This article is the first of three concerning my ‘Personal Management’ process. It’s also part six of a series about ‘Personal Leadership and Management.’ In case you missed it, Part V detailed where we came from—Personal Leadership (Parts I-IV)—and where we are going next—Personal Management.
My process is organic and has changed over the years as my jobs, priorities, and responsibilities have. It has fluctuated from simple to complex to simple again. While some potent and complex personal management systems exist (OmniFocus comes to mind), I’ve learned the simpler the system, the more I get done and the less time I spend maintaining it.
The simplicity of David Allen’s Getting Things Done works best for me. For nearly 25 years, I have used some form of the process and system he describes in his book. When I first read the book, I discovered I was already doing some of what he prescribes but not consistently or in as systematic a way. I was missing a few critical pieces—like a weekly review—and didn’t trust my system, so I was holding onto too much in my head.
This means that what he describes seems to fit my nature. I’ll admit upfront that your mileage may vary. That said, give this process a try. You may find some diamonds in the rough by the end.
Absorb what is useful, discard what is useless, and add what is specifically your own.
Bruce Lee
I’m going to assume you do not have a system set up. This assumption on my part assures I don’t miss the details on parts that are nearly automatic for me. If I skipped over these details, you may be left with uncrossable concept gaps, causing you to abandon the whole project. I’ll do my best to avoid that outcome.
Methods are many. Principles are few. Methods may change, but principles never do.
Apocrypha
First, we will talk about principles. Then, we will go through the basic process. Next, we will do deeper dives on each step. That’s when I’ll show you my variations and modifications. Throughout, I will mention the tools I currently use and some of the tools I have used or tried before.
I won’t go into much detail about things I haven’t much use for. For example, Microsoft Outlook. I haven’t used that since retirement, and when I was working, I found trying to integrate it into my process too burdensome. If that is something you use, and you want to ‘GTD’ with it, there’s tons of information on the internet. Try one of these links:
Basics
At its core, the GTD system is just context-based lists of next actions, including calendared (scheduled) lists and a five-stage method for managing workflow. The principle is “dealing effectively with internal commitments.” Allen explains that much of our stress in life results from inappropriately managed commitments we make or accept.
We’re allowing in huge amounts of information and communication from the outer world and generating an equally large volume of ideas and agreements with ourselves and others from our inner world. And we haven’t been well equipped to deal with this huge number of internal and external commitments.
David Allen, Getting Things Done
The workflow then is (1) capturing all the incompletes or “open loops,” (2) processing them, (3) organizing them, (4) reviewing them consistently, and finally, (5) doing them. One reason this works so well for me is it maps perfectly with Colonel John Boyd’s “OODA loop” (Observe, Orient, Decide, Act).
Capturing comes from Observing your internal and external environments and recognizing the incompletes. Processing is Orienting to what was captured—what does this mean to me, or what am I committing to? Organizing then is Deciding—do I delete, delegate (and to whom), or defer (and to when or in what context)? Reviewing consistently is responding to changes, feedback, and the unfolding interaction with the environment so you can reorient to new data and make intuitive decisions about what to do. Doing then is, of course, Boyd’s “Act.”
One thing I do differently is blurring the line between Processing and Organizing. It takes minimal time and energy to process—that is, deciding what something means—and organizing it into my system. Even larger projects that need to be fleshed out can be quickly placed on my projects list with a note “needs more thought.”
Two key objectives thread through the workflow and the system we are creating. First, we are capturing everything that needs to get done into a trusted system—out of your head and off your mind. Second, we make front-end decisions about commitments so that you always have a plan you can implement or renegotiate at any moment.
The Basic Requirements for Managing Commitments
David Allen, Getting Things Done
• First, if it’s on your mind your mind isn’t clear … [the commitment] must be captured in a trusted system outside your mind … that you know you’ll come back to regularly.
• Second, you must clarify exactly what your commitment is and decide what you have to do, if anything, to make progress toward fulfilling it.
• Third, once you’ve decided on all the actions you need to take, you must keep reminders of them organized in a system you review regularly.
Deeper Dives
Now, let’s take each step one by one, adding flesh to the bare bones structure above.
