How to Become More Productive
A popular goal most of us have is to become more productive. I have been doing a lot of research on productivity including reading David Allen's book, Getting Things Done : the Art of Stress-Free Productivity (all-new updated edition). Today, I will be sharing a few of the numerous things I learned reading his book. Getting Things Done can help you get more relaxed and more control in the different areas of your life. I can help you worry less, be more in the moment, and save you a lot of energy. First, you need to define internal commitment which can be defined as any open loops that is an incomplete task or project that requires attention. Here are the 5 steps to mastering workflow process :
1) Capturing all commitments
the first time around will take a long time to set up and go through but after that it will be easy.
gather every piece of paper, every digital document and notes you have and you will process them one by one.
determine the locations you will be gathering those commitments from now on, an in-tray, e-mail inboxes, notes in your phone, etc.
empty those in-trays regularly; you need to keep the system functioning.
2) Clarifying exactly the next physical action
after gathering all these commitment, you must make decisions about every single one of them
process them one by one first deciding whether they are actionable or not.
proceed from the top of the pile, one item at a time, without putting anything back on the pile (you need to make a decision)
If they are not, you have three options : if it's useless, throw it out, if you want to hold for review, you may put it in a someday/maybe file/list, or you can keep it as a reference in reference files.
If they are actionable, you will need to determine the very physical next action. Note : when creating next action, make sure they are action so instead of saying assignment #1 or concert tickets, write full actions sentences like read assignment #1 instruction (break them down into first actionable step) or look up concert dates.
Any next action that requires less than two minute to be completed should be completed right away. Next, you need to decide whether you will delegate your next action (put it in your waiting for list or defer it (put it in your calendar or on your next-action lists).
3) Organizing the results
After making a decision on the next action, you will need to store the information by creating a trusted system. You will most likely need a filing system (file cabinet, storage folder, etc.) for your physical items and a cloud (icloud, dropbox, google drive, one drive, etc.) for your digital documents as well as a calendar (physical or digital) and a place to make lists (physical or digital).
Use your calendar only for time- and day-specific actions or information.
Store your non-actionable items in a reference system or trash them.
Make next actions lists : you could make just one, but you should probably divide it into something that will be more manageable. In the book, David Allen recommends dividing it by context, at locations or by situation (calls, computer, online, errands, office, home, anywhere, agenda (for specific people), read/review, etc.).
Divide your emails the same way; trash the useless ones, and store the ones for reference according to your preferred system (by person, by project, etc.). Any actionable email taking less than 2 minutes should be process right away (two-minute rule) and the rest should be store the same way as your next actions list.
Make a projects "master" list where you list every single one of your projects (projects being defined loosely as anything that requires more more than a single action before completion) base your projects on current activities, interest, commitments, problems, issues and opportunities. You may decide to separate your personal and professional projects.
4) Reflecting
review everything weekly : gather and process new commitments, review your system, update your lists, complete your two-minute-or-less actions, etc.
5) Engaging and making action choices.
decide on what next action to do when time comes using the four criteria model : first, determine the context and select that specific list of next actions, then assess your time available and your energy level, and finally consider what is the most urgent or pressing. This will help you decide was to do first!
you also need to consider the threefold model of identifying daily work : you still need to decide whether you should be doing predefined work (the work on your next actions lists), do work as it comes (any new task that just popped up), or be defining work (processing your "in-trays"). That ultimately will depend on your gut!
There is a lot more to this method that I wasn't able to cover today but if you find what you learned today interesting and useful, you may want to consider getting your own copy and learning to work with the Getting Things Done methodology!! I hope you enjoyed! love,
Laurie xxx
