Q: Since college I have used the GTD System and continue to apply it as best as possible. I get slammed sometimes with multiple tasks and was wondering if you could comment on how best to prioritize tasks within the context of the System. Thank you for your help.
David Allen: The Secret Sauce for what you’re inquiring is the GTD Weekly Review. I guarantee you, if you do a thorough review of all your projects, actions, calendar (prior and upcoming), and (here’s the catch) all the content is relatively complete and current in your system), you would not have this question.
But often, there are tasks that need to be completed within hours or days, and can’t necessarily wait for the weekly review.
He’s not saying to wait on taking actions though.
I review my calendar and next actions lists multiple times a day but this scanning doesn’t take a lot of time. I can quickly look at a list of 20-30 things (e.g. one of my next action contexts) in less than two minutes (actually less … I’ve timed it) and determine whether I want to act on any of them.
The reason I can scan so quickly is not brains (trust me) but a familiarity with my lists that comes from properly defined outcomes and next actions as well as a regular weekly review. The weekly review establishes both that familiarity as well as trust that it’s complete.
From there it’s just scanning to pick ones to work on. At this stage the familiarity and trust makes the question of prioritizing simply go away.
I just “see” my lists and some just stand out. That’s how I prioritize.
It sounds too easy. That’s the problem with GTD … it is that easy.
One of the principles in GTD is NOT prioritize. Prioritizing is an extra baggage to handle. To answer the question, “how best to prioritize tasks within the context of the System”, is to not prioritize at all!
Hi Marlon–Coach Kelly here
To clarify…
I’ve never heard David say that a principle of GTD is “not prioritize.” If you mean assigning ABC/123 priorities–perhaps, but even that can work if someone is willing to have it change as soon as new input comes in. The GTD Horizons of Focus is all about prioritizing, based on what’s got your attention from Runway to your Life Purpose. It’s different than most people are used to prioritizing with old school time management programs, but it’s very much still about making good decisions about your priorities based on your intuitive judgment across all of those horizons in your life.
Cheers.
Great comment, Kelly. I used to be an “ABC/123” kind of girl, but that didn’t work once I became a mother and had to take on a new level of flexibility. I love GTD because it helps me prioritize more clearly.
For example, when I look at my Next Actions list to decide which tasks to tackle, I think of the four criteria spelled out in GTD: context, time, energy, and priority.
If I have six phone calls to make, and they all require the same amount of time and energy, I automatically make the most important one first. Ever since I’ve started using GTD, I’ve stopped procrastinating–it’s been wonderful.
Thanks for all you do. It makes a big difference to so many of us!