Capture
To ensure success, (1) every “open loop” must be out of your head and in your collection baskets, (2) you must have as few collection baskets as you can get by with, and (3) you must empty them regularly. The goal of the capture step is to capture everything. Every niggling thing—big, small, grand, or simple.
The first activity is to search your physical environment for anything that does not belong where it is, the way it is, permanently, and put it into your in-basket… things that are incomplete, things that have some decisions or potential action tied to them. They all go into ‘in,’ so they’ll be available for later processing.
David Allen, Getting Things Done
It’s helpful here to understand the definitions of ‘work’ and ‘project.’ Work is anything that needs to be done that isn’t complete yet. A project is work that takes more than one action step to complete. Both of these have implicit commitments to yourself or others.
There are two more things to capture: ‘stuff’ and ‘reference material.’ ‘Stuff’ is anything you’ve allowed into your world that doesn’t belong where it is but for which you haven’t determined the desired outcome and the next step to resolution. ‘Reference materials’ have no immediate use but might in the future, so you have to have a management system for that with clean edges. We will address this in detail in Part IX. For now, know that most ‘piles’ of reference materials probably have undetermined actions buried within, so they need to be collected and processed.
“Feed the dog” is work. If you are out of dog food, “Feed the Dog” is a project. Phone numbers on scrap paper, receipts, old tissues, and the stickie note that says “research gym,” all found in your purse, pockets, or briefcase, fall into the latter categories. All these things belong in your inbox (except the old tissues; you can throw those away).
Yes. You must have an inbox or in-tray. Another option—but more dangerous because of vague edges—is ‘your spot’ or area close to your processing center. If you don’t have an In Box or designated area, everywhere becomes your In Box. For many, this becomes the first horizontal surface you arrive at when entering your home or office.
Other collection tools may include notepads and something to write with. I use a legal pad to record my mind sweeps, tasks, and actions throughout the day. Allen would advise against this saying it is a ‘to-do list’ with unprocessed stuff on it. I trust it as a capture tool because I treat it and process it like an in-basket.
Sometimes I have projects pop into my head. I write these down on a half sheet of scrap paper—only one per sheet. If there is any ‘why, how, what’ sort of thinking happening, then I record that too so it’s not lost. This half-sheet gives me a starting point for brainstorming later. That gets tossed in the inbox.
Some people use audio recorders or notes on their smartphones. I used to use 3×5 cards at work for small bits of information at traffic stops and a reporter’s notebook for initial investigations. Now, I use the reporter’s notebook in the car to record information from podcasts and the like. I carry 3×5 cards in my EDC bag and/or jacket breast pocket for notes when out to dinner or events.
I use composition notebooks to take notes from my reading and studies. I also recently started a composition notebook for our new house purchase—notes about the inspection, the loan closing information, and any future house projects.
The key here is to remember all of these are capture tools. They are not organizers. All of the information and implicit commitments are yet to be processed.
Once you feel you’ve collected all the physical things in your environment that need processing, you’ll want to collect anything else that may be residing in your ‘psychic RAM.’ What has your attention that isn’t represented by something already in your in-basket?
David Allen, Getting Things Done
Lastly, you need to get everything out of your head. The mind sweep, or for some, the ‘mind dump, is next. For me, this step never ends. Hence, the capture tool is a constant companion. You’re going for quantity here. We will deal with quality later. If it comes to mind, put it down on paper. It’s as simple as that. What do you do with that paper? You guessed it; put it in the in-basket.
Processing
Now that everything is collected, it’s time to process. When I was working, I had a half day set aside for processing and organizing—usually on my ‘Friday.’ Then, I also set aside two to four hours on my ‘Monday’ for planning. As I said before, I merged Processing and Organizing, but for now, we will focus on each individually.
‘First In, First Out’ or ‘Last In, First Out?’ It doesn’t matter, especially if it’s the first time. You’re going to process it all anyway. Scanning through the basket for something ‘important’ isn’t processing. That’s emergency scanning. Instead, we’re Processing everything Collected and making front-end, proactive decisions.
