Archive for category Getting Things Done
Closing my open loops for 2009
Posted by David C. Buchan in Getting Things Done, Self improvement on January 5th, 2010
Reading time: 4 – 6 minutes
An open loop is something which is pulling on your attention. I have a few from 2009 relating to Quantum Gardener which I will close today lest they fester and end up consuming more and more of my time.
50 book challenge (2009)
In 2008 I successfully read 50 personal and self improvement books in a 12 month period and once complete immediately set myself the same task for 2009. Whatever the reasons, and I could create many, my progress this time around has been much slower. As of today I am at 16/50 which leaves 34 between now and April. In terms of open loops I had committed to myself to write up a short overview of each book for you the reader and I’ve managed just 8 of the 16. So, here are they are:
Getting Things Done by David Allen; At least my third reading of my productivity bible. Each time through I learn something new. See my Getting Things Done category of posts for more information.
The Way of the Bow by Paulo Coelho; The most succinct book on goal setting I have ever read. It uses the various aspects of archery as metaphors for goals. The title is available for free online.
“But never hold back from firing the arrow if all that paralyses you is fear of making a mistake. if you have made the right movements, open you hand and release the string. Even if the arrow fails to it the target, you will learn how to improve your aim next time.
Go for No! by Richard Fenton and Andrea Waltz; A second read in the period and perhaps more interesting the second time around (see my earlier review).
The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz; This is a classic reminder that our thinking is the ultimate limiting factor in the success of our life. This was my second reading and I was grateful to be able to identify those times I’ve thought big and achieved results. It also helped me identify all those times I didn’t think so big and pulled back for no real reason.
“We must be willing to make an intelligent compromise with perfection lest we wait forever before taking action.”
The Manual of the Warrior of the Light by Paulo Coelho; A series of short stories, often in parable form, exposing virtuous characteristics. I often take inspiration from these stories. For those familiar with The Warrior of the Light newsletter, much of the content here will be familiar. The title is available for free online at http://paulocoelhoblog.com/internet-books/
Today Matters by John C. Maxwell; This is the most important book that I read in 2009. So much so that it was read cover to cover twice in a matter of weeks. The basic concept is that what we do each day sets us for the success of tomorrow and we must put daily disciplines into place for that to occur. I’ll write more in a later post.
Practising gratefulness daily
A little while ago I wrote about the benefits of practising gratefulness daily. My well meant intention was to post what I was grateful for each day on Twitter and sadly I haven’t come close to doing that. I am often grateful but may not pick up the habit of a daily post until later this year.
Declaration of closure
And so I declare my 2009 open loops closed with regard to Quantum Gardener. There are still many ideas trying to get out of my head and into this blog. It takes time to organise them all and find space to write clearly. It may be as part of my 2010 self-improvement learning plan that I commit to a weekly blog entry at a minimum yet before doing so I do need to be sure it won’t be at the cost of something else.
Implementing a tickler file in PersonalBrain
Posted by David C. Buchan in Getting Things Done, Using technology on May 20th, 2009
Reading time: 2 – 3 minutes
I run my Getting Things Done (GTD) system using PersonalBrain as my primary tool. Using Tags for contexts and a Thought Type for dates I’m easily able to model an online tickler file. Tickler files are used to remind you of things in the future — in the future so that you can forget about them now.
I firstly created an @tickler tag to hold any items I wish to be tickled about in the future.
In the image above you’ll see three items. An eye test, a podcast to listen to and a reminder to take a GTD belt self-assessment. That’s all great but how do I know when I need to be reminded of these during a weekly review? Well, I have each attached to a date and by expanding all on the screen (click the + button in the toolbar) I get both dates and project links.
Each date is typed using a Date thought type that I’ve created. My next eye test is due in May 2011 (2011-05). I plan to listen to the podcast in August 2009 (2009-08).
