David Allen answers the timeless question, “What are the first steps in getting organized?”
If by “getting organized” you mean getting relaxed and in control, it actually involves five steps, only one of which is actually the specific “organizing” component. 1) Collect the work. Corral everything that has potential meaning for you. 2) Process the collected work and associated notes. What specifically do they mean in terms of your commitments about them? What can you toss? What are the actions required on what you keep? 3) Organize the results of what you’ve collected and processed into retrievable lists and groupings. For instance, when you’re at a phone you should be able to see all the calls you need to make. 4) Keep things current—which involves a weekly review. What are your outstanding commitments and agreements? What new ones have emerged? 5) Decide what you want to do. Make a choice about how to allocate your resources, and feel comfortable about that decision.
Grab the free article or buy the laminated card set that summarizes these phases as well.
I found out about GTD several years ago after reading several books about Getting Organized. This is the one that stuck in my mind.
I am always challenged to fully implement it, but I do keep coming back to it. This article is perfect for the holidays and helps me review what the steps are to feeling clutter free for 2010.
I gave my first employee the GTD book for Christmas. We are implementing this as a standards of practice for my company.
Thanks, David and GTD Team.
This is exactly the boost I needed today. Sometimes a gently reminder for weekly review is all it takes.
Thanks