Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

by David Allen

“the rest of us.”

In my experience, when people do more planning, more informally and naturally, they relieve a

great deal of stress and obtain better results.

1. | Defining purpose and principles

2. | Outcome visioning 3. | Brainstorming 4. | Organizing 5. | Identifying next actions

If you’re waiting to have a good idea before you have any ideas, you won’t have many ideas.

Fanaticism consists of redoubling your efforts when you have forgotten your aim. —George Santayana

Let’s face it: if there’s no good reason to be doing something, it’s not worth

doing.

When you land on the real purpose for anything you’re doing, it makes things clearer.

Simple, clear purpose and principles give rise to complex and intelligent behavior. Complex rules and regulations give rise to simple and stupid behavior. —Dee Hock

“I would give others totally free rein to do this as long as they ...”—what?

vision provides the actual blueprint of the final result.

Imagination is more important than knowledge. —Albert Einstein

Just like a computer, your brain has a search function—but it’s even more phenomenal than a computer’s. It seems to be programmed by what we focus on and, more primarily, what we identify with.

There is a simple but profound principle that emerges from understanding the way your perceptive filters work: you won’t see how to do it until you see yourself doing it.

You often need to make it up in your mind before you can make it happen in your life.

One of the most powerful skills in the world of knowledge work, and one of the most important to hone and develop, is creating clear outcomes.

Here are three basic steps for developing a vision: 1. | View the project from beyond the completion date. 2. | Envision “WILD SUCCESS”! (Suspend “Yeah, but . . .”) 3. | Capture features, aspects, qualities you imagine in place.

The best way to get a good idea is to get lots of ideas. —Linus Pauling

In mind-mapping, the core idea is presented in the center, with associated ideas growing out in a somewhat free-form fashion around it.

Don’t judge, challenge, evaluate, or criticize. • Go for quantity, not quality. • Put analysis and organization in the background.

once you get all the ideas out of your head and in front of your eyes, you’ll automatically notice natural relationships and structure.

How much of this planning model do you really need to flesh out, and to what degree of detail? The simple answer is, as much as you need to get the project off your mind.

If you’re not sure you’re committed to an all-out implementation of these methods, let me assure you that a lot of the value people get from this material is good “tricks.”

Tricks are for the not-so-smart, not-so-conscious part of us. To a great degree, the highest-performing people I know are those who have installed the best tricks in their lives.

It is easier to act yourself into a better way of feeling than to feel yourself into a better way of action. —O. H. Mowrer

You increase your productivity and creativity exponentially when you think about the right things at the right time and have the tools to capture your value-added thinking.

Much of learning how to manage workflow in a “black belt” way is about laying out the gear and practicing the moves so that the requisite thinking happens more automatically and it’s a lot easier to get engaged in the game.

I recommend that you create a block of time to initialize this process and prepare a workstation with the appropriate space, furniture, and tools.

Dedicate two days to this process, and it will be worth many times that in terms of your productivity and mental health.

You’ll need a physical location to serve as a central cockpit of control.

A functional work space is critical.

Don’t skimp on work space at home. As you’ll discover through this process, it’s critical that you have at least a satellite home system identical to the one in your office.

If you move around much, as a business traveler or just as a person with a mobile life-style, you’ll also want to set up an efficiently organized micro-office-in-transit.

It is imperative that you have your own work space—or at least your own in-basket and a physical place in which to process paper.

there needs to be zero resistance at the less-than-conscious level for us to use the systems we have.

It is critical that you have your own work space. You want to use your systems, not just think about them.

It’s certainly a critical component in managing particular kinds of data and reminders of the commitments that relate to specific times and days. There are many reminders and some data that you will want a calendar for, but you won’t be stopping there: your calendar will need to be integrated with a much more comprehensive system that will emerge as you apply this method.

Once you know how to process your stuff and what to organize, you really just need to create and manage lists.

One of the best tricks for enhancing your personal productivity is having organizing tools that you love to use.

If your filing system isn’t fast, functional, and fun, you’ll resist the whole process.

The filing system at hand is the first thing I assess before beginning the workflow process in anyone’s office.

I strongly suggest that you maintain your own personal, at-hand filing system.

Keep Your General-Reference Files at Hand’s Reach

Always try to keep your file drawers less than three-quarters full. If they’re stuffed, you’ll unconsciously resist putting things in there, and reference materials will tend to stack up instead.

Purge Your Files at Least Once a Year

you must clear the decks of any other commitments for the duration of the session.

Supplies

Reference Material