ZTD: Zen Tudu - an ultra-simple productivity system
The original was published by Leo Babauta on the Zen Habits website. I freely translated it and adapted it a little. Immediately make a reservation, I do not claim the accuracy of the translation. My task was to translate not exactly, but understandable. Enjoy reading and application!
“It's about habits and doing, not about the system and tools”
To consolidate the basics of productivity and organization, while keeping everything as simple as possible, I developed my own productivity system: Zen To Done (ZTD).
')
ZTD consists of simplicity, focus on actions and doing here and now, as opposed to perpetual planning and consistency.
If you have problems with GTD, despite its genius, ZTD may be just for you. It focuses on changing the habits needed to implement GTD in a more practical way. And it focuses on “doing,” simplifying, creating a simple structure. Read on to find out everything in detail.
ZTD is trying to solve five problems that many face when trying to implement GTD. I must say that GTD actually has no flaws, it does not need modifications, but we are all different. ZTD is just the way to set everything up so that it works better for different types of personality.
These are the five problems that people with GTD have:
1) GTD is a series of habits change. This is the main reason why people drop out of the GTD-system: this is a whole pile of changes to our habits that have to be introduced at one moment. If you read Zen Habits for a long time, you know that focusing on one habit at a time is the best way to guarantee success. In addition, GTDery does not apply proven habits change techniques.
Solution: ZTD focuses on one habit at a time. You do not need to try to implement the entire system at once - it is overwhelming. It is very difficult to focus on changing habits if you try to do too much at once. On the contrary, focus on one habit at a time, the introduction of the system in phases, stages. Use proven methods of changing habits (30-day competition, promises, rewards, khaki motivation, etc.) for the successful implementation of each new habit.
2) GTD does not focus enough on actions, on doing. Although it is called Getting Things Done, that is, Completion of Works, often what we are forced to do most of the time, it is Getting Things in Our Trusted System, that is, putting things in our trusted system. David Allen’s book, while offering an excellent system, focuses more on capture and processing stages than on the stage of actual action.
Solution: ZTD is more focused on doing. On how to complete your tasks in a simple, stress-free way.
3) GTD is too unstructured for many people. This may be one of the brilliant features of GTD - the lack of structure at the time of deciding "what to do next"; but it becomes a source of great ambiguity for many people. Some people need more structure in their bottom, and GTD can confuse. Different people have different styles.
Solution: ZTD offers several habits to solve these problems: a planning habit, when you just plan your three Most Important Business for the day and your Big Stones of the week, a habit of routines in which you do daily and weekly activities for yourself. These habits, like all habits in ZTD, are optional. If they do not work for you, do not implement them. But for many people, they will perfectly complement GTD.
4) GTD is trying to do too much, which ends in stress. GTD makes no distinction between all incoming affairs and the information around, which is also part of her beauty. But the problem is that we are starting to put everything on our sheets. Of course, this is not a GTD problem, but a problem of our implementation. But this problem must be solved.
Solution: ZTD aims to simplify. Fix only the essentials, and you can focus on doing the really important things, and doing them well.
5) GTD doesn't focus enough on your goals. This system is intentionally made “bottom-up,” at the road level. When it talks about higher levels, they are not given enough attention. As a result, GTD focuses you more on making the incoming, rather than on doing what you yourself decided to do, “outgoing” - just the most important things.
Solution: ZTD, as mentioned above, forces you to identify the big, important things you want to complete in a week or a day. Another ZTD habit is to look at and review your goals weekly. It is a way to stay focused on goals throughout the year. GTD contains an element of this, but ZTD extends it.
Again, again, GTD is a brilliant system, and it works very well. But ZTD solves some of the problems that arise when implementing GTD, adapting it to real life.
Each of these habits should be studied and implemented one at a time, if possible, or a maximum of 2-3 at a time. Focus on one habit for 30 days, then move on to the next. The order in the list below is just a proposal, you can implement them in any order that is convenient for you. And you do not need to implement all 10. Experiment, find those that work best for you personally. Habits 1-8 are the most important, but I suggest that the ninth and tenth also pay close attention. I will reveal in more detail each of these habits in future publications.
1. Collect. The habit of omnipresent capture. Carry a small notebook (or any other device for writing) and write down all the ideas, cases, projects or other information that appears in your head. Throw out of the head on paper. So you will not forget anything. This is the same as in GTD. But ZTD requires a portable and very easy-to-use tool: a notebook or a stack of notes is enough. Just because it is easier than carrying a pocket PC or laptop with you. The simpler the tool, the better. When you return home or to your office, transfer your notes to your to-do list (a simple list will work better, context sheets can be introduced later).
