjoylife.Gooutside,andappreciatenature.Keep
yourselfsane.
8.Ahhhh.Whenyou’redone,congratulateyourself!Reward
yourselfwithashortburstofemailorblogs—butlimititto10
minutes,andthenmoveontoyournexttask.Don’tletyourself
Alltherestisjust
busyworkifyoudon’t
actuallydothethings
onyourto-dolist.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd 3�
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
getcarriedaway—it’sveryeasytogetofftrackandwander
forhours.
Fixing execution problems
Now,ifyoudothesethings,andyou’restillfindingresistanceto
doingthethingsonyourlist,herearesomethingsyoucando:
•Tinychunk.Tellyourselfyouonlyhavetodo5minutesof
workonit.Thatsmallamountofworkislessintimidating.
•Juststart.Onceyougetgoing,it’smucheasiertokeep
going.Sotellyourselfthatallyouhavetodoisstart.Iliketo
comparethistomyphilosophyofrunning:insteadofworrying
abouthavingtodothewholerun,ItellmyselfthatIjusthave
tolaceupmyshoesandgetoutthedoor.Afterthat,it’sreally
easy.Dothesamethingwithanytask—justfireupyour
program,anddothefirstfewactions(i.e.starttyping).Itgets
easierafterthatpoint.
•Rewardyourself.Don’tletyourselfcheckemail(orwhatever
rewardworksforyou—somethingthatyouneedtodoevery
day)untilyoudoatleast10minutes(or15or20,itdoesn’t
matter)onthetask.Setatimer.Onceyour10minutesisup,
setanothertimerfor5minutesanddoemail.Thenrepeat.
•Getexcitedaboutit.Thisisactuallyatipthathelpswithany
ofthesepoints.Ifyouareexcitedaboutdoingsomething,
youwillnothesitatetodoit.Forexample,Ilovedthistopic
suggestion,andIwasexcitedaboutwritingit.Assoonas
Onceyougetgoing,it’s
mucheasiertokeep
going.Sotellyourself
thatallyouhavetodo
isstart.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd 3�
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
Ihadthechance,Isatdowntowriteitandonlytookone
break.Buthowdoyougetexcitedaboutatask?Trytofind
somethingexcitingaboutit.Willitbringyourevenue?What
canyoudowiththatrevenue?Willitbringyounewclients,
newopportunities,newrecognition?Ifyoucan’tfindanything
excitingaboutatask,considerwhetherit’sreallyimportant
ornot—andifnot,findawaytonotdoit.Sometimes
eliminating(ordelegatingordelaying)thetaskisthe
bestoption.
•Stopfocusingonnegativeaspects.Youmightbefocusingon
howhardsomethingis,oronalltheobstacles.Trylooking
atthepositiveaspectsinstead.Focusonwhatagreat
opportunitythisprojectrepresents…anopportunitytolearn,
togetbetteratsomething,tomakemoremoney,toworkona
relationship,togainsomelong-termrecognition,toimprove
youradvancementopportunities.Thisissimilartothe“get
excitedaboutit”itemintheprevioussection.Ifyoulookat
theopportunities,nottheproblems,youwillbelessterrified
andmorelikelytowanttodoit.
•Committhyself.Ifmotivationisyourproblem,commityourself
tomakingsomeprogresswithagoalorprojecttoday,or
everydaythisweek—tellallyourfamilyandfriends,write
itinyourblog,orjointheZenHabitsforum—it’sagreat
motivator.Thenholdyourselfaccountablebyreportingto
otherswhatyoudidtoday.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd 3�
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
Oneofthekeystoanytime-managementsystemis
theto-dolist--itkeepsallthetasksthatyoucan’t
doatthismomentorganizedsothatyouknowwhat
youneedtodoatalltimes.
DavidAllen’sGTDasksyoutoseparateyourtasksintoseparate
to-dolists,knownas“contextlists”,suchas@work,@
computer,@home,@calls,@errands,andsoforth.Thereasons
issothatwhenyou’reinaparticularcontext,youonlyhaveto
lookatthetasksyoucanactuallydoatthismoment,rather
thanlookingatalonglistoftasksthataremostlyun-doable
rightnow.
InZTD,itisimportanttokeepasimplesystemthatyou
willactuallyuse...asystemthatyouwilltrusttokeepyour
information.Herearethethreecomponentsofasimple,
trustedsystem:
1.Setup.Asimplesystemwouldconsistofinboxes,acalendar,
lists,andareferencesystem.
2.Tools.Itisalsoimportantthatyouuseverysimpletools,so
thatthesystemdoesnotneedtobemaintainedmuch.
3.Usage.Finally,theimportantthingisthatyouactuallyuse
thesystem,andmakeahabitofcheckingitdaily.
� Habit �: Simple, Trusted System
“�Simplify,�simplify,�simplify.”��Thoreau
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd �0
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
The Setup
ZTDsaysthatyoushouldusethelistsyouneed,butkeepyour
systemassimpleaspossible.Whiletheconceptofcontextlists
areuseful,theycanbedifficulttomaintain.Instead,keepas
fewaspossible.Asamplesetupmightlooklikethis:
@work:foreverythingwork-related.
@personal:allyourpersonaltasks.
@errands:soyoucanhaveaneasyerrandlist.
@calls:forcallsyoucanmakefromanywhere.
@waitingfor:ausefullistforstuffyouneedtofollowupon.
Someday/maybe:alistofstuffyoudon’twanttoorcan’tdo
rightnow,butwanttocheckonlater.
Howeveryoudoit,rememberthatthesearenotyourdaily
to-dolists.Theworkandpersonallistsarejustmasterlists
thatyoucanpullfromforyourdailyMITsandyourBigRocks
(seeChapter7).Theerrands,callsandwaiting-forlistscanbe
checkedasneeded,ofcourse.Inaddition,ifithelps,youcould
useaProjectlist,tokeeptrackofyourprojects.
Theothercomponentsofasystem,besidesthelists,wouldbe
inboxes(seeChapter5),acalendar,andasimplefilingsystem.
Usethelistsyouneed,
butkeepyoursystem
assimpleaspossible.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd �1
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
The Tools
AndwhilemanypopularGTDtools(Kinkless,stikkit,Outlook,
RemembertheMilk,etc.)makethingsabitcomplicated,the
truthisthatallyouneedarelists.
Manypeoplegettoocaughtupinfiddlingwiththetools,with
creatingcomplicatedsystems,changingtoolsandsystemsevery
weekortwo,insteadofactuallygettingthingsdone.ButZTD
asksyoutousethesimplesttoolspossible,andthenforget
aboutthem.ZTDisaboutthedoing,notthetools.
Sotheobviousquestionis:whichtooltousetokeepyourlists?
Herearemyrecommendations—thesimplest,mosteffective
GTDtools:
•SimpleGTD:Thisismyfavorite,andtheoneIuseright
now.IwasusingTracks,whichisalsosimpleandverygood,
butIrecentlyswitchedbecauseIwantedsomethingalittle
simpler.SimpleGTDhaswhatyouneed,withaniceinterface,
butnoneofthefrills.Playaroundwithit—theinterfaceis
extremelyintuitiveanddoesn’trequireamanual.Itdoesn’t
havealotoffeatures,butthat’sitsappeal.
•Moleskine:Anotherofmyfavorites.Actually,anysmall
notebookthatfitsinyourpocketwilldo—theeasyofuseofa
notebook(youdon’thavetopowerituporpressanybuttons!)
isperfectforthisdailyGTDhabit.ButtheMoleskinehasa
specialappeal—itisaestheticallypleasing,andwonderfulto
ZTDasksyoutousethe
simplesttoolspossible,
andthenforgetabout
them.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd ��
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
use.Ihighlyrecommendit!
