Getting Things Done
Tags: Software General
This is going to be an ongoing topic, but hi, my name is Bill and I've been perpetually unorganized. I just read David Allen's Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, though, and things are getting much better (wish I had found it back in 2001 when he wrote it though.) A few little tweaks (and some big ones) and I've gotten a lot of things much more under control. I've definitely taken the ideas to heart and am well on my way to becoming a GTD evangelist. Hey, it may not be for everyone, but I've already been doing a lot of things he suggests.
It's not all that intuitive (at least not to me) though - sometimes you just have to try things to see how they'll work. For example, I've always tried to keep my e-mail Inbox empty (I can think of only 1 other client who does the same!) Usually there are a handful of things in there that I need to deal with - no big deal, right? Well, according to David Allen, IN should always be empty. So lately anything that I'm not dealing with immediately gets moved to my "-@Action" folder instead. Surprisingly, this goes a long way toward reducing my e-mail stress and keeping things organized. I still review -@Action frequently, but especially when I'm out and checking e-mail via cell phone, it's really nice to see an empty Inbox. This is just one subtle, minor tweak that goes a long way.
I'm updating my Good Management System to incorporate the GTD philosophies of managing Projects and Next Actions, too. The GMS is the Lotus Notes system I use to track all of my contacts, calendar, billing, invoices, etc. And now Next Actions. If you're interested and you use Lotus Notes it's available for free on OpenNTF, but there's an old version up there now. I'll release the latest version with the GTD stuff in the next couple of weeks. Meanwhile, I have to go file some stuff!
This is going to be an ongoing topic, but hi, my name is Bill and I've been perpetually unorganized. I just read David Allen's Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, though, and things are getting much better (wish I had found it back in 2001 when he wrote it though.) A few little tweaks (and some big ones) and I've gotten a lot of things much more under control. I've definitely taken the ideas to heart and am well on my way to becoming a GTD evangelist. Hey, it may not be for everyone, but I've already been doing a lot of things he suggests.
It's not all that intuitive (at least not to me) though - sometimes you just have to try things to see how they'll work. For example, I've always tried to keep my e-mail Inbox empty (I can think of only 1 other client who does the same!) Usually there are a handful of things in there that I need to deal with - no big deal, right? Well, according to David Allen, IN should always be empty. So lately anything that I'm not dealing with immediately gets moved to my "-@Action" folder instead. Surprisingly, this goes a long way toward reducing my e-mail stress and keeping things organized. I still review -@Action frequently, but especially when I'm out and checking e-mail via cell phone, it's really nice to see an empty Inbox. This is just one subtle, minor tweak that goes a long way.
I'm updating my Good Management System to incorporate the GTD philosophies of managing Projects and Next Actions, too. The GMS is the Lotus Notes system I use to track all of my contacts, calendar, billing, invoices, etc. And now Next Actions. If you're interested and you use Lotus Notes it's available for free on OpenNTF, but there's an old version up there now. I'll release the latest version with the GTD stuff in the next couple of weeks. Meanwhile, I have to go file some stuff!
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
