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Getting Things Done

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For other uses, see the book by David Allen.
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity cover
AuthorDavid Allen
SubjectBusiness
PublisherPenguin
Publication date
2002
Pages267 pp
ISBN[[Special:BookSources/ISBN+978-0142000281%3Cbr%2F%3E%3Csmall%3EReprint+Edition%3C%2Fsmall%3E |ISBN 978-0142000281
Reprint Edition]] Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character
Followed byReady For Anything 

Getting Things Done (commonly abbreviated as GTD) is an action management method created by David Allen, and described in a book of the same name. Both "Getting Things Done" and "GTD" are registered trademarks of the David Allen Company.[1]

GTD rests on the principle that a person needs to move tasks out of the mind by recording them externally. That way, the mind is freed from the job of remembering everything that needs to be done, and can concentrate on actually performing those tasks.

GTD methodology

GTD is defined by Allen on his website.[1] In traditional time management, priorities usually play a central role. In contrast, his version uses two key elements — control and perspective. It advocates three major models for gaining control and perspective:

  1. A workflow process
  2. A framework with 6 levels of focus
  3. A natural planning method

The first major model is the workflow process, which is used to gain control over all the tasks and commitments which one needs or wants to get done.[2] The workflow process consists of five distinct phases listed below (with each described in greater details in the Principles section):

  1. Collect
  2. Process
  3. Organize|
  4. Review
  5. Do

Allen uses an altitude analogy to illustrate his second major model, 6 different levels of focus, and give perspective on tasks and commitments. These 6 levels of focus, from the bottom up, are:[2]: 51 

  1. Current actions
  2. Current projects
  3. Areas of responsibility
  4. Yearly goals
  5. 5 year vision
  6. Life goals

As one ascends in altitude, one is able to consider the "bigger picture". Considering projects, actions, unfinished business or commitments ("open loops" in GTD terminology[3]), and other "input" from a variety of "heights" gives one varying perspective.

The author advocates a weekly review focused on different levels. The perspective gained from these reviews should drive one's priorities, which in turn determines the priority of the individual tasks and commitments gathered during the workflow process. During a weekly review, the user determines the context for the tasks and puts them on the appropriate lists. Examples of grouping together similar tasks include making a list of telephone calls to make or errands to do while downtown. Context lists can be defined by the set of tools available or by the presence of individuals or groups for whom one has items to discuss or present.

The first two models are sufficient most of the time to gain control and perspective on the majority of tasks and projects. However, there are some cases in which more involved planning and thinking are necessary.[2]: 54  This leads to the third major model, which is the natural planning method. While the workflow model has a "horizontal" focus on doing individual tasks, the natural planning method has a "vertical" focus on planning projects and thinking through topics. The planning model consists of 5 stages:

  1. Defining the purpose and principles
  2. Envisioning the outcome
  3. Brainstorming
  4. Organizing
  5. Identifying next actions

GTD is based on making it easy to store, track and retrieve all information related to the things that need to get done. Allen suggests that many of the mental blocks we encounter are caused by insufficient 'front-end' planning (i.e., for any project we need to clarify what is to be achieved and what specific actions are needed to achieve it). It is most practical, according to Allen, to do this thinking in advance, generating a series of actions which we can later undertake without any further planning.

But our mental "reminder system" is inefficient and seldom reminds us of what we need to do at the time and place that we can do it. Consequently, the "next actions" stored by context in the "trusted system" act as an external support which ensures that we are presented with the right reminders at the right time. Since GTD relies on external memories, it can be seen as an application of the scientific theories of distributed cognition or the extended mind.[4]

A capsule description of GTD from Allen's book Ready for Anything:

Get everything out of your head. Make decisions about actions required on stuff when it shows up — not when it blows up. Organize reminders of your projects and the next actions on them in appropriate categories. Keep your system current, complete, and reviewed sufficiently to trust your intuitive choices about what you're doing (and not doing) at any time.

Tools and techniques

Tickler file

Main article: Tickler file
A slice of '43 Folders'

One device that the author suggests is the standard tickler file for organizing paperwork (also known as the '43 folders'). Twelve folders are used to represent each month and an additional 31 folders are used to represent each day. The folders are arranged to help remind the user of activities to be done that day.

Software tools for GTD

While GTD can be managed with simple paper tools, computer software was specifically suggested as helpful and important for implementing GTD, including digital outlining, brainstorming, and project planning applications. However, in 2001, Allen bemoaned the general lack of "good 'project management' tools", concluding:

... less structured and more functional applications will emerge in the coming years, based on the ways we naturally think and plan.[2]: 219–221 

Since then, a virtual explosion of GTD-supporting software has emerged; in April 2008, more than 100 applications provided the core features for implementingthis method.[5] These tools now range from simple list managers to collaborative web services, both free and commercial, for all popular platforms and devices. Much of this software specifically automates or reinforces the GTD methodology of collecting, processing, organizing, reviewing, and doing. They include

Other tools

Some followers of GTD advocate a 'back-to-basics' approach to personal management, and a rejection of over-engineered, high-tech solutions in favor of simple, less-expensive tools such as preprinted cards, index cards,[6] the Hipster PDA, or even the Moleskine paper pad.[7] David Allen himself says he relies on a "vanilla" Palm PDA and records "events of the day" on paper to be processed later.[8]

Reception

In 2005, Wired called GTD "A new cult for the info age",[9] describing the enthusiasm for this methodology among information technology and knowledge workers as a kind of cult following. Allen's ideas have also been popularized through the Internet, especially via blogs such as Lifehacker,[10] 43 Folders,[11] and The Simple Dollar.[12]

In 2005, Ben Hammersley interviewed David Allen for The Guardian, with an article called "Meet the man who can bring order to your universe",[13] saying "For me, as with the hundreds of thousands around the world who press the book into their friends' hands with fire in their eyes, Allen's ideas are nothing short of life-changing".

In 2007, Time Magazine called Getting Things Done the self-help business book of its time,[14] a contrast to the notion that GTD has only a niche following of zealous enthusiasts.[citation needed]

In 2007, Wired ran another article about GTD and Allen,[15] quoting him as saying "the workings of an automatic transmission are more complicated than a manual transmission, [t]o simplify a complex event, you need a complex system". The author of the article, Gary Wolf, dug into the roots of GTD, covering Allen's stay in a mental hospital and his encounters with several New Age gurus, including Sri John-Roger who created the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness, in whose church Allen is still a minister.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "What is GTD?"
  2. ^ a b c d Allen, David (2001). Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity. New York: Viking. ISBN 9780670889068.
  3. ^ "GTD Glossary"
  4. ^ Francis Heylighen & Clement Vidal (2008): Getting Things Done: The Science behind Stress-Free Productivity",Long Range Planning 41, no. 6: 585-605.
  5. ^ Comparison of GTD Software
  6. ^ A Simple Index Card GTD System
  7. ^ The Straight Dope About Moleskine Notebooks
  8. ^ David Allen Co., FAQ
  9. ^ "A new cult for the info age"
  10. ^ Best of GTD
  11. ^ Getting started with "Getting Things Done"
  12. ^ Review: Getting Things Done
  13. ^ Meet the man who can bring order to your universe
  14. ^ "The Oracle of Organization"
  15. ^ Getting Things Done Guru David Allen and His Cult of Hyperefficiency"

Further reading

Excerpts from Getting Things Done (Business Week)

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