•HipsterPDA:Popularamongthelow-fiGTDcrowd,the
HipsterPDAisasbasicasitgets,andextremelyportableas
well.Basically,it’sastackofindexcardsattachedwithaclip.
Youcanfindtemplatesforprintingthemonline,orjustsimply
writeyourlistsonthem.Thecoolthing:youcantossthecards
whenthey’refull,andreplenishyourPDAatanytime.
•Tadalist:Perhapsthesimplesttoolofthemall,tadalistis
simplyalistprogram.Nofrills,althoughtheinterfaceisnice
(it’sfromthesamefolksasBackpackandBasecamp).Create
asmanylistsasyouneed,printthemifnecessary,checkonly
thecontextyouneed.Simplicityatitsbest.
•Todoist:Anothersimple,slickto-dolistmanager,thishasa
fewextrafeatures,butnothingcomplicated.Idon’tuseit
simplybecauseIdon’tliketheoutlineinterface,butthatmay
appealtosomeofyoumore.It’sworthalook,atleast.
Onceyou’veselectedatool,setupyourlists,andkeepthem
simple!
Othertoolsforasimplesetup:
•Calendar:IsuggestGoogleCalendar,30Boxes,Outlookora
papercalendar.
•Referencesystem:Forpaperfiling,usemanilafoldersin
alphabeticalorderinasingledrawerisasimplesetupthat
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd �3
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
worksbest.Justcreateafileforeachproject,client,and/ortopic.Fordigitalfiles,
youcoulduseasimplefoldersystemsimilartothepaperone,orjustarchivestuff
andsearchforthemwhenyouneedthem.
Usage
Thenextpartofthishabit,andreallythemostimportantpart(moreimportantthan
thetoolyouuse),ischeckingyourlistseveryday.
Isuggestmakingitapartofyourdailyroutine(moreonthisinChapter13),where
youcheckyourlistsinthemorningandattheendoftheday,andofcoursecheck
yourcallsanderrandslistswhenyouneedthem.Thisisn’tsuchahardhabit,butit’s
onethatyoushouldgivespecialfocusforabout30days.Becauseonceyoumake
checkingyourlistsadailyhabit,yourlifewillbecomemuchmoreorganizedand
productive.
Becauseonceyou
makecheckingyour
listsadailyhabit,your
lifewillbecomemuch
moreorganizedand
productive.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd ��
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
Oneoftheoldestorganizingtruismsaround,but
perhapsthemostimportantofall:“aplacefor
everything,andeverythinginitsplace”.
Whyisitsopopular?Becauseitworks.Let’stakea
lookathowtoformthishabitandneverloseathing
again.
Aretherepapersscatteredalloveryourdesk?Doyoulookfor
yourcarkeyseveryday?Doyouknow,atthismoment,where
everysinglethinginyourlifeis?
Yourlifecanbecompletelyorganizedwithonesinglerule:put
everythinginitshome.It’sahabitI’mtryingtoteachtomy
kids,soIdon’thavetokeeppickingupafterthemallthetime,
andbecauseit’soneofthemostusefulhabitsI’veeverformed.
Here’showtodoit:
•Haveasystem.Putallincomingpapersinyourinbox(atwork
andhome).Processthatinbox,eitherdoingthetasks,putting
themonato-dolist(andinanactionfolder),filingthem,
forwardingthem,ortrashingthem.Withthissystem,there’s
neveranyquestionastowhattodo—you’vegotalimitedset
ofoptions.
•Findahome:Ifyou’reabouttoputsomethingdownonyour
countertop,ortable,ordesk,ortossitonyourcouchorbed,
10 Habit �: Organize
“��The�best�way�you�can�predict�your�future�is�to�create�it.”�Stephen�Covey
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd ��
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
thinkaboutthis:isthatwhereitbelongs?Whereisit’shome?
Ifitdoesn’talreadyhaveahome,findone.Designateaspotfor
thatitemortypeofitem.Carkeys?Haveoneplacewhereyou
putthekeys,allthetime.Dirtyclothes?Theydon’tgoonyour
bed.Handcuffs?Puttheminthatspecialboxinyourcloset
marked“Taxes”.
•Simplefilingsystem:Onceyou’veprocessedpapersout
ofyourinbox,you’llneedaplacetoputthemifyouneed
toreferencethemlater.Don’thaveabunchoffilesstacked
somewhere—createasimplefilingsystem(alphabeticalis
easiest,althoughyoucouldsortbyhexadecimalinsteadif
you’reageek).Alwayshaveblanklabelsandfoldersonhandso
youcanquicklymakeanewfileifneeded,anddon’tbeafraid
tomakenewfiles.NeverhaveaMiscellaneousfile.Youmight
aswellcallittheProcrastinationfile.
•Putitawayimmediately.Yes,Iknow,youweregoingtoput
itawaylater.It’sjustsittingthereuntilyoucangettoit.Well,
afterawhile,“later”createspilesandmesses.Don’twaituntil
later.Doitnow!
•Makeitahabit.Puttingthingswheretheybelongisnot
somethingthat’sgoingtohappenovernight.You’llforget,orget
lazy.Toreallymakeitstick,youneedtofocusonthathabitfor
30days.Doa30-daychallenge,concentratingyourenergyon
ituntilitbecomesautomatic.
“Aplaceforeverything,
andeverythinginits
place.”
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd ��
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
•Payattentiontotransitions.Thetimebetweenwhenyou’re
doingonethingandwhenyou’redoingthenextthingisa
transition.Thisisthetimewhenyoushouldputstuffaway
whereitbelongsandcleanupyourmess,butit’salsoatime
whenwe’renotthinkingaboutthatstuffandonlythinking
aboutwhatwe’regoingtodonext(orthenextepisodeof
GilmoreGirls).Whileyou’reworkingonyourEverythingInIts
Placehabit,paycloseattentiontotransitions.Awarenessof
thesetransitionswillmakeiteasiertoremembertoputthings
away.
•Keepflatsurfacesclear.Nevertosssomethingona
countertop,table,desktop,bed,dressertop,coffeetable,or
thefloor.Ifyoudo,catchyourself,andfindanotherhomefor
it.Infact,whileyou’reatit,clearoffalltheseflatsurfaces,
tossinghalfthestuffandfindinghomesfortherest.Ahhh!
Isn’tthatnice?Whoknewtherewasadeskunderthere?
•Label.Thesearetheorganizer’sbestfriend.Havealabel
makeronhand,oratleastsomeblanklabels,andlabel
containersorboxes,soyouknowthehomeofeverything.Itried
labelingmywifeandkidsbuttheydidn’ttakewelltoit.
•Evaluate.Everynowandthen,it’sgoodtoreviewyour
organizationofeverything.Sometimes,itdoesn’tmakesenseto
havesomethinginoneroomwhenyouusuallyuseitinanother.
Sometimes,it’sgoodtogetthreepairsofscissorsifyouuse
themfrequentlyinthreedifferentrooms.Sometimesyouneed
Yourlifecanbe
completelyorganized
withonesinglerule:
puteverythinginits
home.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd ��
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
todeclutterorre-organizeadrawerorcloset.Revisitingthese
thingsperiodicallywillhelpkeepthingstogether.
