zen to done - trans4mind personal development resources · zen to done (ztd) is a system that is at...

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zen to doneThe UlTimaTe Simple prodUcTiviTy SySTem

by Leo Babauta

Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd �

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4 Introduction

7 1WhyZTD?

11 2Overview-Whatisit?

17 3MinimalZTD-thesimpleralternative

20 4Formingthe10Habits

24 5Habit1:Collect

28 6Habit2:Process

32 7Habit3:Plan

35 8Habit4:Do

39 9Habit5:Simple,trustedsystem

44 10Habit6:Organize

48 11Habit7:Review

51 12Habit8:Simplify

56 13Habit9:Routine

60 14Habit10:FindYourPassion

66 15ADaywithZenToDone

70 16ZTDFAQ

77 17Resources

00 Thankyou

Table of Contents

Dedicated to Eva


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Thisbookwaswrittenforthosewhowanttoget

theirlivesorganizedandactuallyexecutethethings

ontheirto-dolist.

Ifyou’reoneofthosepeople,you’llfindsomevaluable

conceptsinthisbook.

ZenToDone(ZTD)isasystemthatisatoncesimple,and

powerful,andwillhelpyoudevelopthehabitsthatkeepall

ofyourtasksandprojectsorganized,thatkeepyourworkday

simpleandstructured,thatkeepyourdeskandemailinbox

cleanandclear,andthatkeepyoudoingwhatyouneedtodo,

withoutdistractions.

That’salottoaskofalittlee-book.Andinfact,thisbookwon’t

doallofthesethingsforyou--youhavetodoit.Youhaveto

reallywanttochangeyourhabits,butwhat’sprovidedinthis

systemarethetoolsfordoingthat.

Andletmesaythatchangingyourhabitsarepossible.Using

thehabit-changingtechniquesIdescribeinthisbook,andon

mysite,ZenHabits,Ihavemademanyhabitchanges:Iquit

smoking,startedrunning,startedeatinghealthier,completed

amarathon,doubledmyincomeandgotmyfinancesin

order,becameavegan,havealmosteliminatedmydebtnow,

completedatriathlon,lostmorethan20pounds,andstarted

asuccessfulblog,tonameafew.Soyes,habitchangesare

Introduction

“�Much�of�the�stress�that�people�feel�doesn’t�come�from�having�too�much�to�do.�It�comes�from�not�finishing�what�they’ve�started.”�David�Allen


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definitelypossible,ifyoustartsmall,findtherightmotivation,

andmaintainyourfocus.

I’vealsobecomemoreorganizedandproductive.Onlyacouple

ofyearsago,mydeskwascluttered,Ikeptmultiplelistsof

thingsthatIwasalwayslosingorforgettingabout,Ihada

tonofthingstodoandwasoverwhelmedbythechaosand

complexityofmyday.Emailinboxwasoverflowing,andsowere

myphysicalinboxandvoicemailinbox.Ikeptforgettingtodo

things,andingeneralwasdisorganizedandunproductive.

ButIbeganchangingthosehabits,onebyone.Today,my

inboxesareallempty.Mylistofthingstodotodayisasimple

listofthreeveryimportantthings.Igetthemdone.Iamable

tocleardistractionsandfocus.Iwritethingsdown,inone

place,soIdon’tforgetthem.

Mylifeismuchmoresanenow,moresimplifiedandmore

focused.IgetaLOTmoredone--fromalltheworkinmy

dayjob,towritingtheblog,towritingforsixotherblogs,to

completingpersonalprojects,andstillhavingtimeformy

family.Iamhappierandmoreproductive,andit’sallduetoa

fewsimplehabitchanges.

Youcandothistoo,believeme.I’mnosuper-human--Isimply

madethecommitmenttoimprove,andbeganchangingmy

habits,oneatatime.

Youhavetoreallywant

tochangeyourhabits,

butwhat’sprovided

inthissystemarethe

toolsfordoingthat.


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Readon,andseehowyoucandothesethingstoo.Now,I

don’texpectyoutoadopttheentiresystem--everyoneworks

differently.That’sthebeautyofZTD:youcanchoosethose

habitsthatworkbestforyou.

Goodluck,andenjoythisbook.Changingyourhabitscanbe

exciting,andIurgeyoutoenjoythejourney.

ButIbeganchanging

thosehabits,oneby

one.Today,myinboxes

areallempty.Mylistof

thingstodotodayisa

simplelistofthreevery

importantthings.Iget

themdone.Iamable

tocleardistractions

andfocus.Iwrite

thingsdown,inone

place,soIdon’tforget

them.


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Idecidedtotakesomeofthebestconceptsfrom

someofthebestproductivitysystemseverinvented,

including,DavidAllen’sGettingThingsDoneand

StephenCovey’s7HabitsofSuccessfulPeople,add

someotherusefulconcepts,anddistillthemintoa

verysimpleandusableproductivitysystemcalled

ZenToDone(ZTD).

