Introduction to GTD
I always forgot something. When I was in school, I forgot that I needed to take a notebook or a protractor to class tomorrow. At the institute, I forgot about laboratory work and deadlines for coursework. Something very important constantly flew out of my head, and I did not know what to do with it. Dad told me then:
To some extent he was right. Paper does not forget. It can be lost, burned, broken. But if something is written on it, then it cannot disappear spontaneously. Imagine the situation, you wrote down your date with your friend’s anniversary in your notebook. A month passes, another, a third ... The eleventh comes to an end and you suddenly remember that soon you have to run to buy flowers and compose a greeting. But when exactly? Tenth ... or seventeenth ... it seems that it was the same date on which the first release of windows 95 saw the light. Or maybe 98 ... Damn, of course, you forgot (who remembers such things the first time?). You are almost ready to sprinkle ashes on your head and go to the shooting, hastily write excuses and assure you that you will accurately write down next time right on your forehead ... Stop. You wrote it down! You are saved. You climb into a notebook, and the page ... is empty! Notepad forgot the information you put into it! Incredible! And what is the result? As a result, you quarreled with the girl, your personal life is rolling down the slope ... An unpleasant situation, isn't it? It is good that this does not happen, and in real life we ​​know for sure that having recorded information somewhere, we can not worry that it will disappear.
But this is not a guarantee that you can use the information. There are several reasons.
For example, what does “call N. in 10PP if in G” mean? Call Natalia at ten in the afternoon, if I'm in town? Or if she is in the city? The value of such incomprehensible information is small. Moreover, the older you wrote this garbage, the greater the likelihood that you will forget what you wanted to say.
And this is only a small part of the reasons that may prevent you from finding what you need. How to be? Maybe a notebook is not the best idea and I need something else? More suited to doing business? And here (here, right at this place!) You understand that all you need is a cool organizer with a diary, an alphabetical list, a bunch of offices, lined pages and a cool bookmark that can be fixed anywhere. But alas, the same fate awaits him. I know a lot of people who use organizers and diaries and at the same time quite successfully run business. Such people are not fiction. But experience shows that these same people could easily get along with an ordinary notebook. And if this is not our case, then we need to look for something else.
And there is another. The GTD system, which came up with one clever American David Allen. Here is one of his quotes:
And this man teaches us how to deal with affairs? Yes, that is what he does. So GTD or Getting Things Done. Trying to retell the whole book in one blog article is an absolutely hopeless occupation. Therefore, I will briefly tell you what GTD has become for me now, when I can’t imagine myself without it. So…
It could be a voice recorder, tablet, phone, player, anything, as long as it allowed you to quickly write down the idea and know that it is not going anywhere. I agree, quite an obvious thesis. But the main problem lies in it. You must have a “basket” in which all your affairs are placed that need to be done in the future (it does not matter how distant yet). This basket should always be with you, wherever you are. For example, I, the most valuable thoughts come during the morning shower, and I very much regret that I can not immediately make them into the iPhone. You have to ask someone to write it down, and then write it down yourself. In GTD terminology, this basket is called Inbox. What is the main difference between the Inbox and the usual to-do list?
It would seem a paradise for lovers of procrastination. An overcrowded inbox is what awaits so many who decide to try GTD. They understand that inbox has become very similar to their many todo lists, and give up this bad job. They just did not read to the end.
')
A very important point. Each case should be broken down into several small steps that will lead to the final result. Consider the situation. You drive a car when suddenly a stone hits the glass of your car and the glass gives a crack. Unpleasant situation. Having recovered from the shock and properly having walked all over the relatives of the employees of road services, you begin to look for a solution to the problem. It would seem, everything is simple. It is necessary to replace the glass. And here comes the key point. You could take your todo-list and add the “replace glass” case there. In general, it is logical, but only likely you will start to replace the glass very soon. This line in the list will oppress you, prevent you from living, you will constantly endure this business until, finally, your patience will burst, you will not begin to do something to replace this unfortunate glass.
Stop. Let's stop for a while, put the “replace glass” case in the inbox (so as not to forget) and take a close look at the situation. We need to start something to do. What exactly? Let's mentally go all the way from hitting the stone to the moment you left the car service with a new glass. You need:
It turned out 8 steps. And this is the minimum. Each of these eight steps can be done in one sitting. You do not need to be interrupted in the midst of any of these steps. Most likely, the implementation of each of them does not take you more than an hour. And most importantly - it is absolutely clear what to do! This is what is called a "list of specific actions." Now you can with good conscience throw lists of specific cases in the inbox and move on to the next item in the program. The beauty of GTD is that in a month, every more or less simple matter will begin to unfold in your brain for concrete actions completely spontaneously.