Ifyoueverloseathingagain,gobacktotheabovetips,and
workonthemsomemore.Ifyouneverloseathingagain,
thinkabouthowmuchtimeandmoneyyou’vesaved.Ifthat
happens,feelfreetosendmeacheck.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd ��
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
Let’sfaceit:eventhebestofuslosestrackofthings
overtime,andlosesfocusonourgoals,andlet’sthe
best-plannedsystemfallapartalittle.Withabusy
workweek,andabusylifeoutsideofwork,thebest
systemstendtogravitatetowardchaos.
That’swheretheWeeklyReviewcomesin—itgivesyouachancetogetthingstogetherandrefocusyourselfonwhat’simportant.
Butinthischapterwe’regoingtolookathowtotapintothepoweroftheWeeklyReviewinaslittletimeaspossible—theSimplifiedWeeklyReview.
ThefocusoftheSimplifiedWeeklyReviewisonreviewingyourgoalseachweek.Duringyourweeklyreview,youshouldgooveryoursingleyearlygoal,seewhatprogressyoumadeonitinthelastweek,andwhatactionstepsyou’regoingtotaketomoveitforwardinthecomingweek.
Here’showtodoapowerfulweeklyreviewinfivesimplesteps:
1.Reviewyoursinglelong-termgoal,andshort-termgoal.Reviewyourlifegoals(ifyouhaven’twrittenthemyet,takesometimetodoitnow),andfromthosegoals,youshouldchooseonelong-termgoalthatyouwanttoaccomplishthisyear.Justonegoal,toallowyoutofocusonthatgoalcompletely.Onlychooseone—ifyouchoosetoomany,youwilllosefocus,andfocusisthemostimportantcomponent
11 Habit �: Review
“�Besides�the�noble�art�of�getting�things�done,�there�is�a�noble�art�of�leaving�things�undone.�The�wisdom�of�life�consists�in�the�elimination�of�the�nonessentials.”��Lin�Yutang
Tapintothepowerof
theWeeklyReviewinas
littletimeaspossible
—theSimplified
WeeklyReview.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd ��
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
inachievingagoal.Thenchooseoneshort-termgoalthatyoucanaccomplishinthenextweekorsothatwillmoveyouclosertoyourlong-termgoal.Onceyou’vedonethis,everyweek’sWeeklyReviewshouldbejustareviewoftheprogressyou’vemadeonthatsinglegoal,andarefocusingonthatgoal.It’simportanttorefocusyourselfonyourgoaleveryweek,asthiswillkeepyouontrack,keepyourattentionandenergywhereitshouldbe,andcontinuetomoveyouforwardonyourgoal.(10-15minutesinyourinitialplanningsession;5minuteseveryweekthereafter)
2.Reviewyournotes.Ifyou’vebeenfollowingZTDHabit1(Collection),youwillhavenotesfromthepastweek.Manyofthetasksinyournoteswillbealreadydone,butit’simportanttolookbackoverthemsoyoucanfindunfinishedtasks,phonenumberstoenterintoyourcontacts,etc.Justdoaquickscanandjotdownanyunfinisheditems.(5-10minutes)
3.Reviewyourcalendar.Lookbackoveryourlastweek’scalendaritemstoseeifthere’sanythingthatneedstobemovedforward,andtoseeifthere’sanythingthattriggersnewtasksthatneedtobedone.Alsolookoveryourupcomingweek’scalendartoseeifthere’sanytasksthatneedtobedone.(5minutes)
4.Reviewyourlists.Whetheryouhavemultiplecontextlistsoroneto-dolist,it’simportanttolookoverthem,tomakesurethey’reup-to-date.Crossoffcompleteditems.Also
You’llwanttoclear
awayalldistractions.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd �0
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
reviewyourfollow-uplist,yoursomeday/maybelist,andyourprojectlist,ifyoukeepthem.(10minutes)
5.Setyourshort-termgoalthisweekandplanyourBigRocks.InStep1above,ifyou’veaccomplishedyourshort-termgoal,you’llneedtosetanewone.Ifnot,refocusyourselfonthatshort-termgoal,andseewhatmini-tasksyoucandotocompleteit.Listthosetasksandanyotherreallyimportanttasksthatyouwanttoaccomplishthisweek,andschedulethemonyourcalendar.Putthemearlyinthemorning.Thesetasksshouldhavethehighestpriorityeachday.Onlyputoneortwooneachday’sschedule.(5-10minutes)
Totaltimeforreview:30minutes,ifyoustayfocused.
Don’tgetdistracted,andgothrougheachstepquickly.You’llwanttoclearawayalldistractions,turnoffemailandtheInternet(unlessyourlistsandcalendarareonline),turnoffyourphone.Atthemost,thesestepsshouldtakeyou45minutes.
BydoingtheseessentialtasksatyourWeeklyReview,youwillnotonlykeepyoursystemtogether,butyouwillkeepyourselffocusedonyourgoals.
Remember:justfocusononegoalatatime,makingitmuchmorelikelythatyou’llachieveit.Printitoutandpostitupifnecessary.Sendyourselfemailreminders.Telleveryoneaboutit.Putitonyourblog.Howeveryoudoit,maintainthatlaserfocus,anditwillhappen.
Remember:just
focusononegoalata
time,makingitmuch
morelikelythatyou’ll
achieveit.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd �1
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
Ifyou’relikeme,youhavealonglistoftaskstodo,
perhapsbrokendownbydifferentcontexts(work,
personal,errands,calls,etc.).Yourlistoftasksis
solongthatit’soverwhelming.Youcannevercom-
pletelywipeoutyourlistbecauseit’sgrowingevery
day.
Simplifyyourlistdowntothebarestofessentials,andyoucan
eliminatetheneedforcomplexplanningsystems.
Thelongto-dolistsareoneoftheproblemsofmostproductiv-
itysystems.Butthetasksontheselistshavenopriorities,and
everythingisaddedtoyourlists.Intheend,it’soverwhelming,
andyouareleftextremelybusy,tryingtoknockoffallyour
tasks.
Inthischapterwe’lllookatwaystoreduceyourgoalsand
taskstotheessentials
Let’sfirstimaginetheidealscenario.RecentlyI’vebegunsim-
plifyingmytimemanagementsystemfromGTDdowntobasi-
callynothing.Istillhavelonglistsofthingstodo,butIdon’t
lookatthemmuchanymore.Instead,I’vebeguntheprocessof
elimination,andfocusingonwhat’sreallyimportant.
Nowmyto-dolistisbasicallyonelistofthreeessentialthings
Iwanttodotoday(myMITs).Ialsohavealistofafewsmaller
tasksthatIwanttoknockout,allatonce,usuallyinabout
1� Habit �: Simplify
“��Before�enlightenment,�I�chopped�wood�and�carried�water;�after�enlightenment,�I�chopped�wood�and�carried�water.”��Zen�Saying
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd ��
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
30minutesorso,leavingtherestofmydayfreeforthemore
importanttasks.Istillusemycalendar,justasawayofre-
mindingmeofappointments,butit’snotreallyatimemanage-
menttool.Idon’tneedtimemanagementtoolsanymore—I’ve
simplifiedmylistdowntothreetasks,everyday.
Howcanyougettothispoint?Herearethekeysteps:
•Eliminate,eliminate.Takeafewminutestoreviewyourtask
andprojectlists,andseehowmuchyoucansimplifythem.
Makeitachallenge.Seeifyoucancutitinhalf!Ifyou’vegot
50items,cutitdownto25.Thentrytocutitevenfurthera
fewdayslater.Howdoyoueliminatetasks?Sometimesatask
getsoldandisn’tnecessaryanymore.Crossthoseout.Some-
timesataskcanbedelegated.Dothat,andcrossitout.Read
onformoretips.