Why“ZenToDone”?Well,firstoff,theblogiscalledZen

Habits,and“HabitsToDone”doesn’tsoundcoolenoughto

me.Ialsothoughtof“SimpleToDone”buttheacronymdidn’t

seemright.Second,ZTDcapturestheessentialspiritofthe

newsystem:thatofsimplicity,ofafocusondoing,inthehere

andnow,insteadofonplanningandonthesystem.

Ifyou’vebeenhavingtroublewithGTD,asgreatasitis,

ZTDmightbejustforyou.Itfocusesonthehabitchanges

necessaryforGTD,inamorepracticalway,anditfocuses

ondoing,onsimplifying,andonaddingasimplestructure.

Readonformore.

ZTDattemptstoaddressfiveproblemsthatmanypeople

havewithGTD.IshouldnotethatGTDisn’treallyflawed,

anddoesn’treallyneedmodification,buteveryoneisdifferent,

andZTDisawaytocustomizeittobetterfitdifferent

personalitytypes.

1 Why ZTD?

“�Simplicity�is�the�ultimate�sophistication.”��Leonardo�DaVinci


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ZTD addresses five problems people have with GTD:

1)GTDisaseriesofhabitchanges.Thisisthemainreason

whypeoplefallofftheGTDsystem—it’sabunchofhabit

changesthatareattemptedallatonce.AsItalkaboutonmy

blog,ZenHabits,focusingononehabitatatimeisbest,and

guaranteesthemostsuccess.Inaddition,GTDersdon’tapply

provenhabit-changemethods(theonesItalkaboutonZen

Habits)tochangetheirhabits.

Solution:ZTDfocusesononehabitatatime.Youdon’thave

totrytoadopttheentiresystematonce—it’soverwhelming

andit’stoohardtofocusonyourhabitchangesifyoudotoo

manyatatime.Instead,focusononeatatime,andadoptthe

systeminphases.Useprovenhabit-changingmethods(30-day

challenge,commitment,rewards,motivationhacks,etc.)to

successfullyadopteachnewhabit.

2.GTDdoesn’tfocusenoughondoing.Whileit’scalledGetting

ThingsDone,oftenwhatweendupdoingmostofthetime

isGettingThingsinOurTrustedSystem.Thebook,while

presentinganexcellentsystem,focusesmoreonthecapturing

andprocessingstagesthanitdoesontheactualdoingstage.

Solution:ZTDfocusesmoreondoing—andhowtoactually

completeyourtasks,inasimple,stress-freemanner.

ZTDcapturesthe

essentialspiritofthe

newsystem:thatof

simplicity,ofafocus

ondoing,inthehere

andnow,insteadofon

planningandonthe

system.

http://zenhabits.net/2007/02/top-20-motivation-hacks-overview/


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3.GTDistoounstructuredformanypeople.Thiscanbeone

ofthebrilliantthingsaboutGTD—itslackofstructure,its

in-the-momentdecisionmakingaboutwhattodonext—but

itcanalsobeahugesourceofconfusionformanypeople.

Somepeopleneedmorestructureintheirday,andGTDcanbe

disorienting.Differentpeoplehavedifferentstyles.

Solution:ZTDoffersacoupleofhabitstoaddressthis:theplan

habit,whereyousimplyplanyourthreeMITsforthedayand

yourBigRocksfortheweek,andtheroutinehabit,whereyou

setdailyandweeklyroutinesforyourself.Thesehabits,likeall

thehabitsofZTD,areoptional.Iftheydon’tworkforyou,don’t

adoptthem.Butformanypeople,theywillcomplimentthe

othergreatpartsofGTDperfectly.

4.GTDtriestodotoomuch,whichendsupstressingyouout.

GTDdoesn’tdiscriminateamongalltheincomingstuffinyour

life,whichagainispartofitsbeauty.Buttheproblemisthat

weputeverythingonourlists,andendupbeingoverloaded.

Wetrytodoeverythingonourlists.Thisisn’treallyaproblem

withGTD,butaproblemwithhowweimplementit.Butit

shouldbeaddressed.

Solution:ZTDfocusesonsimplifying.Takeasmuchstuff

offyourplateaspossible,soyoucanfocusondoingwhat’s

important,anddoingitwell.

ZTDfocusesmoreon

doing—andhowto

actuallycompleteyour

tasks,inasimple,

stress-freemanner.

http://zenhabits.net/2007/02/purpose-your-day-most-important-task/

http://zenhabits.net/2007/04/big-rocks-first-double-your-productivity-this-week/

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5.GTDdoesn’tfocusenoughonyourgoals.GTDispurposely

abottom-up,runway-levelsystem.Whileitdoestalkabout

higherlevels,itdoesn’treallygointoitmuch.Asaresult,GTD

ismorefocusedondoingwhatevercomesatyouratherthan

doingwhatyoushouldbedoing—theimportantstuff.

