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Part One:
April 7, 2023
From Clutter to Clear: A Guide for Getting Things Done
Why We Need a Process
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To get from here… … to here
Why We Need a ProcessYour mind is kinda stupid
Everything you’ve told yourself you ought to do, it thinks you should be doing right now.
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It’s hard to fight an enemy that keeps outposts in your head– Sally Kempton
The Basic Concept1. Unclutter your mind by
recording everything in a trusted system
2. You can now concentrate on performing tasks, completing projects and getting things done.
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What’s Missing• Automation• Idiot-proofing• A silver bullet• A cure for
procrastination• A causal
commitment
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Not idiot proof
What’s on your mind?Exercise A (2 minutes)
1. Write down the name of the project or situation that is on your mind at this moment
2. Write down, in a single sentence, your intended successful outcome for this project or situation.
3. Write down the very next physical action required to move the situation forward.
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Why is it on your mind?• You haven’t clarified the
intended outcome• You haven’t decided what the
next step is• You haven’t put reminders of
the outcome and next step into a system you trust.
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The ancestor of every action is thought. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
The Objective: Mind like WaterA condition of working, doing and being in
which the mind is clear and constructive things are happening.
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When your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything; it is open to everything. – Shunryu Suzuki
How to Get to Mind Like Water1. Externally collect anything and everything that has your
attention2. Process actionable things discretely into outcomes and
next steps3. Organize reminders in a streamlined way with
appropriate categories based on how and when you need them
4. Keep current with frequent reviews5. Do
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CollectIn your mind, in your inbox, on your voicemail, on your desktop and on your desk are a lot of reminders to take care of tasks. Let’s pull them together into one central repository.
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Collect
What to CollectAnything and everything that is an open loop about which there is an action required to move it to closure.
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Collect
What Not to Collect• Reference
Material• Equipment• Decoration• Supplies
You can only feel good about what you’re not doing when you know what you are not doing.
– David Allen
Collection Tools• Physical in-basket• Sticky notes• Files/folders• Journals/notebooks• To-Do Lists• Email Inbox• Voicemail
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Collect
Use your mind to think about things, not to keep thinking of them.– David Allen
Mind SweepingExercise B (3 minutes)
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Collect
Write down at minimum 20 tasks, projects or ideas that you have that require some action (use the Trigger List for inspiration).
You need to think about your stuff more than you think, but not as much as you’re afraid you might.
— David Allen
ProcessGoing through the collected items to determine if it is actionable, what is the next action and what you consider the acceptable outcome.
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Process
How to Process• Start at the top• Deal with one item at a
time• Never put anything back
into “in”• Determine if an item is
actionable or not
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Process
There is no reason to ever have the same thought twice, unless you like having that thought.
– David Allen
ActionableIf an item requires action:
• Do it (if it takes less than two minutes) or
• Delegate it (feeds “Waiting For” list) or
• Defer it (feeds Calendar or “Next Actions” list)
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Process
Is it actually actionable?
Reorganize the office
Implement new fiscal year
Research relationship with J. Smith Inc.
Get new car
Hire Marketing Director 17
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Process
Success Outcomes(What’s the larger result desired? How will you know when it is done?)
Next Actions(What do you need to do that? Do you have everything you need?)
Call Susan re: source for filing cabinets
E-mail Bill for copy of last year’s budget
Draft proposal ideas for alliance
Research Web sources for cars
Talk to Sean re: job description
Outcome vs. Next Action Verbs
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Process
Action VerbsSuccess Verbs
What’s the Next Action?Exercise C (5 minutes)
1. Place the tasks you just wrote and all the papers you brought into one single “Inbox” stack.
2. Process each item to determine if it is the next action. – If so, decide whether you should Do, Delegate or Defer– If no, determine if it’s a larger multi-step outcome (a Project)
and if there is a next step that is actionable.– If still no, separate it out as a non-actionable item.
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Process
OrganizeFor reference material it’s about how to organize in a way that is retrievable. For actionable items, it’s grouping into the right bucket so we can at a glance determine what actions are available
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Organize
Non-ActionableIf an item does not requires action:
• File it for referenceor
• Incubate it for a possible action lateror
• Throw it away
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Process
Reference• Separate from action area.• One flat alpha (A-Z)
organized system• Whatever name you would
use (and remember)• Typeset labels• Drawers ¾ fullPurge
yearly
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Organize
Incubate: Someday / Maybe list
Add extra porch lightsSee the Grand CanyonLearn SpanishGet new camping gearGet a scanner for home
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Organize
• List of projects that you might want to do, but not yet
• Review periodically to assess whether it ought to be done
• Reassess during Weekly Review
• Can have many sub-lists within this category,
Someday/Maybe (Examples)
Trash• CTRL-D• Press 9 to
delete• Drag and drop
to recycling bin• Throw it away
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Organize
Key Action Categories• Projects• “Waiting For”
(built from Delegated stack and external factors)
• Calendars (built from time/date sensitive items in Deferred stack)
• “Next Actions” (built from Deferred stack)
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Organize
ProjectsEvery open loop in one’s life or work which requires more than one physical action to achieve becomes a Project
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Organize
“Waiting For”
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Organize
When an action has been delegated to someone else or when you are waiting for an external event before a project can be moved forward
CalendarItems that are to be completed on a specific day and time.
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Organize
“Next Actions”Though there may be many steps to complete an item, there will always be something that needs to be done first.
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Organize
“Next Action” Categories
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Organize
Common Contextual Categories
What’s the Next Action?Exercise D (3 minutes)
1. Place the “next actions” you chose to defer into contextual categories
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Process
ReviewThe easiest way to drop this process is to lose trust in your list, and that comes from it not being maintained. Reviewing that everything is collected, processed and organized will keep things clean, clear current and complete.
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Weekly Review (in detail)
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Weekly Review (summary)• Gather and process all your “stuff” • Review your system • Update your lists • Get clean, clear, current, and complete
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You need to spend quality time, detached from the daily grind, thinking about, getting control of, and managing the daily grind.
– David Allen
DoChoosing what to do next based off of context, time available, energy available and priority.
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Criteria for Choosing Actions• Context
(What can I do where I am?)
• Time available (How much time do I have?)
• Resources (How much energy do I have?)
• Priority (What’s the value to me if I do this vs. something else?)
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Horizons of Focus• 50,000 ft — Career / Purpose / Lifestyle
• 40,000 ft — 3- to 5-year Vision / Strategy
• 30,000 ft — 1- to 2-year Goals and Direction
• 20,000 ft — Areas of Responsibility and Focus
• 10,000 ft — Current Projects
• Runway — Current Actions
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Setting PrioritiesExercise E (5 minutes)
1. Fill out your 20,000+ level responsibilities.2. Fill in your 30,000+ – 50,000+ level goals/vision/purpose.
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Process
What Tools Do You Need?
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• A Sync’able Mobile Phone (iPhone)
• Multi-platform accessible To-Do List (Toodledo)
• Bookmarking Tool (Delicious)
• Dictation Tool (ReQall)
• Sync’able Calendar (Google Calendar)
• Filing Cabinet
• Electronic Labeler
•Notebook
•Pen
•Inbox
•Filing Drawer
•Folders
•Labels
My Modifications (Recommenation)Minimalist
Where will this take you?
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Your ability to generate power Is directly proportional to your ability to relax– David Allen
What comes next?Part II Getting Things Done Together
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with Nate McMahon
Tools to help you get the most out of working together right now.
Homework for next class
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Come prepared to talk about a collaborative initiative that you are currently (or soon to be) working on with other Fools.