Getting Things Done by David Allen
[amazon_image id=”0142000280″ link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity[/amazon_image]
I have recently read
by David Allen. I know I will be referring back to this book as I get a few steps done. I am not a naturally organized person when it comes to paper work and such. My desk always looks messy and I often am stressed by all the “stuff.” When I am having a bad day, I sometimes just want to throw it all away. I have been working hard at getting organized so that I can be more productive. I am making progress, but with baby steps. I am still searching for improvement, but part of me has just learned that in this season of life (with four little ones and a husband in college) that where I am in the process may be stagnant for a little while and I’m (finally) OK with that. 🙂 Just because this is our situation now, doesn’t mean that it will always be like this and just as long as I do something, it’s better than nothing.
Chapters
A New Place for a New Reality
Getting Control of Your Life: The Five Stages of Mastering Workflow
Getting Projects Creatively Under Way: The Five Phases of Project Planning
The Power of Outcome Focusing
Collection: Corralling Your “Stuff”
Processing: Getting “In” to Empty
Organizing: Setting Up the Right Buckets
Reviewing: Keeping Your System Functional
Doing: Making the Best Action Choices
Getting Projects Under Control
The Power of the Collection Habit
The Power of the Next-Action Decision
Getting Started: Setting Up the Time, Space, and Tools
Quotes
Purpose defines success (64).
Your ability to generate power is directly proportional to your ability to relax. (10)
One of the best ways to increase your energy is to close some of your loops (195).
Then sense of anxiety and guilt doesn’t come from having too much to do; it’s the automatic result of breaking agreements with yourself (227).
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. 236
What I Learned
- that writing everything down is great, but how I word it can make a big difference (To Do vs. Next Actions)
- that having a system for review is critical
- that having an up to date calendar can make life less stressful & save time by not having to reschedule
- that having “Next Action” categories makes a big difference and can make things very efficient
- that doing things that will only take 2-5 minutes right away, is the best option, those tasks aren’t worth the mental energy it takes to remember to do them
My Progress
I am still very much in the beginning stages. I do not have the luxury of taking a weekend to get things under control for a while. However, I feel that may not be entirely necessary, especially since I do not have any pressing projects right now. I have always been a list maker, I love making lists, it does give me a sense of serenity to get things out of my head and on to paper. What I need is a few places to make sure I corral all these “to dos,” and to review them consistently so that I don’t forget to do something and can stay calm.
I really like his idea of having a few categories of “Next Actions.” For example, today, I knew I had to drop my kids off at Church School and I had one errand to run during that time. I knew there would be a very good possibility that I would have time to make some phone calls that I needed to make. Thankfully, I already had my “Call” list with all the phone numbers and other important information that I would need to successfully complete each call. I grabbed the list before I left.
I was able to make my calls and turned 35 minutes that I would have just been sitting there waiting into productive time. It was a great feeling, I can now cross those off my list!
I’m sure I will be reading this book again in the future and found it to be very helpful and have some amazing ideas, even for a stay at home mom!
Check out David Allen:
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