Solution:ZTD,asmentionedabove,asksyoutoidentifythe

bigthingsyouwanttodofortheweekandfortheday.Another

habitinZTDisforyoutoreviewyourgoalseachweek,asaway

ofstayingfocusedonthemthroughouttheyear.GTDcontains

anelementofthis,butZTDextendsit.

Again,GTDisabrilliantsystem,andworksverywell.ButZTD

takessomeoftheproblemsthatpeoplehaveinimplementing

it,addsotherpowerfulconcepts,andadaptsthesystemfor

reallife.

ZTDfocuseson

simplifying.Takeas

muchstuffoffyour

plateaspossible,so

youcanfocusondoing

what’simportant,and

doingitwell.


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Solet’stakealookatwhatZenToDonereallyis:it’sasetof10habitsthatwillhelpyougetorganized,simplifyyourlife,getthingsundercontrol,andactuallygetthingsdone.

IfyouadoptZTD,youareundernoobligationtodoall10

habits...youshouldpicktheonesthatwillworkforyour

individualstyle,andfocusonmasteringthose.

Eachofthesehabitsshouldbelearnedandpracticedoneat

atimeifpossible,or2-3atatimeatthemost.Focusonyour

habitchangefor30days,thenmoveontothenext.

Thatcanbedifficult,Iknow,butinthelongrunthehabits

willstickbetterifyoufocusonthemoneortwoatatime.And

overthecourseofayear,you’llhavemasteredthemall--and

Idon’tthinkbecomingcompletelyorganizedandproductivein

oneyearissuchabadaccomplishment.

Theorderlistedbelowisjustasuggestion—youcanadopt

theminwhateverorderworksbestforyou.Habits1-8arethe

mostessential,butIsuggestyougiveHabits9-10serious

considerationtoo.Iwillexpandoneachofthese10habitsin

thechapterstofollow.

� Overview - What is it?

“��The�things�that�matter�most�should�never�be�at�the�mercy�of�the�things�that�matter�least.”��Goethe

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1.Collect

Habit:ubiquitouscapture.Carryasmallnotebook(orwhatever

capturetoolworksforyou)andwritedownanytasks,ideas,

projects,orotherinformationthatpopintoyourhead.Getit

outofyourheadandontopaper,soyoudon’tforgetit.ZTD

asksyoutopickaverysimple,portable,easy-to-usetoolfor

capture—asmallnotebookorsmallstackofindexcards

arepreferred(butnotmandated),simplybecausetheyare

mucheasiertouseandcarryaroundthanaPDAornotebook

computer.Thesimplerthetools,thebetter.Whenyougetback

toyourhomeoroffice,emptyyournotesintoyourto-dolist.

2.Process

Habit:makequickdecisionsonthingsinyourinbox,donot

putthemoff.Lettingstuffpileupisprocrastinatingonmaking

decisions.Processyourinboxes(email,physical,voicemail,

notebook)atleastonceaday,andmorefrequentlyifneeded.

Whenyouprocess,doitfromthetopdown,makingadecision

oneachitem:doit(ifittakes2minutesorless),trashit,

delegateit,fileit,orputitonyourto-dolistorcalendar

todolater.

3.Plan

Habit:setMITsforweek,day.Eachweek,listtheBigRocks

(mostimportanttasks)thatyouwanttoaccomplishforthat

week,andschedulethemfirst.Eachday,createalistof1-

3MITs(basicallyyourBigRocksfortheday)andbesureto

Idon’tthinkbecoming

completelyorganized

andproductiveinone

yearissuchabad

accomplishment.


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accomplishthem.DoyourMITsearlyinthedaytogetthemout

ofthewayandtoensurethattheygetdone.

4.Do

Habit:doonetaskatatime,withoutdistractions.Thisisone

ofthemostimportanthabitsinZTD.Youmustselectatask

(preferablyoneofyourMITs)andfocusonittotheexclusion

ofallelse.First,eliminatealldistractions.Shutoffemail,cell

phone,Internetifpossible(otherwisejustcloseallunnecessary

tabs),clutteronyourdesk(ifyoufollowhabit2,thisshould

beprettyeasy).Then,setatimerifyoulike,orotherwisejust

focusonyourtaskforaslongaspossible.Don’tletyourself

getdistractedfromit.Ifyougetinterrupted,writedownany

requestorincomingtasks/infoonyournotepad,andgetbackto

yourtask.Don’ttrytomulti-task.