This simple blending of PersonalBrain and tickler files is working well for it makes the most of PersonalBrain’s linking structures. When I move them to my regular lists, it’s just a click or two away with no need to re-enter information. These items are @tickler because I know I’ll do them in the future. They could be stored as Someday/Maybe items but I personally have a different class of item on that list.
See also
Further information on how I, and others, use PersonalBrain for GTD can be found in this PersonalBrain forum post.
GTD seminar learnings
Posted by David C. Buchan in Getting Things Done on May 18th, 2009
Reading time: 1 – 2 minutes
Poojan Wagh’s list of learnings from a recent GTD seminar makes interesting reading. There may be some things you can learn as well.
The biggest thing I learned from the seminar was that I need to experiment more. I had taken the GTD methodology to be a mandate.
Most of my frustration with GTD has come from either doing exactly what was suggested or not doing exactly what was suggested. It takes time to find what works for you. This typically involves running down further non-productive paths in order to find what doesn’t work first; the widest path being a need to link projects and next actions.
I have tried to implement GTD on a Palm Pilot, Pocket PC, in Microsoft Outlook, in MindManager and have finally settled on PersonalBrain. I’ve connected projects to next actions and wasted time managing the connections. I’ve have half my system one way and half another, only to flip them around and find it still didn’t work for me.
GTD black belt mastery takes more time than expected and comes from practising the methods and that peculiar knowledge which can only be understood by trying and failing. Wax on, wax off.
How keeping a journal can help with understanding yourself
Posted by David C. Buchan in Getting Things Done, Writing on May 15th, 2009
Reading time: 2 – 4 minutes
A few days ago I wrote on the last page in my moleskine journal. It took me 10½ months to write on each of the 240 pages. The journal is a record of my internal thinking over that period and I’d like to share with you some of what I learnt about the writing process along the way.
- The more frequently you write, the better the conversations you have with yourself. In past years I’ve been called to write in a journal infrequently; usually only when I had a particularly nasty problem on my mind. Recently I’ve found myself needing to visit my journal every two or three days because I now benefit from a regular outpouring of ideas and my associated comfort level has shifted. I typically write at the start of the day. In the evening before bed I’m too tired to delve into it yet some nights I find myself writing in the wee small hours of the morning to get an idea out of my head so that I can sleep.
- Write what you think and feel as well as what you do. I do note important events in my journal as I consider it a historical record yet most of the benefit comes from writing what I feel and believe rather than transcribing my day’s actions (of course thinking and feeling are actions in themselves).
- Questions are a good source of things to write about. My output really kicked off when I was given a list of 50 self-inquiry questions to consider. I committed to answer all 50 in 50 days which in itself was a lot of fun to do and a fantastic goal to achieve. Many books on self-improvement contain questions to ask of yourself and these can be a great source of inquiry. I frequently found I was surprised by my answers.
- A journal is aplace you can be honest. When open to the process I would write a description of what was on the surface and listen for the deeper thought behind it. More often than not I would be in wonder at identifying what I was really thinking. These thoughts were the doorways to different ideas and actions.
- Get a good pen and paper. Moleskine notebooks are nice to write in. I use a 240 page, unlined version to let me draw pictures if I need to. I also prefer to write with a fountain pen. Why? Simply because I enjoy the feel of the ink across the paper and I’m doing something special for myself so why not have special tools as well.
This morning I started a new journal with a mood of wonder at where it will take me in the coming months.
Update: Arbhay Parvate tweeted me after he recognised journalling was a way of clearing out open loops at higher levels of GTD focus. I hadn’t realised this myself and it certainly provides an explanation for why it has become such an enjoyable and useful experience.
The office – An example of what GTD can do
Posted by David C. Buchan in Getting Things Done on May 5th, 2009
Reading time: 2 – 2 minutes
In just four hours of concentrated work I cleared and processed four in-trays, one bookshelf, two desks, the floor, the top of three filing cabinets and a table. The only casualties were a cheap office shredder and a Dymo labeller tape. I tell a lie. The third casualty was stress and confusion. This morning the accounts office was a mess — now it is serene and workable. I wish I’d taken before photos. These are the after photos.