2. Handle. The habit of making quick decisions about incoming things, and not leave it as it is. Allowing cases to accumulate means postponing decision-making. Process your inbox (mail, paper, voice mail, notepad) at least once a day or more often if necessary. When processing, make it top to bottom, deciding on each thing, as in GTD: do it (if it takes less than two minutes), delete it, delegate, save or schedule for a specific date.
3. Plan. The habit of assigning the Most Important Tasks (SVZ) to the week and day. Every week, make a list of the Big Stones you want to complete, and plan them first. Every day, create a list of 1-3 SVZ (usually your Big Stones for this day) and be sure to follow them. Do your SVZ at the very beginning of the day. Their completion will give you strength and confidence.
4. To do (focus). The habit of doing one thing at a time, without being distracted (link). This is the most important habit in ZTD. You must select a task (preferably one of your SVZ) and focus on excluding everything else. First, eliminate all distractions. Close the mail, turn off the phone, chop off the Internet (or just close all unnecessary tabs), remove all unnecessary from the desktop (if you follow the habit of number 2, it will be very easy). Then set a timer if you want, or just focus on the task as long as possible. Do not allow yourself to be distracted from doing. If you are interrupted, write down any request or incoming task / information in your notebook, and immediately return to the task. Do not try to be multi-task.
5. Simple trusted system. The habit of keeping simple lists and checking them daily. Basically everything is the same as in GTD - get lists of contexts, for example @ home, @ office, @ calls, @ delegated, @ city and so on. ZTD assumes that you will keep your lists as simple as possible. Do not create a complex system, do not try all the time to use new things and tools. It is just a waste of time. It is better to use a simple notebook or a stack of cards, or the simplest program for lists. You do not need a planner or PDA, or Outluk or a complex system of tags and contexts. Just one list for each context and a list with projects that you view daily or weekly. Tying things to projects and contexts is good, but it can be all too complicated. Concentrate on simplicity, and on what you need to do right now, and not on toys with the system and tools.
6. Organization. The habit of knowing a place for everything and putting everything in place. All incoming goes to your Inbox, to Inbox. From there it moves to contextual lists, either to a file in the storage system, or to Outgoing, if you decide to delegate it, or to garbage. Put the files and information right where they belong, instead of accumulating them for the purpose of exploring later. This habit will help keep your desk clean and you can focus on your work. Do not delay - put in place.
7. Review. The habit of weekly viewing goals and the entire system. Weekly viewing in GTD is a great thing, and ZTD adopts it almost exactly, but with great focus on viewing your goals every week. This is in GTD, but this is not the focus. During the weekly review, you should go over each of your annual goals, see what progress you made on them in the last week, and understand what specific actions you need to take next week. Once a month, spend a little more time for a monthly review of your goals, and once a year, be sure to review your goals for a year, and a review of your life goals.
8. Simplification. Habit to cut goals and objectives to the most necessary. One of the problems of GTD is that this system is trying to solve all incoming tasks. But this can overload us, and leave us unable to focus on important matters (MITs). So ZTD requires you to see where you can simplify when viewing your lists and projects. Remove everything, coma most important projects and tasks and focus on them. Simplify your commitments and information flow. Be sure that your projects and tasks lead you to your year and life goals. Do this daily (little by little, on a small scale), during weekly viewing and during monthly viewing.
9. Mode. The habit of setting the mode and following the procedures. GTD is not structured at all, and it can be both weakness and strength at the same time. This is a weakness for those people who need more structure. Try to develop the habit of creating a regime and routine, maybe it will work fine for you. For example, the morning routine may include viewing the calendar, viewing context lists, determining the most important things for the day, training, processing mail and all inboxes, and performing the first most important thing. Evening “routine” can include processing mail and inboxes (yes, again), summing up the day, blogging, preparing for the next day. The weekly schedule may include a day for walking, a day of laundry, a day of finances, a weekly review, a family day, etc. Everything depends on you - assign yourself a mode that will work for you.
10. Find your passion. The habit of looking for a job in love. This may be your last habit, but at the same time - the most important. GTD is great for managing the affairs of your life, for trying not to shirk or postpone them. But if you are in love with your business, you will not take it easy - because you love to do it, and want to do more and more. The habit here is to constantly look for things from which rushing, and see how you can build a career by doing this. Do what you love, work your life, and your task list will always look like a list of awards.