5.SimpleTrustedSystem

Habit:keepsimplelists,checkdaily.Youcanusecontextlists,

suchas@work,@phone,@home,@errands,@waiting,etc.,

ifthoseworkforyou.ZTDsuggeststhatyoukeepyourlistsas

simpleaspossible.Don’tcreateacomplicatedsystem,and

don’tkeeptryingoutnewtools.It’sawasteoftime,asfunas

itis.Eitheruseasimplenotebookorindexcardsforyourlists,

orusethesimplestlistprogrampossible.Youdon’tneeda

planneroraPDAorOutlookoracomplicatedsystemoftags.

Justonelistforeachcontext,andaprojectslistthatyoureview

eitherdailyorweekly.Linkingactionstobothprojectsand

Justfocusonyourtask

foraslongaspossible.

get them out of the way

get them out of the way


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contextsisnice,butcangettoocomplicated.Keepitsimple,

andfocusonwhatyouhavetodorightnow,notonplayingwith

yoursystemoryourtools.

6.Organize

Habit:aplaceforeverything.Allincomingstuffgoesinyour

inbox.Fromthere,itgoesonyourcontextlistsandanaction

folder,orinafileinyourfilingsystem,inyouroutboxifyou’re

goingtodelegateit,orinthetrash.Putthingswherethey

belong,rightaway,insteadofpilingthemuptosortlater.This

keepsyourdeskclearsoyoucanfocusonyourwork.Don’t

procrastinate—putthingsaway.

7.Review

Habit:reviewyoursystem&goalsweekly.ZTD’sweeklyreview

asksyoutodoaquickcheckofyoursystem,andalsofocuses

onreviewingyourgoalseachweek.Duringyourweeklyreview,

youshouldgoovereachofyouryearlygoals,seewhatprogress

youmadeontheminthelastweek,andwhatactionsteps

you’regoingtotaketomovethemforwardinthecomingweek.

Onceamonth,setasidealittlemoretimetodoamonthly

reviewofyourgoals,andeveryyear,youshoulddoayearly

reviewofyouryear’sgoalsandyourlife’sgoals.


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8.Simplify

Habit:reduceyourgoals&taskstoessentials.Ifyouattemptto

tackleallincomingtasks,youcanquicklybecomeoverloaded,

andbeleftwithoutthenecessaryfocusontheimportant

tasks(MITs).Soinstead,ZTDasksyoutoreviewyourtask

andprojectlists,andseeifyoucansimplifythem.Remove

everythingbuttheessentialprojectsandtasks,soyoucan

focusonthem.Simplifyyourcommitments,andyourincoming

informationstream.Besurethatyourprojectsandtasksline

upwithyouryearlyandlifegoals.Dothisonadailybasis

(briefly,onasmallscale),duringyourweeklyreview,andyour

monthlyreview.

9.Routine

Habit:setandkeeproutines.Ifotherproductivitysystemsare

toounstructuredforyou,trythehabitofcreatingroutinesto

seeifitworksbetter.Amorningroutine(forexample)could

includelookingatyourcalendar,goingoveryourcontextlists,

settingyourMITsfortheday,exercising,processingemail

andinboxes,anddoingyourfirstMITfortheday.Anevening

routinecouldincludeprocessingyouremailandinboxes

(again),reviewingyourday,writinginyourjournal,preparing

forthenextday.Weeklyroutinescouldincludeanerrandsday,

alaundryday,financialday,yourweeklyreview,familyday,etc.

It’suptoyou—setyourownroutines,makethemwork

foryou.

Ifyouattempttotackle

allincomingtasks,you

canquicklybecome

overloaded,andbeleft

withoutthenecessary

focusontheimportant

tasks(MITs).


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10.Findyourpassion

Habit:seekworkforwhichyou’repassionate.Thiscouldbe

yourlasthabit,butatthesametimeyourmostimportant.

GTDisgreatformanagingthetasksinyourlife,andtryingnot

toprocrastinateonthem.Butifyou’repassionateaboutyour

work,youwon’tprocrastinate—you’lllovedoingit,andwant

todomore.Thehabittoformhereistoconstantlyseekthings

aboutwhichyou’repassionate,andtoseeifyoucanmakea

careeroutofthemwhenyoufindthem.Makeyourlife’swork

somethingyou’repassionateabout,notsomethingyoudread

doing,andyourtasklistwillalmostseemlikealistofrewards.


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Forsomepeople,implementing10newhabits,evenifthey’redoneoneatatime,isoverwhelming,andstilltoocomplicated.Soforthosewhowanttoimplementthesimplestsystempossible,here’stheminimalistversionofZTD—awaytobeproductivewithoutallthefuss.

It’sonlyfourhabits:collect,process,plan,anddo.Italsoonly

usestwotools:asmallnotebook,andapen.

1.Collect:Carryasmallnotebookandwritedownanytasks,

ideas,projects,orotherinformationthatpopintoyourhead.