The process was simple as I walked from place to place in the office treating each as a collection point. As I looked at each file or piece of paper I labelled it @file or @project or if not needed placed it in a bin or shred pile (for sensitive material). Rubbish and shredding were handled as I went with the filing done in the last hour. Out of all that I have approx eight projects to define and organise into my system.
There was no doing in this. Just processing. That’s what made it possible.
Getting Things Done makes a day off a day off
Posted by David C. Buchan in Getting Things Done on May 4th, 2009
Reading time: 1 – 2 minutes
Last Thursday was one of those days. Lots of stuff coming at me and some critical deadlines which had be be met before I was able to take Friday off work. Despite this I left Thursday in control knowing what had to be done was done and comfortable that what I hadn’t yet got to could wait.
Three of the core processes in Getting Things Done are Collect, Process and Organise. The first involves collecting all loose bits of paper, ideas, business cards etc into collection buckets such as a a physical in-tray on your desk. The second is the discrete step of deciding what do to with all those pieces of information and the third is organising the decisions into a trusted system for recall when required.
It was because I had been doing this that I knew everything was captured and there were no landmines waiting for me. I was then able to make practical decisions (given my time and energy available) about what to do next and what could be left.
These simple acts, when developed as habits, make life much easier.
Recommended podcast: David Allen on Making It All Work
Posted by David C. Buchan in Getting Things Done on April 29th, 2009
Reading time: 1 – 2 minutes
Sometimes a kick in the pants is needed to get you started again. The Free Library of Philadelphia recorded a talk by David Allen in which he provides the best overall outline and introduction to his Getting Things Done material that I have heard. He doesn’t hold back any punches.
The podcast was a timely reminder that I have not been capturing all my thoughts and pulling them out of my head. In the fourteen hours since, and considering for many of those I was asleep, I’ve identified 41 thoughts. Almost all of them I’ve had before.
Without a capture device in my car I called my office number to leave voicemails as I drove (hands-free of course), write numerous items in my notes as I listened to a presentation and many more items on the notepaper beside my bed. This has happened to me before. Let the floodgates open and be sure you have pen and paper ready.
If you’re not familiar with the Getting Things Done methodology, the podcast is an excellent introduction. If you are familiar, it is an excellent reminder.
Little known ways to eliminate stressful thinking
Posted by David C. Buchan in Getting Things Done, Self improvement, Writing on April 28th, 2009
Reading time: 3 – 4 minutes
If your body is tense you can massage it into relaxation. What if your mind is tense? How do you relax that?
It is possible to eliminate stressful thinking and massage your mind into relaxation. This is the second in a series of articles on stress management explaining the simple and practical ways in which you can reduce stress in your life to a level that you can then do something positive about it. Yesterday we covered ways to eliminate sources of unwarranted stress. How did you go?
Journalling creates paths forward
We do not realise how accelerated the rate of our lives has become, or the speed at which we are driving ourselves. Many people are destroying their physical bodies by this pace, but what is even more tragic, they are tearing their minds and souls to shreds as well.
Norman V. Peale, The Power of Positive Thinking (Bungay, Suffolk: Richard Clay (The Chaucer Press) 1984), p.96.
I am quite capable of carrying a lot of stressful thoughts around in my head. The moment when I scream inside is that very moment when my mind and soul tear. I no longer feel as capable as I was before. These are the moments when I most need to have a conversation with myself.
A mind tearing itself to shreds is not capable of having a conversation with itself. You just can’t hear yourself think over the stressful thoughts and as thinking occurs fast there is no chance to interrupt.
Writing your thoughts down is one way of breaking this cycle. I call it journalling and others will say writing in a diary. It doesn’t matter which. What is important is your willingness to pick up a pen and start writing what you are thinking. The lag between the two i.e., the difference in speed at which you think and write, is where the magic occurs.
