Getting things done, redux

Years ago I read David Allen’s book “Getting Things Done” (GTD). It made sense, and for a while I used it, and I got things done. That was nice.

Then, for reasons, I stopped using it. And then I tried again and stopped, again, for reasons. I haven’t used it for many, many years, also for reasons. And now I’m working my way into using it, or something like it, again, because I really want to get stuff done, and I am going to have to deal with the reasons. After a week it’s working, but the reasons are starting to creep in, and I’m going to do something about them.

What is GTD

Here’s a short summary of GTD. And below is my own, shorter, explanation of why GTD works, and then why it stopped working for me. But read the other one, too. It’s worthwhile.

Why GTD works

We get things done by using our brains. Our brains have limited CPU cycles and limited RAM. Under normal circumstances, we use a lot of RAM to store lists of things that we want to do or that we have to do. And we use our CPU going over and over and over and over and over the lists, and reminding ourselves what’s on the list. The more stuff we have RAM, the less RAM, and the less CPU to actually do shit.

So the GTD idea is to get that RAM and CPU back by building a system that our brains will trust enough to stop wasting space and cycles. Our brains will only stop if they trust the new system. So GTD is about building a system that our brains will trust.

What must the trusted system do?

1. It must contain EVERYTHING. If the brain finds anything that isn’t in the system, it stops trusting the system.
2. It must be reliable. If the brain finds that things that were put into the system and fell through the crack then it stops trusting the system.
3. It must be efficient. If the system doesn’t do a better job than our brains think that they do, they won’t trust the system. And finally:
4. It must be easy. If it’s not easy, then WE will stop using it. And if we stop…well, you know, what the brain is going to do.

Getting things organized

Allen proposes a paper-based system. Some people have written software to help. I’ve used both. Whatever way you choose, the—unoptimized— process is something like this:

Step 1: You find everything that you want to do and put it in the system in a list let’s call IN. Everything. That’s short term tasks, like “email Fred” and long-term projects like “learn Chinese.” Everything. You put it all in a big list. Many pages. Do not process. Just list. (For physical tasks, like organizing your desk, you can put everything in a big pile. Then you put “get rid of the pile” in your list.) The first time I did this I literally (and I mean literally) cried. There was so much. Well, previously it had all been in my head.

Step 2: You process the list. Each item gets looked at in order. You don’t sort the list. If an item can be handled in less than two minutes, then you do it, there and then. If not, it gets moved to another list. If it’s a project that you want to be working on, you put it in a list called “Projects.” If it’s a project that you want to do someday, maybe, you put it on a list called “Someday/Maybe.” If’ it’s a task that’s part of a project then you add the project if it’s not there, and put the task with the project. If it’s a task that’s not part of a project, you put it on a list called “Next Actions” If it’s a recurring task, then you put it on a list called Recurring

Step 3: You go through the Projects list and make sure that each project has at least one item on the Next Actions list. If there’s too much on the Projects list, you might move some projects to the Someday list.

Step 4: You go through the recurring list and annotate and move any tasks that need to be done that day to Next Action

Step 5: You go through the Next Actions list, and group tasks of similar kinds, so you don’t spend time context-switching. For example, you put all the phone call tasks together. All the email tasks together. All the tasks that have to be done at home together.
Now you’re ready to actually….

Get things done

You work from the Next Action list. You pick a group and knock off every item in the group— if you can. Which group? The one that best matches the current context. When you finish the list, you switch contexts and pick a new group. When life switches your context—you leave work and go home—or you have a meeting with someone and you have items best done in that context, you switch groups.

When something’s done, you cross it off. If there’s a follow-up, you add it to IN or put it on the appropriate list, if that’s easy to do.

Updating your lists

Whenever you notice something that you MIGHT want to do or have to do, you add something to IN. And periodically you process IN.

Periodically you process things you’ve crossed off. If what you did is part of a project, see what’s next for the project and add more tasks to the Next Action list. If what you did has no follow-up, you just delete it. Or put it in a list of deleted tasks.

Every day you copy items from Recurring to Next Action.

Weekly you do a review. More on that later.

Reasons. Or why I’ve quit in the past

Even though GTD helped me Get Things Done, it also required what seemed to be a lot of Gratuitous Tedious Drudgery. Well, maybe it was Necessary Tedious Drudgery. But it didn’t feel necessary. Or gratuitous, for that matter. But tedious drudgery, no question.
And because there Has To Be A Better Way^TM it felt gratuitous.

Anyway, over time my hatred for the drudgery grew until it dwarfed satisfaction about the done’s.

Why I’m not quitting this time

But now I have a solution: “Create a system produces good GTD without bad GTD.”

Maybe I could have done this before—I’m a software guy—but making software was also full of gratuitous tedious drudgery. So I made a few starts, got bogged down, and quit.
But now things are different. The available tools get rid of LOTS of tedium and drudgery,
So on my project list, I’m putting that task.

Create a system produces good GTD without bad GTD.

And under it I’m adding:

Write a blog post describing such a system.

And then I’m moving it to my Next Actions list. Right after my daily routine, the taxes, and the cabinet doors and posting this.

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