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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
A few years back, I read Mari Kondo's The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up on the KonMari method. I confess that I didn't manage to implement her category-by-category system of decluttering and tidying up; it was a little too overwhelming for me and practically speaking, I couldn't see how I could implement it in an apartment with two young kids running around the place. But the book did help me be more mindful of the things I was accumulating at home. I did end up decluttering a fair bit, shelf by shelf, cupboard by cupboard and while my apartment is far from Kondo standards, there are some cupboards I can open without a sense of dread or stress.
I felt similarly inspired after reading Getting Things Done. This isn't a traditional productivity book in that it isn't teaching you hacks and processes to manage your focus and to accomplish more tasks in a given amount of time. Nor is it a book about clarifying your larger vision and priorities (unlike, say 4000 Weeks: Time Management for Mortals).
Allen's promise is a seductive one - that it's "possible for a person to have an overwhelming number of things to do and still function productively with a clear head and a positive sense of relaxed control." How it this possible when most people generally feel that they have way too much on their plate and not enough time to get it done?
For Allen, it is all about closing all the "incompletes" or "open loops", whether these are tiny things like "get lightbulbs" or large issues like "overhaul the company". Allen's GTD approach can be summarised in three points:
#1: CAPTURE: Anything you consider unfinished in any way must be captured in a trusted system outside your mind, i.e. a "collection tool" that you know you'll come back to regularly and sort through. If it's not captured in an external, trusted system but is lurking somewhere in your subconscious, that's what creates that constant low level of stress and anxiety.
Have as few capturing buckets as you can get by with (e.g. a physical in tray, a notebook, digital note taking, your email in box). Don't have written reminders scattered everywhere. These capturing buckets must be emptied and processed regularly - this doesn't mean finishing everything that is there; it just means you have to decide more specifically what it is and what should be done with it.
#2: CLARIFY: You empty your collection container by clarifying exactly what your commitment is for each item and decide what you have to do, if anything, to make progress towards fulfilling that commitment. So for each email, text, page of meeting notes, or self-generated idea, you must clarify what "done" looks like (i.e. the outcome) and what the next action to take is in specific terms (not something vague like "explore options" or "bank" or "check in with Mom").
Here, Allen offers a helpful decision tree to clarify what is to be done. If there is no action required, do we trash the item, leave it to incubate for later or file it as a reference? If it is actionable, do we do it now (yes if it takes less than 2 minutes), delegate it or defer it (because it will take longer than 2 minutes).
#3: ORGANISE: Once you've decided on all the actions you need to take, you must keep reminders of them organised in a system you review regularly. This way, the reminders are not lurking somewhere in your subconscious but are available in the appropriate context, in a trusted format, when you could use it.
Allen suggests that possible categories for non-actionable items are Trash, Incubation (a someday/maybe list) and Reference. Meanwhile, for actionable things he suggests having a List of projects, Files for project plans and materials, a Calendar, a List of reminders of next actions and a List of reminders of things you're waiting for. And if our list of next actions is fairly long (Allen notes than 50-150 items on the list is normal), we can subdivide that list into categories like Calls to Make, Computer Action items, At Home items, Errands, at Office items, Agendas (for people and meetings), Read/Review.
#4: REFLECT: Having decided on all the actions you need to take and organised them appropriately, you need to reflect on the contents consistently enough to keep them functional. This includes looking ahead at your calendar consistently enough to stay current about upcoming events and deadlines, for instance. Allen suggests looking at all of one's outstanding projects and open loops on a weekly basis. Meanwhile, Projects, Waiting for and Someday/Maybe lists need to be reviewed only as often as you think they need to be in order to stop you from wondering about them.
It is during the Weekly Review that you gather and process all your stuff; review your system; update your lists; and get clean, clear, current and complete. Allen argues that "you have to use your mind to get things off your mind". Unless your overview is total, you'll always have a vague sense that something is missing. So the review is key in ensuring that you trust your system.
#5: ENGAGE: Doing #1 to #4 consistently facilitates good choices about what we're doing at any point in time, based on our context (e.g. where we are, how much time we have available, how much energy we have, urgency, etc).
