Getting Things Done

A quick look at time management, drawing on the David Allen book Getting Things Done Put together by Jennifer L. Bowie

Why: Mind Like Water

• Insufficient time for the vast demands • Boundary issues: work not clearly bound, issues with life beyond work • Keeping track of the big picture and day to day • Promises mind like water: Always in an efficient and effective ready state. Clear mind ready to work with no nagging thoughts of what you should be doing.

Why Things are on Your Mind

• Mind doesn’t have a mind of its own: Doesn’t only worry about things when you can do them, worries all the time • Things on your mind because: – You’ve not clarified the intended outcome yet – You haven’t decide what the next step is – You haven't put reminders into a system • Major Challenge: get it out of your head!

What is GTD?

• A workflow process • A framework with 6 levels of focus • A natural planning method • Often more bottom up • Combines all aspects of life: work, home, relationships, relaxation, hobbies. Thus good for us academics with out clear separations

The Process Check out the Workflow Diagram

• Collect • Process • Organize • Review • Do

Collect

• Important to capture everything to get mind like water state (MLWS) • Gather 100% of open loops/incompletes: everything that should, needs to , or ought to get done • Tools: – Physical in-box – Paper-based note taking supplies – Electronic noted-taking supplies – Voice-recording devices – E-mail • Collect every open loop by one of these methods • Have as few collection devices as possible • Empty collection devices regularly

Process

• Go through each collected item and decide: – What is it?

– Is it Actionable?

• No: – Trash – Incubate – Reference • Yes: – Is it a project? Capture it on a projects list, which you review weekly – What is the next action?

» Do it: if less than two minutes » Delegate it » Defer it: make sure you track next actions and capture it on a list or calander

Organize

• Create Projects lists: A Project is anything with more than one action step.

– May want multiple lists or one general list – Some ideas: • A list of publication projects • The Diss list • Class work list • Teaching list – But don’t subdivide too much – Likely have at least 50 projects at any one time – Collect support materials, but store out of site (you don’t need the reminders now!)

Next Actions

• •

Calendar:

–

Do not

Use to collect all – Time-specific action – Day-specific actions – Day-specific information: info need on a certain date put on things you would like to do that day

Next Actions list:

• Calls • At school • At home • Errands • Waiting for where all the action reminders go, kind of a to-do list, but better – If 20-30: fine to have one Next Actions list – If More: divide the lists into context and action based lists: • People: SO, colleagues, “boss”, teachers, chair…..

• Read/Review: Love this!!!

Nonactionable Items

• Trash • Incubate: Things you might want to do and need to be reminded of – Someday/Maybe: Wish list of possible future projects and ideas such as a book you can’t write now, a dream vacation, house remodel for next year, things you may want to buy (books, cds,…), things to do with SOs,… – Tickler file: a file of things you need to be remind of at a certain time, such as a bill to pay, a CFP deadline, and so on. Create a hard copy 43 folder file.

• Reference: valuable info you must keep. File it out of the way

Review

• Weekly review for “runway” and 10,000 levels – Gather and process in-boxes – Review system • Projects lists: ?

• Calendar • Next Actions – Update Lists – Clean, clear, complete • Higher levels as appropriate: monthly? Yearly? (marriage book)

Sadly this is where my saved slides end

• I’ll try to find the rest and get it up.