Getitoutofyourheadandontopaper,soyoudon’tforgetit.

2Process:makequickdecisionsonthingsinyourinbox,

donotputthemoff.Processyourinboxes(email,physical,

voicemail,notebook)atleastonceaday,andmorefrequentlyif

needed.

3.Plan:setMITsforeachweek,andeachday.DoyourMITs

earlyinthedaytogetthemoutofthewayandtoensurethat

theygetdone.

4.Do:focusononetaskatatime,withoutdistractions.

Eiminatealldistractions,thenjustfocusonyourtaskforas

longaspossible.Don’tletyourselfgetdistractedfromit.Don’t

3 Minimal ZTD — the simpler alternative

“�Everything�should��be�made�as�simple��as�possible,�but��not�simpler.”��Albert�Einstein


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trytomulti-task.

WhattheMinimalZTDsystemleavesout

Thisversionleavesoutsixhabits:keepingasystemofsimple

lists,organizingeverything,weeklyreviews,simplifyingyour

tasksandprojects,settingroutinesforyourself,andfinding

yourpassion.

WhileIthinkthesesixhabitsarevaluable,theyarenot

absolutelynecessaryforaminimalistsystem.

Theminimalistimplementation

Sohowdoyouimplementthissystem,andwhatdoyouneed?

Firstthetools:Asmallnotebookandapen.That’sall.

Sohere’showyouimplementthesystem:

1.Useyournotebooktowriteeverythingdownasyouthinkof

it.Thisallowsyoutogetthingsoffyourmindandnotforget

them.

2.Whenyougettoyourdeskorhome,addthosenewtasks

toyourMasterTo-doList,whichyoucanalsokeepinyour

notebook.

3.Atthebeginningofeachday,reviewyourlist,andwrite

down1-3MITsthatyou’dliketoaccomplishfortheday.That’s

yourwholeplanningsystem.Youdon’tneedanymorethan

that.

It’sonlyfourhabits:

collect,process,plan,

anddo.Italsoonly

usestwotools:asmall

notebook,andapen.


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4.GetyourMITsdoneasearlyaspossible.Whenyoudoeach

task,clearawayalldistractionsandfocusondoingthatone

taskonly.Donotmulti-task.Whenyou’redone,moveontothe

nextMIT.

5.IfyoucompleteyourMITs,gotoyourMasterListandsee

what’sthenextmostimportanttaskonthelist.DoitasinStep

4above.Repeatasneeded.

Youdon’treallyneed10differentlists,andifyoudon’tkeep

thosedifferentlists,youdon’tneedaweeklyreview.Iwould

stillsuggestyousetasinglegoalfortheyear,andalwaysfocus

onthenextstepneededtoachievethatgoal.

Alsooptional:addanyofthehabitsthatareleftoutofthis

minimalistsystemlater,ifyouthinktheywouldhelp.

Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd �0

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AnessentialpartofZTDistheformingofthe10Habits,oneatatime.Oneofthemainproblemspeoplehavewithotherproductivitysystem,probablywithoutknowingit,isthattheyareaseriesofhabitchangesthatpeopleattempttoundertakeallatonce.

Theygetenthusiasticaboutit,andtryanddoitallinoneshot,

andthenfalloffthewagon.Theygetbackon,andthenfalloff

again.It’salmostlikedietingorexercise—ifyoudon’tadopt

successfulhabitchangemethods,youwillkeepfailingand

eventuallygetdiscouragedandquit.

Well,inmyexperience,habitchangesaren’tsomethingto

betakenlightly.Theycanbesuccessful,butittakesalotof

energyandfocusandmotivation,andit’shardtodothatwitha

bunchofhabitsallatonce.Ihighlyrecommendthatyoustart

withonehabit,andapplyprovenhabit-changemethodologyto

thathabit,andthenoncethathasbecomeahabit,moveonto

thenexthabit.

Now,Iunderstandthat’snoteasy.Whenyoutakeona

productivitysystem,youwanttodoitallatonce.You’re

excitedandenthusiastic!Trustme,I’vebeenthere.Buttake

thatexcitementandchannelitintoonehabit,andyouwillbe

hugelysuccessful.

� Forming the 10 Habits

“��The�beginning�is�half�of�every�action.”��Greek�Proverb


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Doingonehabitatatimewilltakesomepatience,butatthe

sametimeit’snotasoverwhelmingandit’smucheasierto

adoptthisway.Forsomepeople,becomingproductiveand

organizedcanbeoverwhelming,andamajorlifechange.Iam

anadvocateofgraduallifechanges,onesthatwilllastfora

longtime,notjustforafewweeks.