•Knowwhat’sessential.Howdoyouknowwhat’sessential?
Byknowingwhatyourmaingoalis,andothergoalsifneces-
sary.Youreallyshouldfocusononegoalatatime,butifyou
wanttodo2or3,that’sOKtoo.Justdon’tdo10goalsor
anything.Thosegoalsshouldbeyouressentialprojects.Any
smallertasksareessentialiftheyhelpyouaccomplishthose
goals,andnotessentialifthey’renotrelated.
•Simplifyyourcommitments.Howmanyprojectsareyou
committedto?Howmanyextracurricularstuffdoyoudo?You
can’tdoitall.Youneedtolearntosayno,andvalueyour
Simplifyyourlistdown
tothebarestofessen-
tials,andyoucanelim-
inatetheneedforcom-
plexplanningsystems.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd �3
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
time.Andifyou’vealreadysaidyes,it’sstillpossibletosay
no.Justbehonestwithpeopleandtellthemthatyouhavea
highnumberofurgentprojectstocompleteandcannotcom-
mittothisanylonger.Slowly,youcaneliminateyourcom-
mitmentstoaverysmallnumber—onlyhavethosecommit-
mentsinyourlifethatreallygiveyoujoyandvalue.
•Simplifyyourinformationstream.I’verecentlygonethrough
theprocessofeliminatingmostofmyRSSfeeds.Ialsohave
cutbackonthenumberofemailsIrespondto.Andformore
thanayearnow,Ihaven’treadasinglenewspaper,watched
television(exceptDVDs),orreadasinglemagazine.Thenews
nolongergivesmeanyvalue.Simplifytheinputsintoyour
life,andyoucansimplifytheoutputs.
•Reviewweekly.Yourto-dolisttendstobuildupoverthe
courseofaweek.Takeafewminuteseachweektoeliminate,
andeliminatesomemore.Youdon’tneedahugeto-dolistto
beproductive—justdothestuffthatmatters.
•BigRocks.Duringyourweeklyreview,figureoutthemost
importanttasksthatyou’dliketoaccomplishoverthenext
week.ThoseareyourBigRocks.Nowplacethemonyour
schedule,firstthingintheday,ondifferentdaysoftheup-
comingweek.Makethosethemostimportanttaskseachday,
anddothemfirst—don’tletthembepushedbacktothe
endoftheday.
Howdoyouknow
what’sessential?By
knowingwhatyour
maingoalis,andother
goalsifnecessary.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd ��
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
•Biggestvalue.Considerthecaseoftwonewspaperwriters.
Oneissuperbusyandwritesadozenarticlesaweek.They’re
alldecentarticles,butthey’reprettyroutineinnature.The
secondwriterwritesonearticlethisweek,butitgetsthe
frontpageheadline,it’stalkedaboutallaroundtownand
bloggedaboutontheInternet,itgetshimajournalismaward
andhebecomesabignameinjournalism.Fromthisarticle,
helandsabiggerjobandabookdeal.Thatexampleisabit
extreme,butitillustratesthepointthatsometasksreally
payoffinthelongterm,andothersjustkeepyoubusyand
inthelongrun,don’tmatteratall.Thefirstwritercould
havestayedhomeallweekandslept,anditwouldn’thave
changedhisworldmuch(excepthewouldn’tgetpaidforthat
week).Focusonthosebigtasks,thatwillmakeanamefor
you,thatwillgeneratelong-termincome,thatwillgiveyou
lastingsatisfactionandhappiness.ThoseareyourBigRocks.
Eliminatetherest.
•ThreeMITs.Here’syourplanningsystemeachday:write
downyourthreeMostImportantTasksonasheetofpaper(I
writemineinaMoleskinepocketnotebook).That’sit.Check
offthosetaskswhenyoufinishthem.Devoteyourentireday,
ifpossible,tothosethreetasks,orattheveryleastdevotethe
firsthalfofyourdaytothem.YourMITsarebasicallytheBig
Rocksyouplannedforthisweek,andanyotherMITthatyou
needtodofortoday.
Focusonthosebig
tasks,thatwillmake
anameforyou,that
willgeneratelong-term
income,thatwillgive
youlastingsatisfaction
andhappiness.Those
areyourBigRocks.
Eliminatetherest.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd ��
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
•Batchsmalltasks.Duringthecourseoftheday,otherstuff
willcomeupthatyoureallyneedtotakecareofortheycould
createproblemsforyoulater.Writethosedownonanother
smalllistofsmalltasks(mineisatthebottomofmypocket
notebookpage).Youdon’tneedtodothemrightnow,most
likely.Justwritethemdownforlater.Setatime(probably30
minutesorso)tobatchprocessthesetaskssometimelater
intheday(perhaps4p.m.).DoyourMITsfirst,andthendo
allthesmalltasksatthesametime.Thesemightbecalls,
emails,writingashortletter,doingpaperwork,etc.Trytodo
themquicklyandknockthemoffyourlist.Youmighthavea
fewtasksleftattheendoftheday.Bettertoleavethesmall
tasksuntiltomorrowthanthebigones.Batchprocessemail,
too—ifyoudoitthroughouttheday,it’sjustabunchof
interruptions.Justdoitonceortwiceaday.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd ��
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
Createweeklyanddailyroutinestogiveyourday
andyourweekamoreorderedandcalmfeeling.
Routinescanalsogreatlysimplifyyourworkdayandpersonal
life,asyourdaywon’tbeoverlychaoticandcomplicated,you
cangroupsimilartaskstogetherandbatchprocessthem,and
youcanbesureofdoingthethingsyoureallyneedtodo.
Mostimportantly,itputsyouincontrolofyourday,insteadof
puttingyouatthemercyoftheebbandflowofallincoming
requests.Withoutaroutine,wehavenogoodwayofsaying
“no”torequestsastheycomein,andweareatthebeckand
callofeverypersonwhowantsourtimeandeverywebsitethat
wantsourattention.That’snotagoodthing,notifyouwantto
gettheimportantthingsdone.
Takecontrolofyourlife.Setsomeroutinesandlearntofollow
them.
Herearesometipsfordoingthat:
•Worktasks.Makealistofallthethingsyouwantorneed
toaccomplishinyourworklife.Thiscouldbebigthings
liketheWeeklyReview,orlittlethingslikepaperworkor
reports,orclearingyourphysicalinboxeachday,setting
yourMITsatthebeginningofeachday,reviewingyourgoals,
communicatingyourprogresswithyourboss,processingyour
emailinboxtoempty,phonecalls,writing,designing,etc.
13 Habit �: Set Routines
“��Zen�is�not�some�kind�of�excitement,�but�concentration�on�our�usual�everyday�routine.”��Shunryu�Suzuki
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd ��
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
•Personaltasks.Dothesamethingwithyourpersonallife.
Thiscouldincludethingslikeexercise,yoga,meditation,
writinginajournal,reading,readingyourRSSfeeds,aswell
aschoresanderrandssuchaspayingbills,balancingyour
checkbook,laundry,cleaningroutines,groceryshopping,pet
chores,stuffinyourkids’lives,goingtothebank,goingto
thepostoffice,fixingyourkids’lunch,etc.
