Getting Things Done by David Allen
“Anything that is held only is your head will take up either more or less attention than it deserves”
3 Main Messages:
Use your mind to think about things, rather than of them
We need to capture, clarify and organise everything in our heads.
An effective system will increase time efficiency, make you you less stressed and make others trust you more
Are you the kind of person who plans your weekly meals and then goes to the supermarket with a specific list, written in the order of the store’s geography, and comes home with exactly everything on that list - nothing more, nothing less? Or are you the kind of person who (like me) wanders into a store with a vague idea of what you could make to eat and buys lots of random things which then go off in your fridge while you stand there with the door open, wondering why there’s nothing to eat?
In Getting Things Done, David Allen promises to help us create a “dynamic working dashboard” which will close all the open loops of thoughts, ideas, projects and reminders in our heads and make us “more accomplished with less effort.” By using the methodology in his books, he writes that we can use our minds to think about things, not of them. This will, in turn, remove all of the stress caused by our “inappropriately managed projects.”
These are ambitious claims, and I started to read Getting Things Done with an air of cynicism. The more I read, however, the more I could see the common sense in his suggestions, the potential clarity and effectiveness of his suggested systems, and the huge benefits for anyone implementing them!
Allen has looked at the ways in which we lose track of our thoughts, forget about projects and become stressed and overwhelmed by mountains of tasks. He gives clear and easy to follow steps for creating a system to “give an individual a sense of calm and control” and promises they will improve our sanity, stability and productivity.
He suggested that we complete the steps as we read them. And so I did. It takes a while, and he suggests clearing a good 2 days before starting. This is a huge commitment of time, but it is necessary in order to set things up properly. The first step - which is particularly time consuming and messy - is to CAPTURE everything in your mind by purging your drawers, list books, notes, documents, emails and messages.
The next stage is to CLARIFY this ‘stuff’ by considering if it is actionable or not and then what to do with it. This is when the third stage comes in, which is a way of ORGANISING all of this data into collection buckets. There are detailed chapters which break down each of these actionable steps and introduce the ‘do it, delete it, defer it’ method of actioning next steps. This in itself would be a wonderful way of getting on top of emails and feeling more in control.
In order to then keep up to date and for the system to work effectively, he insists on a weekly review. This is vital for checking everything over. All too often we spend our time flitting between doing predefined work and doing work as it shows up - with the latter being the most common, most frustrating, most stress inducing and least effective way of operating. By blocking time each week to define our work and update everything, our stress is reduced and we regain control.
The intention of all of the steps and suggestions made are to ensure that little pockets of time are used effectively and efficiently, and that every thought, intention and plan is captured, leading to greater productivity and control. Allen tells us that we need to “close all the open loops” in our minds to prevent us from overthinking them or forgetting them. He also advocates his system in helping us to have a “mind like water” where we are fully in control and able to easily adapt and manage when things become rough.
While the system in its entirety might not appeal to everyone and the time it takes to set up the process might be a mountain too high for many, there are still many incredibly useful pockets of ideas which would be greatly beneficial for anyone looking to become more organised and time efficient.
Afterall, as Allen says: “A great hammer doesn’t make a great carpenter; but a great carpenter will always want a great hammer.” Just as great ingredients don’t make a great cook; but a good cook will always want great ingredients. Maybe I’ll make a proper shopping list next time!
