The Organized Jewish Professional

Easy ways to stay on top of things and manage your workload.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Does your inbox look something like this?

Does your file cabinet look like this?

Can you that important person’s phone number?

“Getting Organized”

• How does one trip to the bookstore change a person’s life?

The 5 Stages of Workflow

• Collect• Process• Organize• Review• Do (the work)

“Collecting” Before GTD

• Brain Drain• Endless Lists of “Stuff”• No Plan of Action• No Place to Put Anything• No Time for creative thinking and planning• On the go constantly with my hair on fire and

no end in sight

“Collecting”After GTD

• What open loops need to be closed?• What errands do you need to run or tasks do

you need to complete?• What needs to be fixed? What has to be

replaced?• Who do you need to call or e-mail?

KEY POINT – Write each thing down on one piece of paper. Be specific. Don’t make a list.

Example: Create a Holiday Brochure

• Look up when the holidays are this year• Determine what we are doing with staff & lay

leaders.• Write up blurbs• Find pictures• Decide on appropriate layout• Get approvals• Call the printer

Processing – The 2 Minute Rule

• If you collect an item that can be done within two minutes, just do it!

• Set the timer for 2 minutes so that you know how long that amount of time actually is.

• You will be amazed at how many tasks fit into this category – a quick e-mail or fax; mailing out a membership packet, capturing a phone number in your contacts.

Processing Bigger Tasks

• Look at each collected item and ask 2 questions• What is it?• What do I need to do with it? • Determine the next specific action and put it on a

“Next Actions” list or list it in your Tasks section of Outlook.

• If you don’t need to do anything, trash it; file it or create a reminder for it and put it away for another day.

“Organize” Before GTD

• Everything went into my Outlook Calendar• Created useless systems• Couldn’t find things after I put it away

“Organize”After GTD

• Only hard deadlines go on my Outlook calendar

• “Waiting For” list• “Someday/Maybe” list• “Read/Review” file

“Review”Before GTD

• Things to do• People to see• Places to go

• Orders to bark out via my bullhorn.

Who has the time for review & evaluation?? We all do!

“Review” After GTD

• Set aside 2 hours a day per week for review• Reviewing is vital to maintaining control over

your workload.• Review the following:– Meeting notes– E-mails sent and received– Calendar items for the previous and upcoming

week– Lists (Next Actions, Waiting For, etc)

“Do”Before GTD

• Franklin Covey• Day Runner• 2 separate calendars for work and home• Endless to-do lists

“Do”After GTD

• Now I decide what I'm going to do based on 4 things:– What can I do where I am right now?– How much time do I have and when do I have to go

do something else?– What is my energy level at the moment - do I want

to start something new or do something that requires less thought?

– What is the value if I get it done? What is the risk I take if I don‘t?

GTD Upcoming Webinars

• To learn more about GTD, sign up for their webinar, Keys to Getting Things Done – July 12th at 10 am PST

• Website - www.davidco.com• Book – Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress

Free Productivity, by David Alle

• Good luck!

A Few More Tips

• Create folders in your e-mail for “Action Items” and “Waiting For”

• Dedicate separate files for different events. Don’t lump everything into Sisterhood. File things in separate event folders.

• Empty your email inbox on a regular basis.• Organize your workspace.