I frequently journal my thoughts onto paper. Daily if I can, but always when I am stressed. It acts as a pressure valve to get what I really think onto paper and out of my head. Often it doesn’t matter what I write but that I have written something. As I write I listen for the real thoughts which now have space to surface. Each and every time I do this I learn something which provides a new path forward. With that my stress is reduced.
So instead of running or going to the gym to relieve stress, take out a pen and exercise with that instead.
The three-fold nature of work
David Allen’s Getting Things Done methodology describes a three-fold nature of work. Stress can come from being imbalanced across the areas. Take a look and see where your balance lies.
- Doing pre-defined work: This is choosing from what is already on your to-do list and calendar
- Doing work as it appears: Responding to the latest, loudest and new opportunities
- Defining work: Working out what is important, scheduling etc.
If you are stressed it is likely you are working too much in one area or you have conflicts between areas which you are not adequately handling.
Tomorrow: If You Don’t Affirm Yourself Now, You’ll Hate Yourself Later
Recognising transitions in order to get things done
Posted by David C. Buchan in Getting Things Done on July 24th, 2006
Reading time: 2 – 3 minutes
Isn’t it wonderful when you learn something you didn’t even know that you didn’t know. And more wonderful when it’s something that you desparately needed. By way of his blog, Matt Cornell has just introduced me to the idea of transitions and how they relate to David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD).
Time present and time past
Are both perhaps present in time future,
And time future contained in time past.
There are a number of moments or still points each day where we transition from one place to another. The place may be physical, from the office to the car, or mental, as we finish on activity and begin on another. These points of transition represent moments of choice that until now I didn’t realise existed. In the GTD methodology, as you finish a next action step, you should decide what to do next. I have to admit I’m not as strong there as I should be. Even with the support of ResultsManager to help filter what is possible I don’t always remember to think of what to do next (being software based I don’t always have access either). It may sound simple but part of the reason for this is simply not having a name for that moment.
In his blog entry, Matt lists several examples of transitions
- Leaving the house – Is there anything I need to take, based on where I’m going?
- Leaving the driveway – Is there anything on @Errands I can pick up?
- Entering the office – What contexts are available? @Phone? @Computer?
- Finishing an action – What’s my context/time/energy/priority like? Should I activate another action from an associated project?
- Finishing a phone call – do I have time to make other calls from @Phone?
(GTD’ers will recognise the meaning of the @ symbol as designating a particular context of action)
These examples are little different from what I would normally ask myself — when I remember to ask that is. Now I need only train myself to think “transition, what next?”.
Kudos to ResultsManager and Gyronix
Posted by David C. Buchan in Getting Things Done, Using technology on March 8th, 2006
Reading time: 2 – 2 minutes
This is a public thanks to the team at Gyronix for creating such a great MindManager add-in with their ResultsManager Vista product. I’ve been a user of ResultsManager for about two years and have made it a core tool in my implementation of David Allen’s Getting Things Done methodology. I’ve even put it to use to manage a sales funnel by informing me when I need to get back in contact with someone.
This time around I used it to track all the processes required for finding a job and it worked perfectly, taking a load off my mind and significantly reducing the risk of forgetting to speak with someone or follow up a lead.
To do this I created a single mindmap which I ran straight into the Executive Dashboard without modification. In my source mindmap I had several main branches which helped me to separate recruitment firms, companies, friends and job applications from the paper. With each call that I made I updated the progress to track where I was in the commitment cycle. This meant ResultsManager would tell me who I hadn’t yet called, who I’d left messages with, who had promised to get back to me and which conversations were finished (an important step in demonstrating progress to myself). I was creating an action for each application from the paper and so ResultsManager would keep track of when each was sent should I need it later. Once mailed I would then create an action to remind me in a week or so to follow up if I hadn’t heard anything.
The whole system worked beautifully and took a large amount of stress out of a very stressful process. I cannot recommend the software enough.
-
-
You are currently browsing the archives for the Getting Things Done category.
Charter for Compassion