“It's about habits and doing, not about the system and tools”
To consolidate the basics of productivity and organization, while keeping everything as simple as possible, I developed my own productivity system: Zen To Done (ZTD).
')
ZTD consists of simplicity, focus on actions and doing here and now, as opposed to perpetual planning and consistency.
If you have problems with GTD, despite its genius, ZTD may be just for you. It focuses on changing the habits needed to implement GTD in a more practical way. And it focuses on “doing,” simplifying, creating a simple structure. Read on to find out everything in detail.
Overview
ZTD is trying to solve five problems that many face when trying to implement GTD. I must say that GTD actually has no flaws, it does not need modifications, but we are all different. ZTD is just the way to set everything up so that it works better for different types of personality.
These are the five problems that people with GTD have:
1) GTD is a series of habits change. This is the main reason why people drop out of the GTD-system: this is a whole pile of changes to our habits that have to be introduced at one moment. If you read Zen Habits for a long time, you know that focusing on one habit at a time is the best way to guarantee success. In addition, GTDery does not apply proven habits change techniques.
Solution: ZTD focuses on one habit at a time. You do not need to try to implement the entire system at once - it is overwhelming. It is very difficult to focus on changing habits if you try to do too much at once. On the contrary, focus on one habit at a time, the introduction of the system in phases, stages. Use proven methods of changing habits (30-day competition, promises, rewards, khaki motivation, etc.) for the successful implementation of each new habit.
2) GTD does not focus enough on actions, on doing. Although it is called Getting Things Done, that is, Completion of Works, often what we are forced to do most of the time, it is Getting Things in Our Trusted System, that is, putting things in our trusted system. David Allen’s book, while offering an excellent system, focuses more on capture and processing stages than on the stage of actual action.
Solution: ZTD is more focused on doing. On how to complete your tasks in a simple, stress-free way.
3) GTD is too unstructured for many people. This may be one of the brilliant features of GTD - the lack of structure at the time of deciding "what to do next"; but it becomes a source of great ambiguity for many people. Some people need more structure in their bottom, and GTD can confuse. Different people have different styles.
Solution: ZTD offers several habits to solve these problems: a planning habit, when you just plan your three Most Important Business for the day and your Big Stones of the week, a habit of routines in which you do daily and weekly activities for yourself. These habits, like all habits in ZTD, are optional. If they do not work for you, do not implement them. But for many people, they will perfectly complement GTD.
4) GTD is trying to do too much, which ends in stress. GTD makes no distinction between all incoming affairs and the information around, which is also part of her beauty. But the problem is that we are starting to put everything on our sheets. Of course, this is not a GTD problem, but a problem of our implementation. But this problem must be solved.
Solution: ZTD aims to simplify. Fix only the essentials, and you can focus on doing the really important things, and doing them well.
5) GTD doesn't focus enough on your goals. This system is intentionally made “bottom-up,” at the road level. When it talks about higher levels, they are not given enough attention. As a result, GTD focuses you more on making the incoming, rather than on doing what you yourself decided to do, “outgoing” - just the most important things.
Solution: ZTD, as mentioned above, forces you to identify the big, important things you want to complete in a week or a day. Another ZTD habit is to look at and review your goals weekly. It is a way to stay focused on goals throughout the year. GTD contains an element of this, but ZTD extends it.
Again, again, GTD is a brilliant system, and it works very well. But ZTD solves some of the problems that arise when implementing GTD, adapting it to real life.
10 ZTD ​​habits
Each of these habits should be studied and implemented one at a time, if possible, or a maximum of 2-3 at a time. Focus on one habit for 30 days, then move on to the next. The order in the list below is just a proposal, you can implement them in any order that is convenient for you. And you do not need to implement all 10. Experiment, find those that work best for you personally. Habits 1-8 are the most important, but I suggest that the ninth and tenth also pay close attention. I will reveal in more detail each of these habits in future publications.
1. Collect. The habit of omnipresent capture. Carry a small notebook (or any other device for writing) and write down all the ideas, cases, projects or other information that appears in your head. Throw out of the head on paper. So you will not forget anything. This is the same as in GTD. But ZTD requires a portable and very easy-to-use tool: a notebook or a stack of notes is enough. Just because it is easier than carrying a pocket PC or laptop with you. The simpler the tool, the better. When you return home or to your office, transfer your notes to your to-do list (a simple list will work better, context sheets can be introduced later).