Ifyouarealreadygoodatsomeofthesehabits,andifyouare

goodatchangingyourhabits,it’spossibletodomorethan

oneatatime.Iwouldn’trecommendmorethan2-3atatime,

though,becausethemoreyoudo,thelessyourchancesof

success.Ifyouarealreadygoodatubiquitouscapture,for

example,youcouldtryadoptingitasahabitalongwith,say,

processingyourinboxes.Butdon’ttrytodomuchmorethan

that.Startsimple,andgraduallyaddtheotherhabitsasyou

seefit.

Now,whichhabitsshouldyouadoptfirst?Irecommendthe

orderthatthey’relistedin,butthat’sfarfrommandatory.You

couldeasilydotheminreverseorscramblethem,orforman

algorithmtodecide.Isuggestthatifyoudon’twanttodothem

intherecommendedorder,seewhichoneswillbenefityouthe

most,andgivethoseahigherpriority.

Romewasn’tbuiltovernight,andyoucan’tchangefrombeing

undisciplined,unorganized,procrastinating,unproductive(as

Ioncewas—I’mnotaccusingyouofbeingthesethings)to

organized,productive,withado-it-nowhabit.Giveyourself

Iamanadvocateof

graduallifechanges,

onesthatwilllastfora

longtime,notjustfora

fewweeks.

Toc intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16: FaQ 17: resourcesztd ��

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timetomakethesechanges.Attheendofthisyear,ifyoustart

nowandadopt1-2habitspermonth,youwillhavesomegreat

habitsadopted.

HabitChangeMethodology

Whatarethemethodsyoucanusetomakethesehabit

changessuccessful?Herearesomeofthemostimportant:

1.Commitment.Commityourselftoyourhabitchange,big

time.Makeyourcommitmentaspublicaspossible—putit

onyourblog,joinanonlineforumandtellthemaboutit,tell

yourfamilyandfriends,sendoutadailyemailupdateonyour

progress.Themorepositivepublicpressure,thebetter.

2.Practice.Changingyourhabitsisaskill,andlikeanyskill,

ittakespractice.Commityourselftoa30-dayChallenge,and

trytodoyournewhabiteverysingledayfor30days.Youwill

betrainingyourselftodothatnewhabit,overandover.Ifyou

messup,don’tbeatyourselfup,butjusttryagain.Practice

makesperfect.

3.Motivation.Findasmanywaystomotivateyourselfas

possible.SeetheTop20MotivationHacks.

4.Tracking.It’sbestifyoulogyourprogressonyourhabit

everyday.Thismaysounddifficult,butitwillmakeyourhabit

changemuchmorelikelytobesuccessful.Logitinbeforeyou

gotobed,placingyourlognexttoyourbed.It’llmotivateyou,

Giveyourselftimeto

makethesechanges.

Attheendofthisyear,

ifyoustartnowand

adopt1-2habitsper

month,youwillhave

somegreathabits

adopted.



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andwillmakeyoufeelgreatasyoulookbackonall

yourprogress.

5.Support.Joinanonlinegroup,ordoyourhabitchangewith

apartner.Howeveryoufindit,getotherstodoahabitchange

withyou,anditwillbemucheasier.

6.Rewards.Rewardyourselfoften,earlyon—attheendof

eachofthefirstthreedays,andthenattheendofeveryweek,

andthenabigoneattheendofyour30-dayChallenge.

7.Focus.It’sextremelyimportantthatyoumaintainyourfocus

onthisnewhabitforthefull30days.That’swhyit’shardto

domorethanoneortwohabitsatatime—youcan’tmaintain

focus.Findwaystobringyourfocusbacktoyourhabit.Postup

signsorpostersaroundyourdeskorhome.Sendyourselfemail

reminders.Putitonyourdesktoppicture.Howeveryoudoit,

keepalaserfocus!

8.Positivethinking.Thisisperhapsthemostimportant

element.Ifyoutellyourselfthatyoucandothis,thatyouwill

doit,thenyouwill.Squashallnegativethoughts,andreplace

themwithpositiveones.Youcandothis!Readthisarticle

formore.

http://zenhabits.net/2007/02/top-20-motivation-hacks-1/


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Toooftenideaspopintoourheads,mailcomesintoourhomes,paperworkcomesontoourdesks,phonenumbersandappointmentsaregiventouswhilewe’reonthego...andtheydisappearorareforgot-tenorarerelegatedtoadustydrawer,nevertobeseenagain.

Theproblemisthatwehavenosystemforcollectingallofthe

informationandpapersandemailscomingintoourlives,and

keepingthemorganizedinasystematicway.

Toaddressthatproblem,we’regoingtotrytohaveaplacefor

everythingcomingintoourlives,andgetintothehabitofwrit-

ingthingsdownimmediately,insteadofrelyingonourbrainsto

keeptrackofitall.Ifwerelyonourbrains,it’soverwhelming,

andourbrainshaveahabitofforgettingwhatweneedwhen

weneedit.

