{"id":4684,"date":"2011-01-26T20:35:19","date_gmt":"2011-01-27T04:35:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gtdtimes.com\/?p=4684"},"modified":"2018-04-02T09:38:12","modified_gmt":"2018-04-02T16:38:12","slug":"the-6-horizons-of-focus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2011\/01\/the-6-horizons-of-focus\/","title":{"rendered":"The 6 Horizons of Focus\u00ae"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>David Allen discusses the 6 Horizons of Focus<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/gtdtimes\/2011\/01\/Helicopter.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-4691\" title=\"Helicopter\" src=\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/gtdtimes\/2011\/01\/Helicopter.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"276\" height=\"183\" \/><\/a>Aside from the fact that the volume of what people need to organize is often light-years beyond what they imagine, there is much more to getting a grip on your \u201cwork\u201d than most realize.\u00a0Managing the flow of work can be approached from many altitudes, as there are many different levels of defining what your \u201cwork\u201d really is. Whereas we may have some lower levels in control, there are often incomplete and unclear issues at higher levels that can and need to be addressed, to really get it all under control. And often there are issues about the nature and volume of work that cannot be resolved viewing it from an inappropriate level. We have roughly categorized \u201cwork\u201d into six levels, or horizons of focus.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>This is admittedly a somewhat arbitrary delineation, but it has proven valuable for many clients to frame their conversations, questions, and issues within this context.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ground: Calendar\/actions<\/strong><br \/>\nThis is the ground floor \u2013 the huge volume of actions and information you currently have to do and to organize, including emails, calls, memos, errands, stuff to read, stuff to file, things to talk to staff about, etc. If you got no further input in your life, this would likely take you 300-500 hours to finish. Just getting a complete and current inventory of the next actions required at this level is quite a feat.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Horizon 1: Projects<\/strong><br \/>\nThis is the inventory of your projects \u2013 all the things that you have commitments to finish, that take more than one action step to complete. \u00a0These \u201copen loops\u201d are what create most of your actions. These projects\u00a0include anything from \u201clook into having a birthday party for Susan\u201d to \u201cbuy Acme Brick Co.\u201d Most people have between 30 and 100 of these. If you were to fully and accurately define this list, it would undoubtedly generate many more and different actions than you currently have identified.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Horizon 2: Areas of focus and accountability<\/strong><br \/>\nWhat\u2019s your job? Driving the creation of a lot of your projects are the four to seven major areas of responsibility that you at least implicitly are going to be held accountable to have done well, at the end of some time period, by yourself if not by someone else (e.g. boss.) With a clear and current evaluation of what those areas or responsibility are, and what you are (and are not) doing about them, there are likely new projects to be created, and old ones to be eliminated.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Horizon 3: One- to two-year goals and objectives<\/strong><br \/>\nWhere is your job going? What will the role you\u2019re in right now be looking like 12-18 months from now, based on your goals\u00a0and on the directions of the changes at that level? We\u2019ve met very few people who are doing only what they were hired to do.\u00a0 These days, job descriptions are moving targets. You may be personally changing what you\u2019re doing, given personal goals; and the job itself may need to look different, given the shifting nature of the work at the departmental or divisional level. Getting this level clear always creates some new projects and actions.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Horizon 4: Three- to five-year vision<\/strong><br \/>\nThe goals and direction of the larger entity within which\u00a0you operate heavily influence your job and your professional direction. Where is your company going to be, one to three years from now? How will that be affecting the scope and scale of your job, your department, and your division? What external factors (like technology) are influencing the changes? How is the definition and relationship with your customers going to be changing, etc.? Thinking at this level invariably surfaces some projects that need to be defined, and new action steps to move them forward.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Horizon 5: Purpose and principles<\/strong><br \/>\nWhat is the work you are here to do on the planet, with your life? This is the ultimate bigger picture discussion. Is this the job you want? Is this the lifestyle you want? Are you operating within the context of your real values, etc.? From an organizational perspective, this is the Purpose and Vision discussion. Why does it exist? No matter how organized you may get, if you are not spending enough time with your family, your health, your spiritual life,\u00a0etc., you will still have \u201cincompletes\u201d to deal with, make decisions about, and have projects and actions about, to get completely clear.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Managing the flow of work can be approached from many altitudes.  We have roughly categorized \u201cwork\u201d into six levels, or horizons of focus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,32],"tags":[123,22,745,29,69,28,92,94,109,114,116,122],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.4 (Yoast SEO v22.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The 6 Horizons of Focus<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Managing the flow of work can be approached from many altitudes. 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