2. Handle. The habit of making quick decisions about incoming things, and not leave it as it is. Allowing cases to accumulate means postponing decision-making. Process your inbox (mail, paper, voice mail, notepad) at least once a day or more often if necessary. When processing, make it top to bottom, deciding on each thing, as in GTD: do it (if it takes less than two minutes), delete it, delegate, save or schedule for a specific date.
3. Plan. The habit of assigning the Most Important Tasks (SVZ) to the week and day. Every week, make a list of the Big Stones you want to complete, and plan them first. Every day, create a list of 1-3 SVZ (usually your Big Stones for this day) and be sure to follow them. Do your SVZ at the very beginning of the day. Their completion will give you strength and confidence.
4. To do (focus). The habit of doing one thing at a time, without being distracted (link). This is the most important habit in ZTD. You must select a task (preferably one of your SVZ) and focus on excluding everything else. First, eliminate all distractions. Close the mail, turn off the phone, chop off the Internet (or just close all unnecessary tabs), remove all unnecessary from the desktop (if you follow the habit of number 2, it will be very easy). Then set a timer if you want, or just focus on the task as long as possible. Do not allow yourself to be distracted from doing. If you are interrupted, write down any request or incoming task / information in your notebook, and immediately return to the task. Do not try to be multi-task.
5. Simple trusted system. The habit of keeping simple lists and checking them daily. Basically everything is the same as in GTD - get lists of contexts, for example @ home, @ office, @ calls, @ delegated, @ city and so on. ZTD assumes that you will keep your lists as simple as possible. Do not create a complex system, do not try all the time to use new things and tools. It is just a waste of time. It is better to use a simple notebook or a stack of cards, or the simplest program for lists. You do not need a planner or PDA, or Outluk or a complex system of tags and contexts. Just one list for each context and a list with projects that you view daily or weekly. Tying things to projects and contexts is good, but it can be all too complicated. Concentrate on simplicity, and on what you need to do right now, and not on toys with the system and tools.
6. Organization. The habit of knowing a place for everything and putting everything in place. All incoming goes to your Inbox, to Inbox. From there it moves to contextual lists, either to a file in the storage system, or to Outgoing, if you decide to delegate it, or to garbage. Put the files and information right where they belong, instead of accumulating them for the purpose of exploring later. This habit will help keep your desk clean and you can focus on your work. Do not delay - put in place.
7. Review. The habit of weekly viewing goals and the entire system. Weekly viewing in GTD is a great thing, and ZTD adopts it almost exactly, but with great focus on viewing your goals every week. This is in GTD, but this is not the focus. During the weekly review, you should go over each of your annual goals, see what progress you made on them in the last week, and understand what specific actions you need to take next week. Once a month, spend a little more time for a monthly review of your goals, and once a year, be sure to review your goals for a year, and a review of your life goals.
8. Simplification. Habit to cut goals and objectives to the most necessary. One of the problems of GTD is that this system is trying to solve all incoming tasks. But this can overload us, and leave us unable to focus on important matters (MITs). So ZTD requires you to see where you can simplify when viewing your lists and projects. Remove everything, coma most important projects and tasks and focus on them. Simplify your commitments and information flow. Be sure that your projects and tasks lead you to your year and life goals. Do this daily (little by little, on a small scale), during weekly viewing and during monthly viewing.
9. Mode. The habit of setting the mode and following the procedures. GTD is not structured at all, and it can be both weakness and strength at the same time. This is a weakness for those people who need more structure. Try to develop the habit of creating a regime and routine, maybe it will work fine for you. For example, the morning routine may include viewing the calendar, viewing context lists, determining the most important things for the day, training, processing mail and all inboxes, and performing the first most important thing. Evening “routine” can include processing mail and inboxes (yes, again), summing up the day, blogging, preparing for the next day. The weekly schedule may include a day for walking, a day of laundry, a day of finances, a weekly review, a family day, etc. Everything depends on you - assign yourself a mode that will work for you.
10. Find your passion. The habit of looking for a job in love. This may be your last habit, but at the same time - the most important. GTD is great for managing the affairs of your life, for trying not to shirk or postpone them. But if you are in love with your business, you will not take it easy - because you love to do it, and want to do more and more. The habit here is to constantly look for things from which rushing, and see how you can build a career by doing this. Do what you love, work your life, and your task list will always look like a list of awards.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/122716/
All Articles