•Batchprocess.Takealookatyourlistsandfindwaystoput
smallertaskstogether.Thissavestimeandcutsdownon
interruption.Forexample,ifyouhavegroceryshopping,going
tothebank,goingtothepostofficeandgoingtothepetstore
onyourlist,putthemtogetheras“errands”anddothemon
oneday.Youcandoa“deskday”eachweekforpersonal
stuffandtakecareofprocessingyourmail,payingbills,
balancingyourcheckbook,filingpersonalpapers,getting
stuffreadyforthepostoffice,settingyourweeklydinner
menuandcreatingagrocerylist.Forwork,youcouldbatch
processallphonecallsintoonehour,batchprocessemail
intooneone-hourperiod,batchprocesspaperwork,etc.
•Dailylist.Nowlookatyourlistsandseewhichonesneedto
bedoneeveryday.Thosemightincludeemail,phonecalls,
settingyourMITs,writinginajournal,exercise,readingRSS
feeds,processingyourphysicalinbox,andmore.Planout
yourdailyroutine.Don’tscheduleeveryminuteofyourday,
buthavecertainsettimeseachdaywhenyoudothesedaily
Mostimportantly,it
putsyouincontrol
ofyourday,instead
ofputtingyouatthe
mercyoftheebband
flowofallincoming
requests.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd ��
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
tasks.Mysuggestionistohaveamorningroutine(maybe
onemorningroutineathomeandanotherwhenyoufirstget
intowork)andanend-of-the-dayroutine(again,fortheend
ofyourworkdayandforrightbeforeyougotobed).Leavethe
middleoftheday(thebiggestportionoftheday)openfor
completingyourMITsandotherthingsthatcomeup.
•Weeklylist.Thestuffyoudoonceortwice(ormore)aweek,
butnoteveryday,shouldbeonyourWeeklyRoutine.This
couldbethingslikeyourWeeklyReview,laundry,reviewing
goals(althoughthiscouldbeputinyourWeeklyReview),
housecleaning,exercise(ifyouexercise3xaweek,for
example),errands,financialstuff,yourDeskDay,gardening,
yardwork,etc.Schedulethesethingsthroughoutyourweek,
tryingnottopiletoomuchoneachday.Youshouldhave2-3
thingsperdayatthemost.Anidealmixwouldbe1-2things
perday.Ifyouhavesomanyweeklytasksthatyouneed3-4
thingsperday,ormore,youprobablyneedtosimplify,asit
willbehardtomaintainthisschedule.Eitherbatchsome
thingstogetheroreliminatetheleastimportant.
•Tryingitout.Nowthatyou’vesetyourdailyandweekly
routines,giveitago.Forthedailyroutines,trytostickwith
themforatleastaweek.Attheendoftheweek,review
howitwent.Iftherearethingsthatjustdidn’twork,make
adjustments.Fortheweeklyroutine,seeifyoucanstick
withitforatleasttwoweeks(unlessit’sreallynotworking,
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd ��
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
inwhichcaseyoushouldadjustasyougoalong).Make
adjustments,andtryitagain,untilyoufindwhatworkswith
you.
•Stickingwithit.Thisisthetrick—it’seasytosetroutines,
buthardertostickwiththem.Butonceyoufindagoodset
ofroutinesthatworkforyou,ifyoucanstickwiththemfor
30days,itwillbecomeahabit.Andyouwillfindyourself
feelingmuchcalmerandincontrolofyourlife.Howdoyou
stickwithitfor30days?Makeita30-dayChallenge,give
yourselfrewards,committoitinpublic,postyourroutinesup
onthewallathomeandnearyourdesk,anddon’thaveany
othergoalsorhabitchangesgoingonwhileyoudothis.Ifyou
canreallyputyourenergyandfocusintoitfor30days,itwill
becomemoreautomaticandrequirelessenergy.
It’seasytosetroutines,
buthardertostick
withthem.Butonce
youfindagoodsetof
routinesthatworkfor
you,ifyoucanstick
withthemfor30days,
itwillbecomeahabit.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd �0
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
OfallthehabitsinZenToDone,thisoneis
themostdifficult--andyet,perhapsthemost
important.
Ifyoudoonethinginthisbook,thisistheoneIwould
recommend.Isitessentialtothesystem?No.Youcouldapply
alltheotherhabits,skipthisone,andbeproductive,calm
andorganized.Butthisonestepwillmakeyounotonlymuch
happier,butmoreproductive.
Giveitathought:ifyoureallywanttodosomething,you’llwork
likehelltogetitdone.You’llworkextrahard,you’llputineven
morehours,andyou’relesslikelytoprocrastinate.It’sforwork
thatyoudon’treallycareaboutthatyouprocrastinate.
Ifyoudreadgoingtoyourjob,orfindyourselfconstantly
lackingmotivation,orfindwhatyou’redoingdulland
repetitive,youneedtostartlookingforanewjob.Stayingin
yourcurrentjobwillnotonlycontinuetomakeyouunhappy,
butyouarenotrealizingyourfullpotentialinlife.
Imaginethisinstead:yougetupearly,jumpingoutofbed,
excitedtogotowork.Youmightputinmorehoursthanthe
averageperson,butitdoesn’tseemdifficulttoyou,because
yourworkhoursjustzoomrightby.Youareofteninthatstate
ofmindoftenreferredtoas“flow,”whereyoucanlosetrackof
theworldandtime,losingyourselfinthetaskathand.Workis
notworkasmanypeoplerefertoit,butsomethingthatisfun
1� Habit 10: Find Your Passion
“��Nothing�great�in�the�world�has�been�accomplished�without�passion.”��Hegel
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd �1
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
andinterestingandexciting.It’snota“job”butapassion.
Ifyou’vegotajobyoudislike,orevenhate,thiswillsound
likeapipedreamtoyou.Andifyouneverputintheeffortto
findwhatyou’repassionateabout,you’reright:suchathing
willneverbepossible.Butdaretodream,daretoimaginethe
possibilities,anddaretoactuallysearchforwhatyoulove,and
itisnotonlyapossibility,butaprobability.
Whatdoyoureallywanttobedoingrightnow?(Don’tsay
sleeping!)Whatdoyoulovedoing?Whatisyourdreamjob,and
howcanyougetit?Givethissomethought,notjustrightnow
butforthenextfewdays.Firstyoumustidentifythatjob,and
thenyou’llhavetoplanhowtogetit.
HowtoFindYourPassion
Whatifyoudon’tknowwhatyourpassionis?Don’tfret--
you’reinthesameboatasmanypeople.Thekeyistostartthe
search,andtokeeplookinguntilyoufindit.
Herearesomesuggestions:
•Istheresomethingyoualreadylovedoing?Doyouhavea
hobby,orsomethingyouloveddoingasachild,butnever
considereditasapossibility?Whetherit’sreadingcomic
books,collectingsomething,makingsomething,creatingor
building,thereisprobablyawayyoucoulddoitforaliving.
Openacomicbookshop,orcreateacomicbooksiteonline.
Ifthere’salreadysomethingyoulovedoing,you’reaheadof
Imaginethisinstead:
yougetupearly,
jumpingoutofbed,
excitedtogotowork.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd ��
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
thegame.Nowyoujustneedtoresearchthepossibilitiesof
makingmoneyfromit.
•Whatdoyouspendhoursreadingabout?Formyself,whenI
getpassionateaboutsomething,I’llreadaboutitforhours
onend.I’llbuybooksandmagazines.I’llspenddaysonthe
Internetfindingoutmore.Theremaybeafewpossibilities
hereforyou…andallofthemarepossiblecareerpaths.
Don’tcloseyourmindtothesetopics.Lookintothem.
