Book 16: Getting Things Done

Getting Things Done:  The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by Allen is a system designed to clear the mind of all the clutter of jostling projects, responsibilities, things to do, etc. and funnel it into a manageable system of actionable items to be completed.  The system has 5 steps:  collecting, processing, organizing, reviewing, and doing.  Collecting involves pulling out all of the things that need to be done or for larger items jotting down what needs to be done and adding that paper to the in pile.  Then starting on blank paper and brainstorming all of the things that need to be done that may not have a physical item associated with them.  Processing involves taking that pile and determining what the next action for each item needs to be.  Items with no action are trashed or filed as either possibilities or reference.  Items that have actions are done if they require less than two minutes, delegated, or defer either to a specific calendar day or a series of next action lists.  Organizing details how to set up the lists required and file any related material.  The lists are set up based on where the work needs to be done:  call items, office items, house items, etc.  Reviewing involving setting aside a time weekly to go over the current lists and go through the previous steps with any new items that come in.  Doing involves identifying when you have open time and accomplishing the items on the list based on the time available, energy level, etc.

The book is geared toward professionals in an office environment but can certainly be adaptable to the home as well.  I decided to start with my desk area last week.  I collected everything on my desk, actually found the desktop again, and cleaned out all of my drawers.  I'm slowly processing the items as I have time.  I also made a list of all of my open projects and did some brainstorming on what I need to do to get a few of them rolling again.  It's definitely going to take more than one read to incorporate his techniques, but I also feel like I picked up plenty of helpful information on the first read through.