May 3, 2020 6 min to read

Getting Things Done (TM)

How to get it done and fast

Getting Things Done by David Allen

• Purge once per year

• You must see the end of the tunnel do get all loose ends in one place

• You can only feel good about what you’re not doing if you know what you’re not doing

• If you’re unsure whether to purge something if it’s been a while and it hasn’t blown up it’s important so purge it

• Distinguish between reference and todo

• Nothing goes back into inbox

• Incubate / no action to take right now

• a project is a placeholder for more to do

• If you’re supposed to do this at the computer at a computer context so at the computer you can check off all computer todos across multiple projects

• Inbox should be things you do or file otherwise they have to be rescanned each time you look at it

• Delegated context

• Don’t let old thoughts get stale

• Reference materials should have no pull on you it’s not a todo

• Reference can be something to act on later

• It’s ok to move in and out of Limbo folder

• Tickets for opera go on sale tomorrow buy the 8pm slot? With due date set to a day before

• Sacrifice the seemingly urgent for the truly important

• Am I going to do this now depends on do I have enough time am I in the right context and do I have enough energy levels

• Low energy brain dead times call for low energy tasks - don’t reverse these and waste your energy

• If you’re missing todos it’s because they don’t align with what you want in life

• Idea is to make what you want to happen more accessible

• If you can do it anywhere don’t put a context

• If you don’t have something to write with you won’t be as likely to make notes

• Mindmaps

• Software doesn’t matter so much as it fitting your workflow if you’re thinking about how to use it you’re thinking about the idea

• Use notes as todo a single encompassing resource which includes everything you need that can be closed once the project is done

• Disintegration of trust

• If you make a plan and you don’t execute you break self trust

• Make fewer agreements and you will be more conscious about the ones you take

• If you have an idea of what you need to do you know if you can take more on or not - know the limit of your CC and you know how much you can spend

• You will feel good doing things if you complete items

• We’re all starved for a win

• The more you accomplish the bigger things you feel ready to take

• Brain can’t distinguish between breaking agreement about cleaning a garage or buying a house it’s all the same to it

• Undone tasks in RAM take up same room and create same pressure. But not all tasks are the same that’s why it’s important to dump them so you can ascertain what’s crucial

• Capture it all, empty your RAM so you can focus fully on one thing

• You can’t renegotiate an agreement you don’t remember that’s why you have to note it

• A renegotiation is not failure to execute

• Put yourself in jail just by looking at your tax form - thinking of it as the worst thing possible

• Move things on your own accord before you’re forced to by circumstances; being captain of your own ship

• Asking what’s the next action circumvents victim behavior

• If people start complaining you ask - what’s the next step - find next immediate action you need to take on this

• Complaining is refusal to move on a changeable situation. Temporary and hollow self validation.

• No longer clear when a job is done

• keep outline in calendar/evernote but things that must be done should go into TODO list o/w they never get done

• Requires communication with other offices in different time zones

• No clear distinction between personal and work life

• Reduce open loops

• Improve condition by taking the next action required

• Todo list is necessary to offload the next step from the conscious and subconscious

• Your mind has no sense of past or future as soon as you set a goal it starts to work on it right away all the time. If you set 2 goals it tries to do them both simultaneously. This is the source of stress.

• Open loop: secretary birthday versus an actual executable select: gift for secretary

• Everything you need needs to be collected somewhere other than your head

• Inbox is random ideas not executables yet

• Best ideas about work don’t come to you at work and vice versa

• Do defer or delegate

• A project is a reminder there are still tasks to do for this project without the reminder it will take up cycles in your mind. You cannot do a project you can only do tasks in the project.

• Don’t start with what’s a good idea to start this with instead what’s an idea on how to get this done

• So what are you really trying to do here anyway? What does success really look like? How will you know you’re done?

• You have to suspend the ‘yeah but’ and replace with ‘wouldn’t it be great if’

• If you care even slightly what the audience might say you’ll censor your idea

• Once the ideas are out there it’s easier to build connections between them

• Once you define steps 1, 3 and 5 your mind will fill in the blanks but they must be written out so you can see them.

• It’s not clearly defined unless you can act on it now

• Identical setup home and work

• Your tools must work perfectly. Do not use substandard tools

3 types of tasks

• Waiting
• Next
• Scheduled

Calendar

• This is for tasks that must be done on this day
• It’s demoralizing to postpone tasks

Someday/maybe

• Actions you cannot move on now but want to be reminded of - set a date for reminder

• Weekly review of todos

Evaluating if you can do this task

• How much energy does it require
• How much time does it require