By doing so, Allen argues that we shift from thinking OF a problem or project to thinking ABOUT it. And this sense that we are slowly but surely making some progress brings psychological relief and stops these open loops from distracting us from other things we need to think about. This process gets us in the habit of "keeping nothing in our mind….not by managing time, managing information, or managing priorities…[but] managing your actions".
For Allen, it is not about doing more and more. And he acknowledges that new, unexpected demands often arise which can throw us off. But it is precisely when we maintain the discipline of regular review, to review and renegotiate the other actions on our lists with ourselves or between us and others that allows us to maintain peace of mind. Because we've actively chosen what we will do and what we will not be doing consequently.
GTD reminded me of Mari Kondo's books in several ways. First was how comprehensive its scope is. Just as Kondo advocates going through every single room and every single cranny to gather all the objects belonging to a particular category, Allen suggests doing a comprehensive sweep of all the areas that create unprocessed stuff - the physical environment (at home and in the office including drawers, shelves, surfaces, etc), physical mail and email, receipts, meeting notes, post-its, reading material, and also doing a mind sweep of all the things "residing in your mental RAM space".
For both Kondo and Allen, it's about creating a sense of well-being; while Kondo focusses on cleaning up the physical space such that every thing in that space has utility and sparks joy, Allen's focus is on reducing mental clutter and the "debilitating psychological noise" that results from unprocessed and unorganised thoughts.
I'm not sure I'll be able to go the full GTD hog, in the same way I wasn't able to do the full KonMari hog. But I think just being able to incorporate a few of Allen's principles would make an immense difference to my quality of life.
Five stars.
I felt similarly inspired after reading Getting Things Done. This isn't a traditional productivity book in that it isn't teaching you hacks and processes to manage your focus and to accomplish more tasks in a given amount of time. Nor is it a book about clarifying your larger vision and priorities (unlike, say 4000 Weeks: Time Management for Mortals).
Allen's promise is a seductive one - that it's "possible for a person to have an overwhelming number of things to do and still function productively with a clear head and a positive sense of relaxed control." How it this possible when most people generally feel that they have way too much on their plate and not enough time to get it done?
For Allen, it is all about closing all the "incompletes" or "open loops", whether these are tiny things like "get lightbulbs" or large issues like "overhaul the company". Allen's GTD approach can be summarised in three points:
#1: CAPTURE: Anything you consider unfinished in any way must be captured in a trusted system outside your mind, i.e. a "collection tool" that you know you'll come back to regularly and sort through. If it's not captured in an external, trusted system but is lurking somewhere in your subconscious, that's what creates that constant low level of stress and anxiety.
Have as few capturing buckets as you can get by with (e.g. a physical in tray, a notebook, digital note taking, your email in box). Don't have written reminders scattered everywhere. These capturing buckets must be emptied and processed regularly - this doesn't mean finishing everything that is there; it just means you have to decide more specifically what it is and what should be done with it.
#2: CLARIFY: You empty your collection container by clarifying exactly what your commitment is for each item and decide what you have to do, if anything, to make progress towards fulfilling that commitment. So for each email, text, page of meeting notes, or self-generated idea, you must clarify what "done" looks like (i.e. the outcome) and what the next action to take is in specific terms (not something vague like "explore options" or "bank" or "check in with Mom").
Here, Allen offers a helpful decision tree to clarify what is to be done. If there is no action required, do we trash the item, leave it to incubate for later or file it as a reference? If it is actionable, do we do it now (yes if it takes less than 2 minutes), delegate it or defer it (because it will take longer than 2 minutes).
#3: ORGANISE: Once you've decided on all the actions you need to take, you must keep reminders of them organised in a system you review regularly. This way, the reminders are not lurking somewhere in your subconscious but are available in the appropriate context, in a trusted format, when you could use it.
Allen suggests that possible categories for non-actionable items are Trash, Incubation (a someday/maybe list) and Reference. Meanwhile, for actionable things he suggests having a List of projects, Files for project plans and materials, a Calendar, a List of reminders of next actions and a List of reminders of things you're waiting for. And if our list of next actions is fairly long (Allen notes than 50-150 items on the list is normal), we can subdivide that list into categories like Calls to Make, Computer Action items, At Home items, Errands, at Office items, Agendas (for people and meetings), Read/Review.
