Getting things done is a productivity framework developed by David Allen. My productivity system is partially based on the get things done framework.
I think it’s a good place for anyone interested in improving their productivity to start. The get things done framework provides the tools to enable you to capture your thoughts and ideas. The get things done framework helps you to free up your mental capabilities to concentrate on the things which matter to you.
This article isn’t a summary of the get thing done book. It is based on my own experiences of using the system with other productivity tools. I will not be going into detail on the applications I use as you can use the framework on a paper or computerised system.
I will explore using the get things done framework on specific applications in future articles.
The inbox
“The real need is to capture and utilise more of the creative, proactive thinking we do or could do”
David Allen author of Get things done
The Inbox is the starting place in any productivity or knowledge management system I have ever seen, and the get things done framework is no different. An inbox is a place where you can capture your thoughts, ideas and tasks. It is also where you capture incoming tasks and ideas from the outside world.
Ideally, we would only ever have one inbox, but we don’t live in an ideal world. We live in the real world and likely have several inboxes. You must be aware of all your inboxes and schedule time to clear them. If you can reduce the number of inboxes, you should.
At the time of writing, my inboxes are.
- Two email inboxes
- My thoughts, ideas and tasks capture inbox
- SMS text messages
- Social Media such as Twitter
- Inbox for Internet content that I find interesting
I should at least consider combining the two inboxes and only keep them separate if there is a good reason to.
I have also found that having an inbox to capture my ideas and thoughts helps me to externalise them, and I often end up writing a few sentences as I carry out a brain dump of various thoughts related to my original idea. Sometimes it is difficult for my fingers to keep up with my thoughts.
Processing your inbox
Now that we have identified or have set up our inboxes. The time has come to consider how we will process our inboxes and how regularly we should do so.
I would recommend that you schedule in regular times to process your inbox. I have an hour scheduled every day except for Sundays.
It would be best to work your way through the inbox from the top down, so you are processing the most recent item. For example, if you are clearing your email inbox, you would first process the most recent email in an email conversation.
You process your inbox by looking at each item, defining what it is, and deciding if there is an action which needs to be taken.
If it’s something, you can’t take action on. Consider if it is one of the following.
- Rubbish which can be deleted or thrown away
- Something you might want to do in the future
- Reference. Information you might need to access at some point in the future.
Something you might want to do in future is added to an ideas/someday list for future consideration.
Reference materials should be kept in a safe location. I’m still working out what my reference material process is. As a computer specialist, I currently use my current computer storage system.
I want to discuss notes. I use my inbox to capture everything. Some of these will be ideas or thoughts that need to go into my knowledge management system. You can find out more about my knowledge management system in my article on using Obsidian to take smart notes.
What is an actionable item?
An actionable item is something that you want or need to do.
If an actionable item could be done in less than two minutes and isn’t time-dependent, you should complete it now. You can adjust the time period. The idea behind the two-minute rule is that if you can do the action in the time it would take to delegate or add it to your task list. You should do the task.
If the task cannot be done in two minutes, you need to consider if you can delegate the action to someone else or if it is something you need to do, in which case you defer the action.
The key thing with an inbox is to check it regularly. I check my inbox daily and ensure you process every item you come across. Something I at times struggle to do.
Managing your tasks
Once you have identified an actionable item and decided it will take longer than two minutes, you need to capture that action somewhere. Such as the tasks or project list discussed in the next section.
Projects and tasks
In the get things done framework, an actionable item is a task or project that will enable you to get that thing done.
If it requires one action, it’s a task. It is a project if you need to do more than one task. I like the definition, especially if you are new to productivity, as it makes it easier to get your head around the various concepts in productivity. Unfortunately, at least in my experience from implementing this literal meaning onto my productive system, Which saw my project list getting overwhelmed by complex tasks.
I suppose that means I need to define the difference between a task and a project. I’m still coming up with my definition of a project, but it is a large piece of work with a defined outcome and will end at some point in time. In contrast, a task is usually a smaller piece of work that should take a few days to complete. Such tasks might need to be broken down into sub-tasks to be completed.
Situation list
Getting things done also suggests the creation of lists based on specific locations or when you are doing a specific job which is worth considering. For example, there might be specific tasks you can do when working in the office so that you would have an office list for those tasks.
How to track delegated tasks
There will be times that you will want to delegate the action to someone else, and you will want to be able to track the tasks that you have delegated to others so that you can track the tasks you have delegated.
You can track delegated items by putting them on a delegated list. I would include in the list, the date on which you delegated it and the date you would like to chase the task by should you need to. Of course, you should let the person you have delegated the task to know when you would like them to deliver what you requested.
Referencing system
Get things done recommends a folder or an area where you store the reference material you want to keep. I think this is a minimal requirement.
Knowledge workers or anyone who wants to remember things that they find interesting should consider building a knowledge management system. You could start your journey by reading our guide to taking smart notes.
The weekly review
You should set aside time every week to review and administrate your list. You want to go through it and remove any items that are no longer required and make any other changes to items as needed.
Conclusion
Over the coming weeks and months, you can expect content on how you could implement a get things done system in several productivity applications. May I recommend that you read our review on taking Smart Notes by Sonke Ahrens?