When I started reading Getting Things Done back in 2007, I would have never expected it to change the way I work that fundamentally. There are those things that immediately kick in and help you to structure your day like the Mastering Work Flow Model, but there is even more to GTD than that basic process. This post is about the things I learned in the last 1.5 years and that are easily forgotten.
When you start to implement GTD, especially if you’re a techie like me, you will immediately create all these fancy lists, install all these feature-rich tools and register for every web 2.0 productivity application you can find. This "learning by playing around" is an important part of getting familiar with the methodology.
In the beginning, your new tools and your new process will definitely slow you down. And that’s okay, because you have to find your way of doing things without violating the core GTD principles. Just remember yourself from time to time, why you’re doing the whole thing. GTD is not your new hobby. It’s not a new reason to procrastinate. And it’s definitely not your new purpose of life.
You’re implementing this productivity process to get more done with less thinking and with less effort. Don’t stumble around and rework your GTD infrastructure every week by setting up new tools, creating more rules or cramming more fancy "appointments with myself" in your calendar. At some point you should be done with your system (at least for a certain amount of time) and return to the really important things.
Tip #1: Allow yourself to have fun with GTD. Cut yourself some slack and experience with your new process and your new tools. But make sure that you don’t get lost in the fancy world of GTD tools and practices. Don’t forget the reason you’re doing all this stuff.
Playing around is also important because it helps you with another important thing: Do one step at a time. In the very beginning implementing GTD "to the fullest" seems to be the greatest thing on earth. Trust me, doing it all at once is not possible. Give yourself time to learn, to adjust and to integrate the principles into your life. GTD (and every other "habit") only sticks if it fits naturally in your day, without distracting or hindering your way of doing things.
Tip #2: Do one step at a time and keep it simple. GTD is a simple thing, but reading about it and implementing it is not the same. Give yourself the time to learn and don’t overwhelm yourself.
Another common problem is the thing with the weekly review. I am aware of that because I had it myself. I put in on my calendar, I wrote reminders and I read numerous blogs about the importance of the review process, but I just never really did it. I talked to my friends who are also familiar with GTD, but their response was even more frustrating: No, I don’t do it and I don’t think it’s really that important.
It was about that time I also discovered my enthusiasm for Steven Covey, especially The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and First Things First. The latter one also contains great productivity and time management principles, but instead of starting at the profound organizing level, it helps you to get a new perspective of your life and focus on those things that are really important for you. One of these principles is "Plan Weekly – Adjust Daily". While reading that particular chapter, it suddenly hit me: Why do you always try to do your "Weekly Review" Friday afternoon? Why perform such an important control task when you are exhausted from the week, tired, looking forward to the weekend, hungry and already mentally out of the office?
So I decided to merge my "Weekly Review" with my "Weekly Planning" appointment, Monday Mornings at 10:00 AM. It worked great. I was able to review all the stuff I had and hadn’t done in the last week with maximum energy and because of that, it usually didn’t take longer than 10 minutes. It also helped me to plan my upcoming week more accurately by defining new projects and actions.
Driven by the success of my idea, I even decided to create a recurring breakfast meeting with all executives at netzkern before my personal Weekly Review and Planning session, every Monday at 9:15 AM. This so called Central Operations meeting still exists and it is a great establishment. So this brings us to our first tip…
Tip #3: Do the Weekly Review. It’s not only important, it’s critical for the successful implementation of GTD, especially in corporate environments. In the beginning, you may be able to manage a smaller amount of projects without it, but the earlier you start to review your stuff, the better. Set aside 15 to 30 minutes per week and make sure that you’re neither tired nor have something "more important" to do at that moment. Use the Weekly Review to plan your upcoming week as well and start right away afterwards with the most important thing on your updated list, ideally one that helps you to conquer one of your "Big Rocks".
As I mentioned earlier, there is more to GTD than just the Mastering Work Flow Model. It is more than just projects and actions, although most people might perceive it that way. GTD also includes two higher level models that are easily forgotten, yet they are even much more powerful.
The first one is called the Natural Planning Model and is intended to help you with the management of all kind of projects. David often refers to projects as "everything that needs more than one action to complete". The problem with that sentence is that because of that statement, a lot of people tend to think of projects primarily as "containers" for actions. But in GTD, projects are much more than that, especially when they do not have a clear outcome or already defined next actions.
I will not repeat the Natural Planning Model here, but I want to make sure that everybody understands how important this part of GTD really is. Following its five step process, Purpose and Principles – Vision – Brainstorming – Organizing – Next Actions, is a great way to conquer your own thoughts and I do it every day.
Tip #4: Don’t stop halfway between, there is much more to GTD than the Mastering Work Flow Model. Study and implement the Natural Planning Model and the Horizons of Focus Model for maximum effectiveness and efficiency in your day-to-day productivity work.
Alright, these are my most important tips so far. I could go on a while longer, but instead of just telling you about them, I find it more important that everyone experiences certain parts of the learning process himself. In the end, I really recommend that you read GTD at least twice and maybe revisit it every couple of years. It gets better every time…