•Brainstorm.Nothingcomestomindrightaway?Well,getout
asheetofpaper,andstartwritingdownideas.Anythingthat
comestomind,writeitdown.Lookaroundyourhouse,on
yourcomputer,onyourbookshelf,forinspirations,andjust
writethemdown.Therearenobadideasatthisstage.Write
everythingdown,andevaluatethemlater.
•Askaround,andsurfforpossibilities.Askotherpeoplefor
ideas.Seewhatothershavediscoveredastheirpassions.
LookallovertheInternetforideas.Themorepossibilities
youfind,themorelikelyyourchancesoffindingyourtrue
passion.
•Giveitatryfirst.It’sbesttoactuallytestyournewidea
beforejumpingintoitasacareer.Doitasahobbyorside
jobatfirst,sothatyoucanseeifit’sreallyyourtruecalling.
Youmaybepassionateaboutitforafewdays,butwherethe
rubbermeetstheroadiswhetheryou’repassionateabout
It’sbesttoactuallytest
yournewideabefore
jumpingintoitasa
career.Doitasahobby
orsidejobatfirst,so
thatyoucanseeifit’s
reallyyourtruecalling.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd �3
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
itforatleastafewmonths.Ifyoupassthistest,youhave
probablyfoundit.
•Neverquittrying.Can’tfindyourpassionatfirst?Giveup
afterafewdaysandyou’resuretofail.Keeptrying,for
monthsonendifnecessary,andyou’llfinditeventually.
Thoughtyoufoundyourpassionbutyougottiredofit?No
problem!Startoveragainandfindanewpassion.There
maybemorethanonepassioninyourlifetime,soexplore
allthepossibilities.Foundyourpassionbuthaven’tbeen
successfulmakingalivingatit?Don’tgiveup.Keeptrying,
andtryagain,untilyousucceed.Successdoesn’tcomeeasy,
sogivingupearlyisasurewaytofail.Keeptrying,andyou’ll
getthere.
HowtoGetThere
Onceyou’vefoundyourpassion,you’vetakenahugestep
towardshappiness!Congratulations!Celebratethisfact,then
rollupyoursleeves,becauseyou’renotthereyet.
Herearesomesuggestionsforactuallylivingyourpassion:
•Don’tquityourjobjustyet.Ifyoufindyourcalling,your
passion,don’tjustturninyourresignationtomorrow.It’sbest
tostayinyourjobwhileyou’reresearchingthepossibilities.
Ifyoucandoyourpassionasasidejob,andbuildupthe
incomeforafewmonthsorayear,that’sevenbetter.Itgives
youachancetobuildupsomesavings(andifyou’regoing
Don’tgointoit
withamateurskill
level.Ifyouwantto
makemoney—to
beaprofessional
—youneedtohave
professionalskills.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd ��
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
intobusinessforyourself,you’llneedthatcashreserve),
whilepracticingtheskillsyouneed.
•Dosomeresearch.Whoelseisdoingyourdreamjob?What
istheirexperience?Howdidtheygetthejob?Whatarethe
requirements?Researchitontheinternet,askpeopleyou
know,makesomecalls.Themoreinfoyouhave,thebetter.
•Whatareyourobstacles?Whatdoyouneedtodotoget
there?Doyouneedaneducation?Doyouneedtoknowthe
rightpeople?Doyoujustneedtofilloutanapplication?Do
youneedtolearnsomeskills?
•Makeaplan.Workoutsomesolutionstoyourobstacles.
Ifyouneedaneducationorskills,youwillnotbeableto
executethisplanovernight,butifyoudon’tplanitoutnow,
youmightnevergetthere.Layoutthepathtoyoursuccess.
•Takeaction.Don’twaitforopportunitytocomehityouonthe
head.Gooutandgrabthatopportunity.Executeyourplan
—doatleastonethingtoday,andeachday,untilyouget
there.Itmightseemlikeitwilltakeforever,butifyoureally
putinthework,you’llachieveyourdreamssomeday.
•Practice,andpractice,andpracticesomemore.Don’tgointo
itwithamateurskilllevel.Ifyouwanttomakemoney—to
beaprofessional—youneedtohaveprofessionalskills.Get
verygoodatyourfuturecareerandyouwillmakemoneyat
it.Practiceforhoursonend.Ifit’ssomethingyoulove,the
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd ��
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
practiceshouldbesomethingyouwanttodo.
•Bepersistent.Don’tgiveupbecauseyou’vebeenrejecteda
fewtimes(orevenalotoftimes).Keepknockingondoors.
Keepmakingthosecalls.Keepsubmittingyourresume.Keep
makingappointments.Don’teverletup.Thepersonwhois
relentlesswillwinoverthepersonwhoquits.
Landyourdreamjob,doingsomethingthatyou’repassionate
about,andyoumayneverneedtomotivateyourselftobe
productiveagain.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd ��
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
Youmightthinkaboutallofthis,aboutthe10
habits,andwonderwhatitwouldlooklikein
practice.Well,ZenToDoneisprettymuchthe
systemIuse,andIcantellyouwhataZTDday
wouldbelike.
However,insteadofgettingintothedetailsofmypersonallife,
let’slookatahypotheticalZenToDoner...justtogiveusan
ideaofwhatthesystemlookslikeinpractice.We’lltakealook
atSteve,whohasbeenimplementingthehabitsofZTDforthe
pastyear.
Morning
Steve’sanearlyriser,sohegetsupat5:30a.m.Thisisbyno
meansmandatoryinZenToDone,ofcourse,butSteveenjoys
it.
FirstthingtosayaboutSteveinthemorning?He’squicktoget
up,becausehe’sexcitedabouthisday.Why?Becauseinthe
pastyear,he’sachievedHabit10,andfoundhispassion.It’s
nowhisjob,andhedoesitathome.Ofcourse,youdon’tneed
toworkathometoimplementZTD,butSteveenjoysit.
Sohegetsupoutofbed,readytogreettheday.Thenhe
beginshismorningroutine:hegroomshimself,thenenjoysa
nicecupofcoffeeandwatchesthesunrise.Thenhebeginshis
morningwritingritual,writinganarticlethatalsohappenstobe
1� A Day with Zen To Done
“��Never�mistake�motion�for�action.”��Ernest�Hemingway
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd ��
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
oneofhisMostImportantTasks(MITs)fortoday.
Whenhe’sdone,hechangestohisrunningclothes,lacesup
hisshoes,andgoesfora30-minuterun.Steveenjoyshisrun,
becauseitgiveshimsomequiettimetothink.Afterhisrun,he
takesaquickshower,eatsahealthybreakfast,andthengetsto
hissecondMITfortoday.
WhenhedoesoneofhisMITs,Steveclearshisdesk,turns
offtheInternetandphone,closesallprogramsonthe
computerexcepttheoneheneedstodohiswork,andfocuses
completelyonthetaskathand.Hewillgetupandtakeabreak
every10-15minutes,butdoesn’tallowhimselftoconnectto
emailorotherdistractions,untilhe’sdone.
Onlywhenhe’scompletedthismorningroutine,anddonetwo
ofhisMITs,doesheallowhimselftocheckemailandreadhis
morningRSSfeeds.
Planning
SteveactuallysethisthreeMITsthenightbefore,duringhis
eveningroutine,sohewouldbereadyfortheday.Heusesa
simpleMoleskinepocketnotebookashisZTDtool,andon
afreshpage,heputstheday’sdate,andthenlistshisthree
MITsfortheday.Atthebottomofthepage,helistshis“batch
tasks”--smallertasksthathehastododuringtheday,but
thathesavesupfor“batchprocessing”laterinthedayso
thattheydon’tinterrupthisMITs.HealsousestheMoleskine
ZenToDoneispretty
muchthesystemIuse,
andIcantellyouwhat
aZTDdaywouldbe
like.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd ��
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
notebookasa“capture”tool,carryingitwhereverhegoes,and
hasasection(markedbyalittlePost-it)wherehewritesdown
thoughtsandtasksastheycometohim.