#4: REFLECT: Having decided on all the actions you need to take and organised them appropriately, you need to reflect on the contents consistently enough to keep them functional. This includes looking ahead at your calendar consistently enough to stay current about upcoming events and deadlines, for instance. Allen suggests looking at all of one's outstanding projects and open loops on a weekly basis. Meanwhile, Projects, Waiting for and Someday/Maybe lists need to be reviewed only as often as you think they need to be in order to stop you from wondering about them.
It is during the Weekly Review that you gather and process all your stuff; review your system; update your lists; and get clean, clear, current and complete. Allen argues that "you have to use your mind to get things off your mind". Unless your overview is total, you'll always have a vague sense that something is missing. So the review is key in ensuring that you trust your system.
#5: ENGAGE: Doing #1 to #4 consistently facilitates good choices about what we're doing at any point in time, based on our context (e.g. where we are, how much time we have available, how much energy we have, urgency, etc).
By doing so, Allen argues that we shift from thinking OF a problem or project to thinking ABOUT it. And this sense that we are slowly but surely making some progress brings psychological relief and stops these open loops from distracting us from other things we need to think about. This process gets us in the habit of "keeping nothing in our mind….not by managing time, managing information, or managing priorities…[but] managing your actions".
For Allen, it is not about doing more and more. And he acknowledges that new, unexpected demands often arise which can throw us off. But it is precisely when we maintain the discipline of regular review, to review and renegotiate the other actions on our lists with ourselves or between us and others that allows us to maintain peace of mind. Because we've actively chosen what we will do and what we will not be doing consequently.
GTD reminded me of Mari Kondo's books in several ways. First was how comprehensive its scope is. Just as Kondo advocates going through every single room and every single cranny to gather all the objects belonging to a particular category, Allen suggests doing a comprehensive sweep of all the areas that create unprocessed stuff - the physical environment (at home and in the office including drawers, shelves, surfaces, etc), physical mail and email, receipts, meeting notes, post-its, reading material, and also doing a mind sweep of all the things "residing in your mental RAM space".
For both Kondo and Allen, it's about creating a sense of well-being; while Kondo focusses on cleaning up the physical space such that every thing in that space has utility and sparks joy, Allen's focus is on reducing mental clutter and the "debilitating psychological noise" that results from unprocessed and unorganised thoughts.
I'm not sure I'll be able to go the full GTD hog, in the same way I wasn't able to do the full KonMari hog. But I think just being able to incorporate a few of Allen's principles would make an immense difference to my quality of life.
Five stars.
I didn't really find the book stress-free. It was difficult to read/focus on because of the pages layouts - most pages had several sidebar inserts of quotes or tips to the point where it was visually overwhelming to try to digest all of the information. It was geared more toward a business audience and prioritizing and less toward the audience of people with emotional or motivational problems. If you have the time to read and decipher all of the information in this book, then you probably already have enough time and energy to get all your things done without it.
I liked the general zen approach - the way to get things done is to stop having your brain crowded with everything you need to do. Put them in their place (a list, calendar etc) and then move on. Work on things that only take two minutes and get rid of them. Stuff like that. I'm intrigued to start implementing some or all of this at work and see how it goes...
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
I don't know how I ended up rereading this, despite (as I now see) having already given it a one star rating in a different edition. It's gratifying to realize my opinion hasn't changed. This is a needlessly complicated version of organizing ones life. Overwhelming in fact. Only two things I come away with. The first being an obvious tip (though I always appreciate the reminder) the second being one of those pretty insightful though in hindsight quite obvious why-did-I-not-think-of-it-that-way tips.
1 Write all your projects down.
"Purge unnecessary belongings from life"
2 Consider very next physical step in the project.
"Donate copy of Getting Things Done"
Not worth the price of reading.
1 Write all your projects down.
"Purge unnecessary belongings from life"
2 Consider very next physical step in the project.
"Donate copy of Getting Things Done"
Not worth the price of reading.
I do not like this book because it did not game me anything new to improve my life. Almost everything in this book is already discussed in a bunch of other self-help books. This is my opinion, you have to respect it.
It was very insightful. Some parts were hard to read and required reading over a few times. I'm excited to try out these methods.
It has some good information at the beginning. By the third portion of the book, the author keeps repeating himself, talking about his successes, and comparing his way with others. The last portion of the book didn't add anything to the understanding of his process.
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Not a good fit for my needs but it still had good tips and insight.