Thecollectionhabitissimple:haveaveryfewamountofplac-

estocollectinformationandpapers,andsticktothatsystem.

So,forpaperscomingtoyourdesk,youshouldhaveoneplace

tocollectthem:aninbox.Don’teverstuffapieceofpaperin

adrawer,putaPost-itsomewhereonyourdesk,orstacksome

incomingmailanywherebutyourinbox.That’syouroneplace

tocollectthings,andyouneedtostickwithit.

Youshouldalsohaveaninboxforyourhome,tocollectall

� Habit 1: Collect

“��Much�of�the�stress�that�people�feel�doesn’t��come�from�having�too�much�to�do.�It�comes�from�not�finishing�what�they’ve�started.”��David�Allen


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incomingmail,papersfromworkorschool,phonemessages,

stuffyoubringinfromyourerrands,receipts--everything,

actually.Nowthingswillnevergetlostagain.

Foremails,trytoonlyhaveoneaccount(itpreventsmultiple

inboxesandconfusion).Youmighthaveabunchofother

inboxesyoucheckeveryday,somewhereonline,althoughyou

mightnotthinkofthemasinboxes--MySpaceorFacebook

accounts,forums,otherplaceswhereyougetmessages.These

areallinboxes,andyoushouldkeeptrackofthemandhandle

theminthesameway.Thefeweryouhave,thebetter.

We’llgettohowtoprocessalltheseinboxestoemptyinthe

nextchapter,inthehabitcalled“process”.Fornow,justbe

consciousofyourinboxes,andtryingtokeepallincomingpa-

persinthephysicalinboxesonyourdeskandathome.

Your notebook

Butwealsoneedtolookataspecialkindofinbox--your

collectiontoolforyourideas,notes,informationgiventoyou

onwhileyou’reontheroad,tasksyourememberyouneedto

do,actionitemsthatcomeoutofmeetings.Inshort,

everythingthatcomesintoyourlifethat’snotinawritten

orrecordedform.

Upuntilnow,youmighthavebeenrelyingonyourmindto

rememberthosethings,andmaybeyouaddedthemtoato-do

listwhenyougotbacktoyourdesk.Unfortunately,yourmind

We’regoingtotry

tohaveaplacefor

everythingcoming

intoourlives,and

getintothehabitof

writingthingsdown

immediately,insteadof

relyingonourbrainsto

keeptrackofitall.


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isafaultytool.Itforgetsthingswhenweneedthem,andthen

thinksaboutthemwhenwedon’tneedthem.

Soinstead,we’regoingtomakeitahabittogetthingsoutof

yourmind,andintowrittenform.Carryasmallnotebook(or

whatevercapturetoolworksforyou)andwritedownanytasks,

ideas,projects,orotherinformationthatpopintoyourhead.

Getitoutofyourheadandontopaper,soyoudon’tforgetit.

Whenyou’reinameetingandanactionitemcomesupthat

youneedtodolater,writeitdown.Whenyourbosscallsyou

toaskyoutoworkonaproject,writeitdown.Whensomeone

givesyouaphonenumberoremailaddressatasocialgather-

ing,writeitdown.Yougettheidea.

ZTDasksyoutopickaverysimple,portable,easy-to-usetool

forcapture—asmallnotebookorsmallstackofindexcards

arepreferred(butnotmandated),simplybecausetheyare

mucheasiertouseandcarryaroundthanaPDAornotebook

computer.Whenyougetbacktoyourhomeoroffice,empty

yournotesintoyourto-dolist(asimpleto-dolistwillworkfor

now—contextlistscancomeinalaterhabit).

Apopularchoice,butnotnecessary:theMoleskine.It’smy

collectiontoolofchoice,simplybecauseit’sportable,durable,

andaestheticallypleasing.Ilovewritinginit.However,any

smallnotebookwilldo,really.Youmightalsotrythe

HipsterPDA.

ZTDasksyoutopicka

verysimple,portable,

easy-to-usetoolfor

capture—asmall

notebookorsmallstack

ofindexcardsare

preferred.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hipster_PDA


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Irecommendanalogue(paper)overdigitalforthishabit,but

ifyourPDAorsmartphoneworksforyou,goforit.Thereason

Ithinkanalogueworksbetteristhatit’smuchfaster—for

digital,younotonlyhavetopullitout,butyouhavetoturnit

on,gototherightprogram,clickonanentry,andthenenter

throughyourentrysystem.Withanalogue,youjustpulloutthe

notebookandpenandwrite.Eitherwayworks,butIthinkthat

thesimplerandeasierthetools,themorelikelyyouaretouse

them.Dowhatworksforyou,though.