Here we are getting close to distinguishing GTD from the rest. Contexts and projects are 50% GTD (for me personally). If you understand what it is, then problems with sorting out inbox no longer arise. In this article, I will not consider these concepts in detail. So far, we can assume that the context is a description of a certain state in which it is appropriate to proceed with the implementation of the case, and the project is the main goal (“to change the glass” from the previous paragraph). Do you remember we in the Inbox are 8 steps and actually "replace the glass"? You kind of do the convert to project operation for the “replace glass” element from inbox, and subordinate 8 steps to this project. It turned out quite a working scheme.
Now that the project has been created, you need to set your context for each case. The topic of contexts is extremely extensive and 100% individual. Even if I give here a list of my contexts, you are unlikely to get an objective idea of ​​what the list of your contexts should be. Moreover, I have been continuously improving this list for a year now, trying to ensure that it reflects the real state of affairs in my life.
I will try to define the context as clearly as possible:
Abstruse and difficult. I will try to explain on the fingers. Suppose you need to call your insurance agent. What is the minimum set for this need? Most likely, this is just a mobile phone. So, always, when you have a minute, and you have a phone in your hands, open your GTD-scheduler and see the context “phone”. You will immediately see a list of your calls. The second example. You need to buy a heating pad (I just recently bought a heating pad and I know for sure that you can only buy it at a pharmacy). You create the context of "pharmacy" and add it to the case of "buy a heating pad." Quite cool if your GTD planner supports GPS coordinates of the context. In this case, you can also indicate which pharmacy you need (for example, I indicated a pharmacy on the map, past which I always go home). Now, when your device finds that you are near the pharmacy, and you have business there, it will let you know and you will come in and buy a heating pad. Sounds good, right? And most importantly, it really works! In more detail about contexts, I will definitely write in a separate article.
Review article turned out a little longer than I thought. But I managed to describe, in my opinion, the main differences between the GTD system and other ways of doing business. The goal I pursued was to incite interest in the system and show people who suffer from constant forgetfulness that there is a real way out. Try and achieve high performance!
Write it down Write everything down.
To some extent he was right. Paper does not forget. It can be lost, burned, broken. But if something is written on it, then it cannot disappear spontaneously. Imagine the situation, you wrote down your date with your friend’s anniversary in your notebook. A month passes, another, a third ... The eleventh comes to an end and you suddenly remember that soon you have to run to buy flowers and compose a greeting. But when exactly? Tenth ... or seventeenth ... it seems that it was the same date on which the first release of windows 95 saw the light. Or maybe 98 ... Damn, of course, you forgot (who remembers such things the first time?). You are almost ready to sprinkle ashes on your head and go to the shooting, hastily write excuses and assure you that you will accurately write down next time right on your forehead ... Stop. You wrote it down! You are saved. You climb into a notebook, and the page ... is empty! Notepad forgot the information you put into it! Incredible! And what is the result? As a result, you quarreled with the girl, your personal life is rolling down the slope ... An unpleasant situation, isn't it? It is good that this does not happen, and in real life we ​​know for sure that having recorded information somewhere, we can not worry that it will disappear.
But this is not a guarantee that you can use the information. There are several reasons.
- You can lose the notebook itself, as a carrier of information;
- You may forget to look in a notebook or look into it too late;
- You may not find the desired entry, among other entries;
- You may not understand what is written there, because you are too lazy to write in detail.
For example, what does “call N. in 10PP if in G” mean? Call Natalia at ten in the afternoon, if I'm in town? Or if she is in the city? The value of such incomprehensible information is small. Moreover, the older you wrote this garbage, the greater the likelihood that you will forget what you wanted to say.
And this is only a small part of the reasons that may prevent you from finding what you need. How to be? Maybe a notebook is not the best idea and I need something else? More suited to doing business? And here (here, right at this place!) You understand that all you need is a cool organizer with a diary, an alphabetical list, a bunch of offices, lined pages and a cool bookmark that can be fixed anywhere. But alas, the same fate awaits him. I know a lot of people who use organizers and diaries and at the same time quite successfully run business. Such people are not fiction. But experience shows that these same people could easily get along with an ordinary notebook. And if this is not our case, then we need to look for something else.
And there is another. The GTD system, which came up with one clever American David Allen. Here is one of his quotes:
“Army wisdom: Give honor to what is moving. Drag the motionless. You can not drag - paint. "
And this man teaches us how to deal with affairs? Yes, that is what he does. So GTD or Getting Things Done. Trying to retell the whole book in one blog article is an absolutely hopeless occupation. Therefore, I will briefly tell you what GTD has become for me now, when I can’t imagine myself without it. So…
You should always have on hand a tool for recording your thoughts, deeds and ideas.
