Over the past four years of my GTD practice, I have found that the most challenging idea to consistently apply is keeping an up-to-date project list.  David Allen has often stated that this is the hardest list to maintain, but conversely one of the most important to keep.  Below is an excerpt from an article he wrote a few years ago:

“People started keeping calendars a century ago. Why? Because life’s time-based commitments got more complex than they could trust their mind to manage. If you think that a Projects list is unnecessary, then throw away your calendar and trust life will just let you know what you should be doing, in the moment. Good luck. If you decide you need a calendar, then keep a list of your projects you’re committed to completing, as well as appointments to keep. Otherwise you’re intellectually dishonest.”

Read the rest of the article on the Getting Things Done web site.

How many of your projects are currently languishing?  They are the projects that have a layer of dust on them that you are reluctant to brush off.  It is easy to fall into inaction.  This can happen when life becomes so hectic that the plethora of input leads to a cognitive shutdown.  It can also happen at the other end of the spectrum when life is too slow and inertia has infiltrated the system.  Both states are less than desirable.

One way to move a project forward is to pose a simple question – what is the next action?  Each project on your plate requires a physical action to move it forward, such as making a phone call, writing an email, drafting a memo, walking down the hall to visit HR, cleaning a cabinet, etc.  The question forces you to get real about the project by making it solid and tangible in your mind.  It can create momentum that will move the project to completion.

For more information, I highly recommend reading Chapter 12 of Getting Things Done.  Titled “The Power of the Next Action Decision,” David Allen states that “When a culture adopts ‘What’s the next action?’ as a standard operating query, there’s an automatic increase in energy, productivity, clarity and focus.”

So after reading this post, what is your next action?

Have you done a weekly review recently?  While it is common to face resistance when starting the review, it is very unusual for someone to regret doing it when it is over.  Below is a great quote from one of David Allen’s senior coaches that puts the weekly review in perspective:

“I was taking a cycling class one time and the instructor made a comment that intrigued me.  Between intense bursts of climbing hills she said, ‘recovery builds confidence and strength.’  Whereas part of me wanted to keep a fast pace and just keep going, I took her advice, slowed my speed down to rest my legs and heart.  I was stronger on the next hill I climbed. OK–so you knew there’d be something GTD in this: the Weekly Review is recovery.  It’s my time to relax my mind and body from the frantic pace of the daily grind.  It builds confidence in my system letting my mind know it’s OK to relax and be creative.  It gives me mental strength to make better choices because I’m seeing a clear picture of everything instead of chasing after latest and loudest.”
– Kelly Forrister, Senior Coach & Presenter with The David Allen Company

Refresh your knowledge on the five stages of workflow, of which the weekly review is number four, at: http://gettingthingsdone.com/fivesteps/

In order to accomplish anything at work, you need to take action.  This seems like an obvious concept, but without an organized system to identify and store actionable items it is very easy to become unproductive.

Actionable items are physical steps, such as making a phone call, drafting a memo, composing an email, or walking down the hall to speak to someone face-to-face, that are needed to move projects forward.  All projects are accomplished through a series of distinct physical action steps.  As a knowledge worker, one of your duties is to keep track of the next action needed to move projects to completion. Many people try to keep their actionable items in their inbox or stored in their head, both of which are routes that lead to dysfunction.

The Action folder is a fundamental tool to accomplish this task.  Having everything that is actionable in one place creates a simple menu of items that can be worked on whenever time allows.  It creates efficiency because there is no longer a need to search around your work space for actionable items.  The clarity of mind that comes from knowing where all your actions are stored is priceless.

Read David Allen’s book,  Getting Things Done (2015 edition), Chapter 7 to learn all the best practices for creating and maintaining action folders.

If you don’t get enough Efficient Librarian blog posts to stay inspired about productivity and efficiency, then hop on over to David Allen’s web site to sign up for his podcasts.  There are simple 20-40 minute interviews and conversations that cover many different aspects of GTD practice.

In fact, I highly recommend listing to one podcast in particular: David Allen at the Do Lectures. From the web site: “David gives a unique and inspiring presentation about the power of Getting Things Done to the participants of The Do Lectures in Wales, September 2010.  If you’re new to GTD, you’ll love the fast-paced overview David gives of the entire systematic approach.  If you’re a seasoned practitioner, you’ll appreciate the transparency and authenticity in which David shares a bit more of his behind-the-scenes story.”

Enjoy!

In his most recent Productive Living newsletter, David Allen shared these thoughts on quieting the noise in your life:

“Over the years many people have reported “transformational” experiences in working with the Getting Things Done^® methodology. I have seen people lose pounds in just a few days, their faces brighten, their countenance and attitude swing way to the positive, and even make tremendous shifts in how they think and work for the rest of their lives.
 
“That is certainly rewarding feedback and testimony to the validity of the methodology. Many people consequently tend to think that there is something mystical and even “spiritual” about it. Here’s my perspective: there is something mystical and spiritual about people, not the process.
 
“Learning to unhook our energies from the past and from incomplete cycles, and then to take charge responsibly about where we put our attention and focus, is about as basic an empowerment process as one could engage in. Of course it can seem transformational, because we move over (or up) into the driver’s seat of our own consciousness when we do those things. Fully integrating GTD will quiet the noise and let you feel in control of the reins of your life in a way you may not have for a long while.

“If that intimidates you, I invite you to take a look at what’s holding you back. If that inspires you, what’s your next action?”

I encourage you to sign up for David’s monthly newsletter yourself.  Subscribe for free now.

You may have already discovered that your head is a crappy office space.  David Allen often says that if you have something saved only in your head, you are going to give it far more attention then it deserves.  Our mind can only effectively hold onto one item at a time in its conscious memory.  Once something new comes to its attention, the odds are your mind will drop the previous item.  This creates huge inefficiencies and potential ticking time bombs if the item that was lost has the potential to blow up later.

The solution is very simple.  Whenever something comes to your attention that is worth saving, write it down immediately in whatever format works best for you at the time.  This can be on paper, or electronically in your phone, or even a verbal message on your home answering machine.  The key is that the place where you store the item has to be somewhere that you know you will look at later.  Otherwise your mind will take it back if it doesn’t trust the system.

So defuse those ticking time bombs by getting things out of your head and into your trusted system.  You mind will thank you for it.