TodayalsohappenstobethedayofhisSimpleWeeklyReview,
sohedoesaquickrun-throughofhissystem,spendingonly30
minutesonthereview.Hegoesthroughhisto-dolist(whichhe
keepsatthebackofhisMoleskinenotebook),andweedsout
taskshedoesn’treallyneedtodo,leavingonlythosethatare
mostimportant.
HereviewshisSingleGoalforthisyear,ensuringthatsome
ofhisBigRocksforthenextweekarerelatedtomovingthat
SingleGoalforward.Healsolooksattheprogresshe’smade
onthatSingleGoalinthelastweek,andispleasedthathe’s
actuallyaheadofschedule.Hecrossesoffsometasksthat
werecompleted,andthenemailsafewtaskstoothersthat
hedoesn’treallyneedtodohimself.Satisfiedthathislistis
simplifiedasfaraspossible,henowplanshisBigRocksfor
thecomingweek,ensuresthathisinboxesareemptyandhis
filingsysteminplace.
EveningRoutine
Steve’sdaygoesprettymuchasplanned.Heaccomplishes
histhreeMITs,whichissatisfying,andgetsmostofthebatch
tasksdoneneartheendoftheday.Heclearsouthisemail
inboxandhisphysicalinboxbytheendoftheday.Afewother
Whenhedoesoneof
hisMITs,Steveclears
hisdesk,turnsoffthe
Internetandphone,
closesallprogramson
thecomputerexcept
theoneheneedstodo
hiswork,andfocuses
completelyonthetask
athand.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd ��
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
taskscameup,buthedisposedofthemquickly,addingoneto
histo-dolistatthebackofhisnotebook.
Afterhe’sclearedouthisinboxes,finishedhisbatchtasks,and
checkedoffhislists,Stevedoestherestofhiseveningroutine.
Hegetslunchespreparedforhiskidsfortomorrowmorning,
reviewshiscalendarandto-dolisttoseewhatheneedstodo
tomorrow,selectinghisthreeMITs.Hereviewshisday,writing
inajournaltorecordhisprogressandthoughts.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd �0
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
Anumberofreadershavewrittentomewith
questionsaboutZenToDone,andIthought
itwouldbeusefultoaddressthemhereina
FrequentlyAskedQuestionsformat.
HowisZTDdifferentfromGTD?Itseemsthesame.
ZenToDoneadoptssomeoftheprinciplesofGTDandother
productivitysystems...butwithsomedifferentfocuses:
1.GTDasksyoutoadoptabunchofnewhabitsallatonce,
andsomanypeoplehavefailed.AsI’vetalkedaboutonZen
Habits,habitchangesrequirealotofenergyandfocusto
besuccessful,andit’smuchbettertodooneatatime.ZTD
askspeopletodothehabitsofGTDoneatatime(ortwoat
themost).
2.ZTDfocusesonsimplifyingwhatyouaregoingtododown
totheessentials,andnottryingtotackleeverything.GTD
haslessofafocusonwhat’simportant,andinsteadtreats
everythingcominginthesame.
3.WithGTD,manypeoplehavefocusedonthetoolsandthe
system,whileZTDfocusesmoreondoing.Itpresentsaway
ofdoingyourtaskssothatyouarefocusedononetaskata
time,clearingyourdistractions,andgettingintothezone.
GTDdoesn’ttalkmuchabouttheactualdoing.
4.GTDonlycursorilymentionsgoals.Itisintentionallya
1� The ZTD FAQ
“��You�begin�by�always�expecting�good�things�to�happen.”��Tom�Hopkins
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd �1
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
bottom-upapproach,andforwhatittriestodo,itisgreat.
ButZTDfocusesmoreongoals--duringyouryearly,
monthly,andweeklyreviews,andonadailybasiswithyour
MITs.Soitcombinesthebottom-upapproachofGTDwith
thetop-downapproachofpeoplelikeStevenCovey.
5.WithGTD,yourdayisveryunstructured,whichagainisa
strength,butforsomepeoplecanbedifficultandconfusing.
ZTDaddsstructuretoyourdaywithyourMITsandwithyour
routines(morning,eveningandotherwise).Manypeoplefind
thiseasiertoworkwith,butit’sanoptionalhabit.
6.Finally,ZTDaddsthelasthabitoffindingyourpassion.
Whilenotstrictlyatask-relatedhabit,findingyourpassionis
extremelyimportantindoingsomethingyoulove,sothatyou
actuallygetmoredone.Ithinkthisisanimportantpointfor
alotofpeople.
WithHabit8(Simplify),aren’tyoudefeatingthepurposeof
GTD’smandatetogetallopenloopsoutofyourheadand
dumpthemonyourlists?
Ifyousimplifiedbeforeyouwrotethingsinyourcapture
tool(suchasapocketnotebook),yes,thatwoulddefeat
thepurposeofthemandatetogetthingsoutofyourhead.
However,ZTDasksyoutofirstwritethemdown,togetthem
outofyourhead,andthentoreviewthemlater.It’sduringthe
reviewprocessthatyousimplify,anddecidewhetheryoureally
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd ��
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
needtodothetask,andwhetherit’sreallyimportant.
Thissystemdoesn’tseemverysimpleatall.It’s10different
habits!
First,mostproductivitysystemsactuallyhavewaymorethan
10habits.GTDhasperhapsdoublethatnumber,forexample.
StephenCovey’s7Habitsareactuallymanymoreonceyou
implementhisentiresystem,wheretherubbermeetstheroad.
Forexample,toimplementthehabitFirstThingsFirst,you
actuallyneedtodoseveralsteps,puttingthingsinquadrants,
prioritizingfromthere,etc.Theothersystemsjustdon’tspell
outthehabitsassimplyasZTDdoes--andtheysuggestyou
implementthemallatonce,whichisabigreasonforfailure.
Second,youdon’tneedtoadoptall10habits.Theyareall
goodhabitstoadopt,butyoucanjustchoose5ofthem,for
example.Usethehabitsthatwillhelpyouthemost,andwill
workwithyourworkingstyle.Everyoneisdifferent,andnoone
systemwillworkforeverysingleperson.Thisapproachallows
flexibility.
Foramoreminimalapproach,seeMinimalZTDinChapter3.
Itseemslikeitwouldtaketoomuchdisciplinetodoonlyone
habitatatime.
Iagree,itcanbedifficulttorestrainyourselfenoughtodoone
habitatatime.Butitisactuallymuchmoredifficulttotryto
adoptmanyhabitsatatime.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd �3
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
Thinkaboutitthisway:whatifyoutriedtoquitsmoking,
becomearunner,workoutatthegymthreetimesaweek,
becomeavegetarian,wakeupat5a.m.everyday,stop
procrastinating,becomeneatandorganized,anddomeditation
...allinthesameweek?Howsuccessfulwouldyoube?You’d
probablyfail,right?
Thetruthis,habitchangeisdifficult.It’saskillthattakes
practice.Itcandefinitelybedone--I’vedoneit,andso
havemanyothers--butitrequiresfocus.Youcan’tfocus
on10thingsatatime.Youcanfocusonafewatatime,
butifyoufocusononethingatatime,yourfocusismuch
moreconcentrated.Thatmakesyoumuchmorelikelytobe
successful.
