Nanci Hardwick Gets Things Done

Getting Things DONE
Book by David Allen
Interpretation by Nanci Hardwick

Today’s Discussion
Why I read this book
What this book says to do
What I did
How it worked
What I think about it now

Why?
For the Hereafter
The preacher told me the other day I should be thinking about the Hereafter.
I told him, "I do, Father, all the time.
Every time I go from one room to the other, I have to ask myself…
'Now, what am I here after?'

David’s Example
Things we just “remember”
Can you go to the grocery store without a list and not forget anything?
Do you ever remember the call that needs to be made in the shower? Or at night in bed?
No memory required
Do you believe that you will be in the right place at the right time for your appointments next week?
What’s the difference?? Why is the calendar so much better, so trusted?
Because it is ALL there. Every detail. No memory required.

Why Things are on Your Mind
Most often, something you want to be different than it is currently is on your mind because:
you haven’t clarified exactly what the intended outcome is
you haven’t decided what the very next physical action step is, or
you haven’t put reminders of the outcome and the action required in a system you trust.

The Steps
The great cleanup and download

Time, Space, and Tools
Time – Initial Renovation and maintenance
Space – Home and Office
In basket
Files
Paper
A space you want to be in!
Tools
Filing system
“a giant stack” and a labeler
Lists
Calendar

Ready, Set…
“The first activity is to search your physical environment for anything that doesn’t belong where it is, the way it is, permanently, and put it in to your in basket.”
BEWARE: don’t slip into purging/organizing/acting on items found as these are potential time sinks.

Getting “In” to Empty
NOW, sort through, to:
Trash what you don’t need
Complete any less than 2 minute actions
Hand off anything you can delegate
Add reminders into your system for greater than 2 minute actions
Identify and add to your project list any larger commitments

Workflow Diagram-Processing

The Right Buckets
A “Projects” list
Project support material
Calendared actions/info
“Next Actions” lists
A “Waiting For” list
Reference material
A “Someday/Maybe” list

The Next Action List Breakdown
“The most common categories of action reminders”:
Calls
At computer
Errands
At office
At home
Agendas (for people and meetings)
Read/Review

Review to keep it functional
“You must be assured that you’re doing what you need to be doing, and that it’s OK to be not doing what you’re not doing.”
If your list of calls no longer includes all the calls you need to make, your brain no longer trusts the list and goes back to trying to remember.

What to do… when?
Choose actions based on these criteria:
Context
Time available
Energy available
Priority
A low energy moment would be the time to read, update contact files, back up, etc.

An Exercise
Think of a looming project at work or home.
Now visualize or define a successful outcome for that project.
What is the very next step that you would need to take to make progress?

A real life story
David Allen visits Nanci’s life

Collection
I “collected” the entire surface of my desk
And my projects drawer
Other drawers, cabinets, and bookshelf are on standby
But I cleaned out an entire drawer in my 4-drawer cabinet at home!
I sorted and trashed and made lists
I felt the rush only those with a full trash can experience
I turned to my laptop, and faced my inbox…

Outlook
June 16: Process and Purge over 1,200 emails
Except for the 250 I gave up on and moved to another folder
Wow! – ZERO EMAIL IN INBOX!
Restructure my lists:
Task list categories were subject themes: Sales, Human Resources, Volunteer, etc
Task list categories are now by action type: Calls, @home, Projects, To Buy, Waiting on Others

Changes
Added personal tasks to Outlook
Used my inbox as an inbox rather than a staging area
Threw away the stuff I’ll never read (and felt ok about it)
Purged files and gave myself permission to delete email
Now follow the two minute rule – especially with new things to read. I skim and chuck or flag what should be read with care
Empty my laptop bag every morning and evening
Keep a notepad and pen in my car
Unsubscribed from unwanted email rather than delete

What happened next?
We notice Nanci never mentioned adopting the filing system….

Pride & Glory
I am master of my to-do list. I sleep well. I shower well. I leave the grocery store well. Most of the time.
There is raw power in an empty in box and I drink from the well every day.

But then I travel…
8/24: Kate emails to say, can you still talk to everyone about managing email?
I have 177 emails in my inbox, dating back to 7/20.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen!
I say “Yes, Kate!” and spend a better part of the day, the whole night, and the next morning getting back to zero.

How it worked
Girl vs. Email … and tasks, and projects, and life

How it worked for me
Capturing it all
Making “next action” decisions
Reviewing lists
My task lists – using dates and priority flags
Reading while laptop boots up
How it went awry
Why it was worth getting back to zero

What I think now
Action-oriented check lists are very helpful.
Defining next actions when I’m in that moment really thinking about that project is very helpful but harder than you would think.
Inboxes should contain unread email or be empty.
Calendars can include “make decision about X” items with relevant detail.
Reviewing is still tricky.

Final Thought
Knowing tasks are captured allows creative thinking

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Nanci Hardwick Gets Things Done

by Handshake Media, Incorporated on Sep 14, 2009

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