Getting Things Done:
The Art of Stress Free Productivity

Nirav Mehta

Magnet Technologies

What are your big problems today?

There is too much to do, and too little time!

Are You Overwhelmed?

Are You Stressed?

There are too many things on our mind.

Work no longer has clear boundaries

Unfortunately, mind is like a computer.

More running thoughts, more overhead.

How Were Your Days As A Fresher?

The Days of Freshers

Widget Cranking

Simple Jobs

At the end of the day:

Completion, Winning, Progress, Success

As You Move Up, The Air Gets Thinner!

There is always more to do than you can do.

Unfinished or Unfulfilled tasks and commitments cause majority of the pressure and stress you feel everyday.

You have more internal commitments than you are aware of. From answering emails to taking out the trash, from making a presentation to seeing an aging parent, all of these are on your mind at any given moment.

Every time you fail to do one of these or leave one unfinished, it stays on your mind and adds to your stress level. Why? Three things:

You haven't clarified exactly what the intended outcome is.

You haven't decided what the very next physical action step is.

You haven't put reminders on the outcome and the action required in a system you trust.

Multi Tasking

We think it's good to be a multi-tasker.

Multi Tasking

Rapid Refocus

There is nothing like multi tasking. Your mind can only do one thing at a time. All you are doing is rapidly refocusing to different activities.

What If You Could Have A Mind Like Water?

Martial Arts

Relaxed Control

Mind Like Water

No relaxed control if you keep things only in your head.

You can't do a project at all - you can only do an action related to it.

There is no way to achieve relaxed control if you keep things only in your head. The key to managing all the stuff on your mind is managing your actions. Managing actions means making appropriate choices about what to do at any point in time. This may sound obvious, but the truth is, many people have no idea what next step they need to take to accomplish a project or a commitment. People say I dont have time to ____ and feel overwhelmed by a particular project because they keep focusing on how big a task it entails. What you need to recognize, is that you cant do a project at all - you can only do an action related to it. And most actions only take a minute or two, in the right context, to move a project forward.Most of the time, the real problem is not lack of time, but the lack of clarity or definition about what a project is, and what actions are required to do it.

Ability to generate power is directly proportionate to your ability to relax.

Success = Ability to deal with surprise

Getting Things Done

The Art of Stress Free Productivity

What is GTD?

Incredibly practical process that can help busy people regain control of their lives!

What is GTD?

Action Management Method

A Time Management System

Complements our inefficient Mental Reminder System

All about Front-end Planning

Get everything out of your head. Make decisions about actions required on stuff when it shows up - not when it blows up.

Organize reminders of your projects and the next actions on them in appropriate categories.

Keep your system current, complete, and reviewed sufficiently to trust your intuitive choices about what you're doing (and not doing) at any time.

The Process

1. Collect

Capture everything

Buckets

Capture everything that you need to concern yourself with in what Allen calls "buckets": a physical in-box, an email in-box, a notebook you take with you, a little tape recorder, etc. Don't try and remember everything!

When you first start: get a big in-box.

You can put the thing you need to act on itself in your in-box (a bill, an assignment) or write a note on a single sheet of paper ("change oil in the car"). When you first start, or when you feel like there are lots of things on your mind, sit down and do a "mind sweep" of everything you are concerned about.

2. Process

2 Minute Rule

FIFO

One item at a time

Now it's time to empty all those "buckets." Start at the top of the in-box, pick up each item and ask yourself "is there an action I need to take about this item?"

If it would take less than 2 minutes to do something, just do it right away. Two minutes is a guideline, roughly the time it would take to defer the action formally.

First In First Out

2a. Process: No Action

File It

Trash It

Later Action

If there is no action you need to take, either throw the thing away, file it for reference, or make a note on your "Someday/Maybe" list.

2b. Process: Action

Do It

Delegate It

Defer It

If there is an action you need to take, can you do it in two minutes or less? If so, do it now! If not, decide what that next action is, and enter it on your "Next Action" list. If one action won't finish this off, enter the overall goal on your "Project" list.

What are Next Actions?

The next physical, visible activity that needs to be engaged in, in order to move the current reality toward completion

E.g. Make a call, Do research, Write a report...

3. Organize

Lists

Next Actions

Projects

Waiting for

Someday/Maybe

Obviously, the cornerstone of this system is lists. Like with your collection buckets, you want to have enough lists to keep everything straight, but not so many that you are never sure what list to use. Here are the basics:

Next Action: what is the very next thing you need to do to get your thing done?

Projects: many of your things will need more than one action to accomplish. They become projects.

Waiting: often we depend on others to help get things done. If you are waiting on something, write it down here, so you don't forget.

Someday/Maybe: for when you have a great idea or long-term goal that you just can't make time to work on now.

3. Organize

Lists

Contextual Lists: Phones, Errands...

Calendar

Filing

Context-sensitive lists: e.g., "Phone calls," "Errands," etc.

Calendar: try and use your calendar just for appointments and other things that have to happen on a particular day/time.

Filing: keep a simple, easy to update filing system. Don't let files pile up in a slush pile. Get comfortable with putting a single piece of paper in a folder, labeling it, and filing it away.

4. Review

Weekly Review

Gather and process all stuff

Follow up on Waiting For

Get clean, clear, current and complete

If you don't look at those lists, they won't do you much good now, will they? You'll have to review your Next Action list and your calendar every day (and probably several times a day). Set up an appointment with yourself to do a weekly review, where you process all your in-boxes down to empty, and review all lists to be sure you are on top of things.

5. Do!

Action is how you get things done!

How to choose what to do?

Context, Time available, Energy available, Priority

GTD tends to leave it up to you as to how to decide what needs to be done right now--Allen seems to believe if you have everything laid out in front of you, it will be obvious what needs to be done at any given moment based on your circumstances (deadlines, how much time you have available, what tools are nearby, how much energy you have, etc.)

Questions

Empowerment naturally results as we move from complaining / victim modalities into
outcomes and actions defined for direction. It is a source of
positive energy and focus.

Thank You

Nirav Mehta

www.mehtanirav.com

www.magnettechnologies.com

Credits: Many online resources!

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