Ifyouthinkyou’reprettygoodathabitchanges,Iwould
suggestyoutryadopting3-4habitsatfirst,butnotall10.
PerhapstryMinimalZTD,andthenaddonotherhabits1-2at
atimeafterthosefirst4habitshavebeenadopted.Dothem
onemonthatatime,andgraduallyaddmore.
Lookatitlikethis:badhabitsweren’tformedovernight,and
goodhabitswon’tbeformedovernighteither.Ifyouadopt
onehabitpermonth,bytheendofayear,youwillbeavery
productive,organized,andcalmperson!Isn’tthataprettygood
accomplishmentforayear?
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd ��
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
WhatifIcan’tfindmypassion?ShouldIstillimplementthe
otherhabits?
The10thhabitisoptional,andyoushouldstilladoptasmany
oftheotherhabitsasyoucan(orasapplytoyourworkstyle),
evenifyou’renotinajobyoulove.However,thekeytothe
10thhabitistokeepyoureyesopen.Atleastbeginthesearch,
andalwaysbeonthelookoutforopportunitiesorideasthat
couldleadtoyoulivingalifewhereyourpassionisyourwork.
DoIreallyhavetojuststicktoonegoalperyear?Ihaveso
manyIwanttofocuson!
Iknowhowyoufeel!Butagain,focusisthekeytoachieving
anything,andyoucan’tfocuson10goalsatatime.
Iknowthisforafact,becauseIstartedout2007withalong
listofgoalsIwantedtoachieve,andalotofenthusiasm.
Eachweek,Iwouldplanouttheactionstepsneededtomove
allthosegoalsforward.Itwasn’tlongbeforemyenthusiasm
waned--it’sjusttoohardtokeepthatenergygoingforsomany
goalsatonce.
Instead,I’veadoptedanewapproach:tackleonegoalatatime.
Now,doyouneedtotakeanentireyeartoaccomplishthatgoal?
No.Youcanfocusononegoalthatcanbedoneinaweek,ora
month,or6months.Butjustfocusonthatgoal.Whenyou’ve
accomplishedit,thenchooseanother.Inthisway,bymaintaining
thathighleveloffocus,youcanachievealotinayear.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd ��
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
Isn’tZTDatrademarkinfringementonDavidAllen’sGTD?
No,actually.Firstofall,althoughIamheavilyindebtedto
DavidAllenandotherproductivitysystems,DavidAllendidn’t
inventtheconceptofcollectionorprocessingorreview.These
havebeenthetoolsofproductivitygurusfordecades.Allen
justputthemtogetherinagreatsystemthatisverylogicaland
comprehensive,andmakessense.
I’vetakensomeofthosetoolsheuses(andthathavebeenused
fordecades)andcombinedthemwithothertoolsthathave
beenusedfordecades.ConceptssuchasBigRocksandMITs,
thatwereusedbyStephenCovey...andothersbeforehim.
Conceptslikesimplifying,thatbecamepopularinthe1970s.
Conceptslikefindingyourpassion,thatarecenturiesold.
Second,“ZenToDone”isnotaninfringementupon“Getting
ThingsDone”.Theyonlyshareonewordincommon,tostart
with,andthereisnotachancethatanyonewouldgetthetwo
termsconfused.Also,while“ZTD”mightsoundlike“GTD”,
DavidAllendoesnotholdthetrademarkonallcombinationsof
lettersthatrhymewith“GTD”.
Intruth,IamindebtedtoDavidAllen,andothers,butthis
systemismyownblendofveryusefultools,andonethat
othershavefoundusefulaswell.
SowhatisyourZTDsetup?
Everyone’ssetupwillbedifferent,asyouneedtofindthetools
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd ��
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
andsetupthatworkforyou.However,ifyou’reinterested,
here’smysetup:
•Moleskinepocketnotebook,thatIcarryeverywhereanduse
asacapturetool.
•Inthenotebook,IwritemythreeMITsfortheday,alongwith
“batchtasks”atthebottomofthepage.Iwritemymaster
to-dolist,alongwithseparatelistsforerrandsandcallsand
follow-ups,inthebackofthenotebook.
•IuseGoogleCalendarforappointmentsonly(andmykids’
activities),Gmailforemail,andGoogleDocumentsand
AbiWordforwriting.
That’sall!
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd ��
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
Tools
•To-dolists:
Vitalist,Tadalist,Backpack,
SimpleGTD,
Nozbe,Tracks,Remember
theMilk.
•Calendars:
GoogleCalendar,30Boxes.
•Others:
CoolTimer,
HipsterPDA.
Articles
•MITs
•BigRocks
•ClearingYourEmailInbox
•ClearingYourDesk
•MorningRoutine
•EveningRoutine
•30DayChallenge
•Top20MotivationHacks
•ExecutingYourTo-doList
•WeeklyReview
•GTDFAQ
•MassiveGTDResourcesList
Forms
Inthenextfewpages,some
sampleformsareprovided:
•SingleGoalForm
•ZTDWeeklyForm
•ZTDDailyForm
•ZTDLists
1� Resources
“��How�soon�‘not�now’�becomes�‘never’.”��Martin�Luther
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd ��
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
Zen TO DOne FORMS Single Goal Form
2007
ThisYear’sSingleGoal:
MantraforSingleGoal(2-4words):
Firstsubgoal(1-2weeks):
Note:Afteraccomplishingthefirstsub-goal,checkitoffandcreateasecondsub-goal,andsoon,untilSingleGoalisaccomplished.Eachsub-goalshouldtakeabout1-2weekstoaccomplish,butcanbealittlemoreorlessifneeded.
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd ��
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
Zen TO DOne FORMS Weekly Forms
Week of
Mantra:
CurrentSingleGoalsub-goal:
BigRock#1:
BigRock#2:
BigRock#3:
BigRock#4:
BigRock#5:
Projects this week
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd �0
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
Zen TO DOne FORMS Weekly Forms
Simple Weekly Review Checklist
ReviewSingleGoalforYear
Reviewshort-termsub-goalforlastweek
Reviewnotes
Reviewcalendar
Reviewcontextlists
Reviewsomeday/maybe,follow-up,projectlists
Planshort-termsub-goalforthisweek
PlanBigRocksforthisweek
Weekly Routine
Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Friday:
Saturday:
Sunday:
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd �1
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
Zen TO DOne FORMS Daily Forms
Today’s date
Mantra:
CurrentSingleGoalsub-goal:
MIT#1:
MIT#2:
MIT#3:
Batch Tasks (to be processed)
Incoming Tasks & Ideas
Daily Routine
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd ��
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
Zen TO DOne FORMS Lists
Projects List
Work Tasks
Personal Tasks
Follow-up
Calls
Errands
Someday
Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd �3
by Leo
Babauta
zen
to
do
ne:
Th
e U
lTim
aTe
Sim
ple
pr
od
Uc
Tivi
Ty S
ySTe
m
Thankyoutomywife,Eva,forthepatienceinallowingmetowrite
thisbook,andforeverythingelseyou’vedone.
ThankyoutoJamesWondrack(wondrackdesign.com)fortheexcellent
designworkforthisebookatanextremelylowcost--perfectfora
cheapskatelikeme.Hemetmyminimaliststandardsandexceededthem
withhisgreattaste.
Andmostofall,thankyoutothereadersofZenHabits,whohave
encouragedmeinmorewaysthantheyknow.
Leo