Some basic tools would be helpful in processing. You’ll want to have handy the following:
- Paper-holding trays
- A stack of plain, letter-sized paper
- Pens or pencils and markers
- Paper clips, binder clips, and a stapler
- An automatic labeler
- File folders
- A calendar
- Trash and recycling bins
Processing then involves a series of questions for each thing you pull out of the collection basket. The first is, “Is this actionable?” Assuming it is, the next questions are (a) “What project or outcome have you committed to?” and (b) “What’s the next action required?”
The flip side is it’s not actionable. Then, the questions are, “Is this trash, or is this ‘incubating’?” (‘Incubating’ means it’s not actionable now, but maybe later.) Or, “Is it potentially useful information that might be needed for something later?” That’s ‘reference’ or ‘project support’ material.
You have a few options with the actionable items. Do it, delegate it, or defer it.
The Two-Minute Rule: If something will take less than two minutes, don’t put it on a list. Get it out of the way immediately.
Roy Baumeister, Willpower
If a task can be completed in less than five minutes, then do it immediately.
Kevin Kruse, 15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management
The two- or five-minute rule is why I immediately organize while processing. You could mark each item with a stickie note that says “schedule and date” or “read and review” or whatever the action may be. Then put that in a paper tray to organize into a list later (I’ll describe these lists in the next section).
What I do instead is immediately put it on the appropriate list and, if necessary—say, a new project, or I need the paper for later—I make a file for it. In the ‘Organize’ section, I’ll detail the lists and connect them to this processing step.
Getting ‘in’ to empty doesn’t mean actually doing all the actions and projects that you’ve collected. It just means identifying each item and deciding what it is, what it means, and what you’re going to do with it.
David Allen, Getting Things Done
Having fully processed your in baskets, you will not have ‘done’ everything. Instead, you will have deleted or dumped everything you don’t need into the trash. You will have knocked out any two- or five-minute actions. Further, you will have delegated to others—up, down, or across the organization. You will have sorted reminders of actions that require more than two minutes in your organization system. Most importantly, you will have identified larger commitments or projects you now have, based on this input.
Let’s look at the Organizing step as Allen describes it. Then we will dig into my ‘in-basket’ as an example of both Processing and Organizing.
Organizing
If you have thoroughly processed everything, you’ll likely begin to see an organizational structure emerging naturally. As previously mentioned, non-actionable items are either trash, incubation, or reference materials. Trash should be thrown away, of course. ‘Incubation’ we will discuss soon. Reference materials will be discussed in Part IIX.
What about the actionable stuff? To manage these you need a calendar, separate lists of projects, reminders of ‘next actions,’ and things you are waiting for. Lastly, you’ll also need storage for project plans and support materials.
The key ingredients of relaxed control are (1) clearly defined outcomes (projects) and the next actions required to move them toward closure, and (2) reminders placed in a trusted system that is reviewed regularly.
David Allen, Getting Things Done
…You need a good system that can keep track of as many of [these activities in which you are involved] as possible, supply required information about them on demand, and allow you to shift your focus from one thing to the next quickly and easily.
Calendar
You should have no more than three things on your calendar. You should have day-specific actions, time-specific actions, and day-specific information.
The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.
Stephen Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Time-specific actions are meetings and appointments scheduled for specific time slots on that day. Day-specific actions are those that can be done any time that day but not on any other day. There are consequences if these are not handled on that specific day.
Time-specific information is just helpful things to know on that day. Like your spouse will be out of town or your boss is on vacation and so-and-so is acting. Also, birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays, of course.
Project List
This list is just as simple as it sounds—just a list of your active projects. Don’t complicate matters by trying to organize it further—say by ‘priority’ or due dates. I used to add the very next identified action to each. Even this over-complicated the list. In the platform I currently use (Apple Notes app), it is easy enough to have a list of projects and a folder for each project. For some small projects, you may choose parent and child lists, but I’ve found even this to be more trouble than it is worth. I prefer the clean, simplicity of a single list.
Lists can be managed simply in a low-tech way, as pieces of paper kept in a file folder…, or they can be arranged in a more ‘mid-tech’ fashion, in loose-leaf notebooks or planners… Or they can be high-tech, digital versions of paper lists…
David Allen, Getting Things Done
…Once you know what to put on the lists, and how to use them, the medium doesn’t matter.
