Do you ever have days where it seems impossible to get things done?

Most knowledge workers become frustrated at various points with an inability to focus on their work. Sometimes it is due to a heavy workload, other times from too many unexpected interruptions, or on occasion emergency situations. However, it can often come down to a matter of getting out of one’s head and bringing the work under control.

In a recent article on his website, David Allen reminded his readers of the three-fold nature of work. This is a concept that he outlined in his original book. David views it as a way to think about this nebulous thing known as knowledge work. The first aspect to focus on is doing pre-defined work.

This is what you would be doing all day if you got no input or interruptions of any sort. You would probably be working off the inventory of actions and projects that you came in with—work that you have already determined needs doing. The phone calls you need to make, the documents you need to draft, the ideas you need to outline on the project, etc.

The second aspect is dealing with work as it appears, much like a conveyor belt bringing more items down the line.

The phone rings, you take the call, and spend twenty minutes talking to a customer or a business colleague. Your boss calls a half-hour meeting to update you on a new development and get your input on it. You are doing the work as it shows up to be done. You are actually defining your work rapidly in this case, and choosing to do the new stuff instead of any of the pre-determined activity.

The third aspect is defining the work that needs to be done. In a way it involves taking control of the immediate environment.

This is processing your in-tray, your email, your meeting notes, etc.—taking in input and making decisions about what needs to be done about it. You may do some quick actions as you define them, and you will probably be adding some more to your inventory of defined work.

Want to learn more about how to best deal with each of the three types of work? Click through to read the entire posting to discover David’s advice.