It could be a voice recorder, tablet, phone, player, anything, as long as it allowed you to quickly write down the idea and know that it is not going anywhere. I agree, quite an obvious thesis. But the main problem lies in it. You must have a “basket” in which all your affairs are placed that need to be done in the future (it does not matter how distant yet). This basket should always be with you, wherever you are. For example, I, the most valuable thoughts come during the morning shower, and I very much regret that I can not immediately make them into the iPhone. You have to ask someone to write it down, and then write it down yourself. In GTD terminology, this basket is called Inbox. What is the main difference between the Inbox and the usual to-do list?
Inbox does not require any processing. You should just capture your idea. You will deal with it later.
It would seem a paradise for lovers of procrastination. An overcrowded inbox is what awaits so many who decide to try GTD. They understand that inbox has become very similar to their many todo lists, and give up this bad job. They just did not read to the end.
')
Action Lists
A very important point. Each case should be broken down into several small steps that will lead to the final result. Consider the situation. You drive a car when suddenly a stone hits the glass of your car and the glass gives a crack. Unpleasant situation. Having recovered from the shock and properly having walked all over the relatives of the employees of road services, you begin to look for a solution to the problem. It would seem, everything is simple. It is necessary to replace the glass. And here comes the key point. You could take your todo-list and add the “replace glass” case there. In general, it is logical, but only likely you will start to replace the glass very soon. This line in the list will oppress you, prevent you from living, you will constantly endure this business until, finally, your patience will burst, you will not begin to do something to replace this unfortunate glass.
Stop. Let's stop for a while, put the “replace glass” case in the inbox (so as not to forget) and take a close look at the situation. We need to start something to do. What exactly? Let's mentally go all the way from hitting the stone to the moment you left the car service with a new glass. You need:
- Find a suitable car service
- Find the VIN-code of the car so that you can order glass
- Call the service, explain the situation and order glass
- Wait for his arrival
- Bring a car for repair
- Wait until the end of the repair
- Pay for the service
- Pick up the car.
It turned out 8 steps. And this is the minimum. Each of these eight steps can be done in one sitting. You do not need to be interrupted in the midst of any of these steps. Most likely, the implementation of each of them does not take you more than an hour. And most importantly - it is absolutely clear what to do! This is what is called a "list of specific actions." Now you can with good conscience throw lists of specific cases in the inbox and move on to the next item in the program. The beauty of GTD is that in a month, every more or less simple matter will begin to unfold in your brain for concrete actions completely spontaneously.
Each case from the list of specific actions must be sorted into context and project.
Here we are getting close to distinguishing GTD from the rest. Contexts and projects are 50% GTD (for me personally). If you understand what it is, then problems with sorting out inbox no longer arise. In this article, I will not consider these concepts in detail. So far, we can assume that the context is a description of a certain state in which it is appropriate to proceed with the implementation of the case, and the project is the main goal (“to change the glass” from the previous paragraph). Do you remember we in the Inbox are 8 steps and actually "replace the glass"? You kind of do the convert to project operation for the “replace glass” element from inbox, and subordinate 8 steps to this project. It turned out quite a working scheme.
Now that the project has been created, you need to set your context for each case. The topic of contexts is extremely extensive and 100% individual. Even if I give here a list of my contexts, you are unlikely to get an objective idea of ​​what the list of your contexts should be. Moreover, I have been continuously improving this list for a year now, trying to ensure that it reflects the real state of affairs in my life.
I will try to define the context as clearly as possible:
The context in GTD is a kind of state that you are in and that is necessary for the execution of an action.
Abstruse and difficult. I will try to explain on the fingers. Suppose you need to call your insurance agent. What is the minimum set for this need? Most likely, this is just a mobile phone. So, always, when you have a minute, and you have a phone in your hands, open your GTD-scheduler and see the context “phone”. You will immediately see a list of your calls. The second example. You need to buy a heating pad (I just recently bought a heating pad and I know for sure that you can only buy it at a pharmacy). You create the context of "pharmacy" and add it to the case of "buy a heating pad." Quite cool if your GTD planner supports GPS coordinates of the context. In this case, you can also indicate which pharmacy you need (for example, I indicated a pharmacy on the map, past which I always go home). Now, when your device finds that you are near the pharmacy, and you have business there, it will let you know and you will come in and buy a heating pad. Sounds good, right? And most importantly, it really works! In more detail about contexts, I will definitely write in a separate article.
Instead of conclusion
Review article turned out a little longer than I thought. But I managed to describe, in my opinion, the main differences between the GTD system and other ways of doing business. The goal I pursued was to incite interest in the system and show people who suffer from constant forgetfulness that there is a real way out. Try and achieve high performance!
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/181830/
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