Getting Things Done
Getting Things Done is a productivity methodology created by David Allen. It focuses on organizing tasks and projects to reduce stress and increase efficiency.
Here are the key principles broken down:
Capture: Collect all tasks, ideas, and commitments in a trusted system (like a notebook or app).
Clarify: Process what each item means and decide the next action.
Organize: Categorize tasks into lists (e.g., “Next Actions,” “Waiting For,” “Projects”).
Reflect: Regularly review your lists to stay on track.
Engage: Choose tasks based on context, time, energy, and priority.
2 Minute Rule
One of the key concepts within this methodology is if something takes less than 2 minutes to complete, rather than sorting it into lists and organising, just do it.
Delegation
He talks a lot around delegating to the team, but it isn’t a case of forgetting about the task once it’s delegated, but more around creating a new type of “Waiting For” list. I understood delegating as the following:
Ensure that both you and the person you’re delegating to understand the task and its desired outcome.
Add task into “Waiting For” list.
Trust your team but check-in regularly, be available for any issues early on.
Regularly review your “Waiting For” list during your weekly review to stay updated on the status of delegated tasks
Weekly Reflection
Part of the methodology talks about reflection being a key part of getting things done, understanding context of the week and keeping “things” on track.
Review Your Calendar: Look at the past week and figure out what was useful, what was not useful, can I better organise my week? Am I able to drop out of certain calls? Do I need more of a particular call? etc. Getting the right balance of meetings is difficult, too many and you lose productivity, too little and you’re out the loop.
Update Your Lists: The idea that is that the lists are constantly updated and fairly correct in real-time, but this weekly reflection gives us a chance to make sure before end of week, e.g. Friday, the list is ready for next week.
Review Long-term vision / Roadmap: Gives me a chance to review on what the long-term vision is of Paul / John, are we heading in the right direction? Are we on-track to meet the roadmap deliverables?
Plan for Next Week: Start to creating items to complete next week, think of talking points for catchups, etc.