Next-Action Lists
I like Allen’s idea of sorting action reminders into context-based lists. Allen makes the point that if you don’t have a phone and you are trying to figure out what action to take, a list cluttered with phone calls to make is not helpful. Instead, it hinders rapid decision-making. On the other hand, this list makes it easier to batch tasks like calls if that’s your way.
The context-based categories I use are:
- Calls or @Phone
- @Computer
- @Errands
- @Office
- @Home
- Agendas (for meetings and people)
- Read and Review
- Waiting For (I’m waiting for someone else to take action)
On the ‘@Phone’ list, I’ll put who, the phone number, and just a few words as to why or what about. For ‘@Errands,’ I have sub-lists that are location-specific, for example, a grocery list or things I need from the hardware store.
I don’t maintain a Read and Review list. If, while processing, I find something that takes more than two minutes to read, I put a stickie note on it that says “R&R” and then put it in a basket of other Read and Review items. If you need to read, review, edit, and forward it to someone else, I would not do it my way; something important might get composted on the bottom.
Back here, I mentioned “incubating.” As Allen says, “There’s nothing to do on this now, but there might be later.” This is my longest list. It may also be my most powerful list for creativity. This list isn’t context-based. It’s more akin to the Projects list, and I have it nested there along with a ‘Someday/Maybe’ list.
Incubating is like the pot simmering on the back of the stove. The ‘Someday/Maybe’ list contains all sorts of things I might want to do someday or, if I travel somewhere, things I might want to see or do, restaurants I might want to try, hobbies to consider, and writing ideas.
Some incubating items might go into a “tickler file.” For example, something I may want to buy or recipes I might want to make. The point is, I want to be reminded of these at a certain date. You can do this a few different ways—such as an analog file system or a note on your calendar.
To better illustrate the workflow, let’s process some of my collection baskets. We will start with the legal pad.
Notice first that some of the list has been struck out with various colored markers. Black means I have already done it. Red is something I deleted. Green for things I’ve already processed (moved to action lists or calendared). Orange are things I’m waiting for, in this case, I’m waiting for my mom to reply to my inquiry about some DVDs.
The first thing I recognize is a few things I’ve completed but not crossed off yet. After crossing all of that off, there’s nothing left to do! That was some easy processing. Now we can dive into the in-box.
I’m going to work from top to bottom. Don’t get nervous, I’m not going to narrate through the whole basket. That would take me too long and bore you to tears. Instead, as I get to good examples, I’ll stop processing and write about the process of Processing.
Right off the top are three half-sheets of scrap paper with bold marker labels:
- “Research full-service car wash nearby”
- “Research projection television for living room”
- “Research ‘best’ professional non-stick pans
These are mini-research projects that I can do on the computer. So they go on my “@Computer” list. I then put the paper in a file folder labeled the same. When I do the research I’ll have the half-sheet to start taking notes and brainstorming.
Side note: you should consider plastic folders for these sorts of things because they will last much longer and take more abuse.
Next is a letter from the Officer of Voter Access containing important information for Tuesday, November 5th. I put the information into my calendar and recycle the paper. If you were using an analog tickler file, you could put that paper in the file folder marked for that month and day.
Now, to an article I found. This article will take more than two minutes to read and glean any important information (otherwise, I would have read it already). I put an “R&R” stickie note on it and add it to my stack (or folder) of “Read and Review” material. I’m using a plastic folder for this, so I can carry it around with me to read whenever I get a little time. When I was working in traffic, I would read this kind of stuff while running stationary RADAR. Now I read the stuff at the gym between heavy sets.
Here we have another half-sheet mini-research project. I’ve already decided thereon to buy a certain product and I ‘know’ that purchasing the product is the next action step. I pull out the iPad, open the Amazon app for a quick search, and add the item to my cart—a less than two-minute action—done. Recycle the paper and move on. The arrival of the product will serve as the trigger for the next action: clean and condition the leather chair.
Further along, we have a bundle of papers clipped together. A quick scan jogs my memory: it’s a bunch of menu ideas for a Christmas Dinner Party. Essentially, these are project support and reference materials. I pulled out a folder and labeled it “Christmas Dinner Party.” All but the top sheet goes in that, and it will be filed in my file cabinet. I’ll also put “Christmas Dinner Part” on my Someday/Maybe list, as I know I won’t be doing that this year, but I hope to next year.
