Getting things done (GTD) is a work-life management method that stresses the importance of collecting, recording and systematically organising tasks and commitments.
GTD is based on a five-step plan: collect, process, organise, review, do.
First, you need to collect your thoughts, ideas, and anything you need to act on. You can use any collection method you choose, such as a notebook, electronic organiser or computer program. Next, process these items deciding what, if anything, these tasks require you to do. Then, organise and review your collection of tasks regularly to ensure your GTD system remains up to date, adding new items as you go. Your mind will then be free to concentrate on ‘doing’, without the clutter of remembering tasks in your head.
The concept of listing tasks is nothing new. GTD is different because it advocates using different ‘perspectives’ when approaching tasks.
To gain perspective and control, GTD suggests several different ways of sorting your tasks and commitments. If you have many tasks spanning several projects, the ‘next action’ list shows only the next task for each project - a useful perspective when managing several projects concurrently. If you need to concentrate on one project, the ‘project’ list groups tasks by project name. Many more perspectives exist, including the ‘waiting for’ list, which highlights tasks awaiting an external event to occur before you can progress, and the ‘someday/maybe’ list of non urgent tasks.
Viewing tasks from different perspectives is made easier with specialist software. GTD programs let you enter task information into a database, which can be filtered and viewed by perspective, at the click of a button. Another level of control - context - lists tasks by nature, such as email, call, meeting or shopping. So when heading out for the day, you can print a list of ‘meetings’ and ‘shopping’. Ideal if your meetings are in town and you want to pick up your shopping on the way home.
GTD is designed for work-life management, not just work. For business owners - where the lines between work and life are often blurred - GTD could be the time management method of choice.
More info: The Business Link guide Computer Software: the basics offers advice on identifying the business benefits of new software.
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