The endless strategy and team meetings, emails flowing in and out and even the impromptu chat around the coffee machine inevitably leads to us thinking “This is all great stuff but what do I do now? How to I process these ideas, actions and ‘stuff’ to actually get things done?” One of the problems with new technology, whilst delivering us tremendous productivity, is that we try to cram more life into our, well, lives. This invariably means more ‘stuff’ to do.

Now, there are two schools of thought on how to deal with this. We can lead a simpler life and reduce our expectations, our life’s passions and our life’s goals. But I have a feeling that our high-capacity, high-striving readers won’t settle for that. What we can do is to come up with a personal system for dealing with the small things to work on, so that we can focus on the bigger picture and achieve our life goals. And reach Level 5 on Maslow’s Hierarchy.

This is where David Allen’s “How to Get Things Done” comes in. He proposes a system for dealing with issues, tasks, projects, odd-jobs etc. that crop up in your life. Notice I said “life.” This includes your personal and professional as well as your electronic and physical world. It gives practical tips on organising your inbox, your desk, removing clutter and getting your files in order. Whilst Allen does talk about the small things and how to plan projects from the ground up, he does spend a chapter on the bigger picture to show you how to link the small actions you do a daily basis to achieve your overall medium and long term plans.

Who is it aimed for and why should you read it?

The GTD methodology (as the disciples call it), can be used by anyone – but in reality it is most suited to knowledge executives and workers (and who isn’t a knowledge worker these days) who spend the majority of their day making decisions, communicating with staff, partners, contractors etc and have an active social/family life to boot.

I have started my own technology company, run a consulting company, am head editor of sharcmedia.com and CIO of jdrlegal. Plus I was recently married and adjusting my life with my new wife. It’s in my best interests to have a solid system for dealing with my tasks. Yes, of course, certain things “slip” through but I am trying to continually improve dealing with the small things in order to achieve something bigger and worthwhile in life. I used to be quite disorganised in the past, but this book has helped me enormously.

So if you feel a little out of control, too “busy” or you feel that you need a hand in getting more organised then this book is for you.

Spawning an Industry

Allen’s book has been somewhat of a phenomenon. New tech start-ups are using this methodology from the get go and embedding it into their culture. There is now a whole industry of consultants and websites offering advice, tools and tricks to help businesses and executives implement the GTD process. Check out 43Folders for further resources, forums and help. Also be sure to check out my previous article “Taking Control of Your Task List” for tips on integrating the GTD process with Microsoft Outlook.

Graeme is an entrepreneur and CEO of MyPed – Empowering Healthy Kids to be fit and healthy. He is also CIO and technology advisor at jdrlegal. He is also Head Editor of sharcmedia.

Tracking “Actions” and “Waiting For” Tasks

One key concept from the “Getting Things Done” methodology is a) tracking your “Actions” and b) tracking other people’s actions that you have requested (or “Waiting For” tasks). For example, you decide that you need to order more printer paper. You record your action (more on this later) and this is added to your action task list. Once you have ordered it, clear this action item. You are now waiting for the paper supplier to deliver it. You now need to record this in your “Waiting For” task list. When it is finally delivered, you clear that item. It is a simple method of tracking both your tasks and other’s that you are depending upon. It helps keep you and others accountable.

Execution

So how do I implement this system? Since email is the predominant method for communication, I use email and MS Outlook to implement this system. I have created two unique email addresses one for my “Actions” tasks and one for “Waiting For” tasks. These two emails are forwarded to my main email address.

When I think of an action I send an email to my “Action” email address. MS Outlook then receives it, puts a red flag on it and automatically moves it to an @ACTION folder (Use Outlook’s has powerful rules and filters). Thus I can keep track of my actions without cluttering my main Inbox. When I have completed the task I clear the Red flag.

The real power I find is in my “Waiting For” email address. More often than not you request actions via email. I simply place my “waiting for” email address in the BCC field of the message. I use Outlook’s filters to mark them with a Blue Flag and move these items to an @WAITINGFOR folder. If I request task via other non-email mediums (eg. Phone, faxes, etc.) I simply send an email to my “Waiting For” address and the same effect is achieved.

Some of you may wonder why I go through this effort when outlook already have a Task manager built into Outlook. I have used the Task list previously but did not like the fact that you couldn’t divide the tasks into groups like “Action” and “Waiting For” lists. I also tried some GTD (Getting Things Done) plugins but never really found them useful. I do, however, use Outlook’s Tasks list for recurring tasks (eg. Backing up my laptop, birthdays etc.)

In conclusion, having an “Action” list and a “Waiting For” list will improve the way you handle the “small things” to allow you to get a handle on the ever increasing demands on our time.