The top sheet however is a project in itself—“Make Dinner Party Planning Checklist.” I put “Draft Dinner Party Planning Checklist” on my project list and dropped the paper into another properly labeled file folder.
There you have it. I’ve Processed the inbox. At the same time, I Organized actions onto context-based lists (if not trashed it, delegated it to someone else, or filed it as project support and general reference). We will discuss the Weekly Review in Part VII. What’s next? Doing everything, of course!
You can do anything, but not everything.
David Allen, Getting Things Done
Now that you have all these next actions organized onto lists, how do you know what to do in the moment? We’ve arrived at the purpose of the prior workflow steps—to facilitate good choices about what to do at any point in time. At any one moment, there are three things you could be doing:
- Pre-defined work off your ’Next-Actions’ list
- Doing ad hoc work as it shows up
- Defining your work
None of us can avoid ad hoc, unforeseen work handed to us by bosses or the universe. The choice is not always up to us. In Part VII, about Reviewing and Planning, and Part IIX about Project Management, we will discuss “defining your work.” Right now, I want to focus on our known commitments—the pre-defined work on your Next Actions list.
Four criteria apply to these lists for choosing what to do at the moment. First, the context—do you have the specific tool (phone, computer), or are you in the right location (home, office, etc.) that facilitates the actions? Next, how much time is available to you? An hour or more may be suitable for some deep work. Only five minutes? Then Maybe a phone call is all you can accomplish.
Secret #1: Time is your most valuable resource. How would your life change if each and every day you truly felt your 1440 minutes?
Kevin Kruse, 15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management
Now consider—and this is of great importance—how much mental, physical, or emotional energy you have to apply to the actions. Running on empty may mean all you can do is fill the stapler or water the plants. (I would suggest you do some energy renewal rituals, but that is for a later article.
Secret #15: Productivity is about energy and focus, not time.
Kevin Kruse, 15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management
… You can’t manage time—no matter what you do, you will have the same 24 hours tomorrow that you had today. When people talk about ‘time management,’ what they really want is to get more stuff done with less stress. And the real secret behind this is that you need to maximize your energy.
Lastly, what are your current priorities? What action will give you the highest payoff within your context and allotted time and energy? To help with this decision, Allen presents an “aerospace analogy” to describe levels of perspective about your priorities.
If you have your priorities, roles, and goals figured out and drafted, and you review them frequently, then this will come naturally. You will quickly intuit the next right thing you should do. On that note, I can’t help but think of this:
…if you want to go your individual way, it is the way you make for yourself, which is never prescribed, which you do not know in advance, and which simply comes into being of itself when you put one foot in front of the other. If you always do the next thing that needs to be done, you will go most safely and surefootedly along the path prescribed by your unconscious. … But if you do with conviction the next and most necessary thing you are always doing something meaningful and intended by fate.
C.G. Jung, letter to “Frau V.”
You may have noticed in the pictures above that I am working completely in an analog manner, except for my Calendar. That’s on purpose. I am currently transitioning from Evernote to all native Apple applications. Why? Stable, easy to use, fully integrated across platforms thanks to iCloud, and free. More details in Part IX.
That, however, shouldn’t matter. The workflow principles can work on any platform—analog or digital. Before iCloud, I used “T-Cards” and a T-Card portfolio to maintain my lists. K.I.S.S. I suggest starting in analog and once you have a grasp of the workflow, deciding if you want to move into the digital space.
In the next part of this series—Part VII—we will return to the Review step that I intentionally skipped herein. Contrary to Allen, as I mentioned before, I Process and Organize at the same time. I also Process and Organize on the same day I Review. Further, because it’s the next logical step for me, I Plan in accordance with Stephen Covey’s “Roles” and “Role-Based Goals.”
David Allen’s system is designed to allow intuitive decisions at the moment. I like the flâneure-like freedom this allows. But, without some proactive planning around my Roles and Areas of Responsibility, I find that self-care and relationships, usually in that order, get dismissed for the sake of productivity. I don’t want to do that.
Personal Management is putting first things first; personal leadership is deciding what the first things are.
Stephen Covey, First Things First
