Innovation Reading Club - GTD

CENTRO TECNOLÓXICO DE TELECOMUNICACIÓNS DE GALICIA

Getting Things Done

The art of Stress-free Productivity

Jorge Munir El Malek VázquezVigo, 05/09/2011


Agenda

1. GTD ‘Getting Things Done’: Author, Method and Book Structure

2. Stress & Anxiety

3. Beginning GTD

4. Be water my friend!

5. Stuff vs Actions & Projects

6. GTD Workflow

7. Horizontal & Vertical Dimension

8. Conclusions


GTD ‘Getting Things Done’Author, Method and Book Structure

• Author: David Allen– Productivity Consultant.– http://www.davidco.com/

• Method:– Action Management Method.

• You do not Manage Projects or Tasks Actions

– Time Management System.

• Book Structure:– Part 1: General description of GTD & Natural

Planning Method.– Part 2: Implementation Guidelines.– Part 3: Additional reflexions

http://www.davidco.com/


Stress & Anxiety

• When stress?– Perception of having ‘Too much to handle and not the time to get it all

done’

• When anxiety?– Anxiety is caused by a lack of control, organization, preparation and

action.

• Some sources:– Inappropriately managed commitments.– Too many involvement and ideas (no focus).– Ineffective personal organizational systems.

• Potential solution:– You must first identify and collect all those things that are "ringing

your bell” in some way, and then plan how to handle them.


Beginning GTD

• Human Mind Weakness– Our mind is not so smart• Example: Do you have a flashlight somewhere with dead batteries in it? When

does your mind tend to remind you that you need new batteries?

– The Major Change: Getting it all out of your head.• The mind is overload with Stuff. • Stuff works as myriads of little monitors popping up arbitrarily and distracting

your focus.


Be water my friend!

• The Promise: The ‘Ready State’ of the Martial Artist.– Experience what the martial artists call a “mind like water” and top

athletes refer to as the “zone”.

• The Principle: Dealing Effectively with Internal Commitments.– How many incompletes or open loops are pulling your attention?

There are much more than you think.

• Basic requirements in Managing Commitments– First: Clear your mind by emptying it!– Second: Clarify exactly what your commitment is and decide what

you have to do, if anything, to make progress toward fulfilling it.– Third: Once you have decided on all the actions you need to take,

you must keep reminders of them organized in a system you review regularly.

Your mind will keep working on anything that's

still in that undecided state


Stuff vs Actions & Projects

• What is Stuff?Anything you have allowed into your psychological or physical world that doesn't belong where it is, but for which you haven't yet determined the desired outcome and the next action step.

– As long as it's still "stuff," it's not controllable.

• What is an Action?: Physical, visible activity that needs to be engaged in, in order to move the current reality toward completion.

• What is a Project?: Any desired result that requires more than one action step.

– You don't actually do a project; you can only do action steps related to it.What is the objective?

Stuff Objetives, Results and Actions


GTD Workflow• GTD: 5 phase method.

– Collect.– Process– Organize– Review– Do

• Work flow description:

We (1) collect things that command our

attention; (2) process what they mean and what

to do about them; and (3) organize the results,

which we (4)review as options for what we

choose to (5) do.

• GTD must be supported by a trusted

system outside your mind where you can

come back to regularly and sort through!


GTD Workflow• Three Models for Making Action Choices– Four-Criteria Model for Choosing Actions

in the Moment• Context.• Time available.• Energy available.• Priority.

– Threefold Model for EvaluatingDaily Work

• Doing predefined work.• Doing work as it shows up (real time)• Defining your work.

– The Six-Level Model for Reviewing Your Own Work

• 50,000+ feet: Life• 40,000 feet: Three- to five-year vision• 30,000 feet: One- to two-year goals• 20,000 feet: Areas of responsibility• 10,000 feet: Current projects• Runway: Current actions


Horizontal and Vertical Dimension• You need to control commitments, projects, and actions in

two ways— horizontally and vertically.• Horizontal Dimension

– It maintains coherence across all the activities in which you are involved.

• Vertical Dimension– It manages thinking up and down the track of individual topics

and projects.– Natural Planning (vs Reactive Planning)

1. Defining purpose and principles

2. Outcome visioning

3. Brainstorming

4. Organizing

5. Identifying next actions

Peter Drucker: “In knowledge work the task is not

given; it has to be determined


Conclusions• Anxiety & Stress as result of lack of control, organization, preparation

and action.

• Our mind is not so smart as we thought.

We need an external trusted system.

• 3 Steps for managing commitments.– Clear and empty your mind.– Clarify your commitments and decide your objectives.– Establish actions and keep reminders.

• Main objective: Translate Stuff into Actions.

• GTD Workflow:– 5 steps.– Collect Process Organize Review Do.

• Horizontal & Vertical Dimension:– Natural Planning.


Questions?

Thanks for your attention!


Let’sTalk!• GTD Application

• GTD Pros & Cons.

• Practical considerations about its implementation.

• Alternatives to GTD.

• Personal Productivity• What personal management methods do you know?

• Have you implemented any of them? Do you feel the improvement?

• More productive YES – Solution for intrinsic problems NO. • To become silent water there is more to do than just get organized!

• Productivity & Company• Typical procrastination sources (what about meetings?)

• Global productivity Personal Productivity

• Strategies for productivity improvement into the company.

Date post:	16-May-2015
Category:	Business
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