Thekeywiththiscapturehabitistowritethingsdownright

away,beforeyouforget,andtoemptyoutyournotebookas

soonasyougethomeortowork.Don’tprocrastinatewiththese

twosteps,ortheywillpileupandyouwillbelesslikelytodo

them.Stayontopofit!

Also,carryitaround,everywhere.Nomatterwhatsystemyou

use,itshouldbeveryeasytocarryaround,andeasytojot

downideasquickly.Youneedtocarryitwhereveryougo,in-

cludingtobed,instores,ifyou’rehospitalized,wherever.

Thissimplehabitofcollectingalltheinformationthatcomes

intoyourlifeintoatinynotebook(andinafewotherinboxes)

willgreatlyimproveyourorganizationandeventuallyyour

productivity.Youwillstopforgettingthings,stoplosinginforma-

tion,andalwaysknowwherethingsare,allthetime.

Thissimplehabit

ofcollectingallthe

informationthatcomes

intoyourlifeintoa

tinynotebook(andin

afewotherinboxes)

willgreatlyimprove

yourorganization

andeventuallyyour

productivity.


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Onceyou’vegottenintothehabitofcollecting

thingsinafewinboxes,includingasmallnotebook

(orothersimplecapturetool)thatyouusetocarry

aroundwithyoueverywhere,thequestionremains:

whatdoyoudowithallthestuffonceyou’ve

collectedit?

Youprocessit,makingquickdecisionsoneachitemand

disposingofthemuntilyourinboxesareemptyoreverything

youcapturedonyournotebookisprocessed.

Processtoempty.

Lettingstuffpileupisprocrastinatingonmakingdecisions.If

youprocessyourinboxes,makingquickdecisionsandputting

thingswheretheybelong,thingsdon’tpileup.Processyour

inboxesatleastonceaday,andmorefrequentlyifneeded.

First,minimizeyourinboxes.Everyplaceyouhavetogoto

checkyourmessagesortoreadyourincominginformationis

aninbox,andthemoreyouhave,theharderitistomanage

everything.Cutthenumberofinboxesyouhavedowntothe

smallestnumberpossibleforyoutostillfunctionintheways

youneedto.

Listallthewaysyoureceiveinformation,evaluateeachtosee

ifitgivesyouvalue,andfindwaystocombineoreliminate

� Habit �: Process

“��There�is�more�to�life�than�increasing�its�speed.”��Gandhi


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inboxes.Ifsomething’snotgivingyouvalue,consider

eliminatingitfromyourlife.Seeifyoucangoaweekwithout

missingit.Foralltherest,seeifyoucancombinemultiple

informationstreamsintooneinbox.Forexample,howmany

placesinyourhomedoincomingpapersgetplaced?Haveone

inboxathomeforallmail,papersfromwork,schoolpapers,

phonenotes,computerprintouts,schedules,andmore.Have

fouremailservices?Seeifyoucanforwardthemalltoone

service.Thefewerinboxesyouhave,thebetter.Aimfor4-7

inboxesifpossible.

Next,masteryourinboxes.Thisstagewillsoundfamiliartomy

long-timereaders,butitshouldbecoveredhere:Don’tallow

yourinboxestooverflow.Thiswillcreateahugebacklogof

stuffforyoutogothrough,anditwilldefinitelystressyouout.

Instead,becomethemasterofyourinboxes.

Checkandprocessyourinboxesonceaday.Forsomeinboxes,

youmayneedtocheckmorethanonce(Icheckmyemailevery

hour),butdon’tcheckconstantlyandobsessively.Thatjust

wastesyourtimeandcutsintoyourproductivityandreallife.

Butdon’tchecklessthanonceaday,becauseotherwiseyou’ll

allowittopileup.Pilesareyourenemy.

Here’s how to process:

1.Processitfromthetopdown,makingquickandimmediate

decisions.Startwiththetopiteminyourinbox,andmake

Lettingstuffpileup

isprocrastinatingon

makingdecisions.


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animmediatedecision.Don’tskipoveritorputitbackinor

delaythedecision.

2.Delete.Ifyoudon’tneedit,trashit.Makethisyour

firstchoice.

3.Delegate.Areyouthepersonwhoshouldbedoingthis?If

not,sendittosomeoneelseandgetitoffyourplate.

4.Dodoitimmediately.Ifthetaskwilltake2minutesorless,

justdoitratherthanaddingittoyourto-dolist.

5.Deferitforlater.Ifitwilltakemorethan2minutes,addit

immediatelytoyourto-dolisttodolater.

6.Fileit.Ifit’sjustsomethingyouneedforreference,fileit

immediately.Don’tuseaMiscellaneousorToBeFiledfile

—that’sjustputtingoffthedecision.Don’tletyourthings

tobefiledpileup—justfileitrightaway.

7.Inallcases,don’tleavetheiteminyourinbox.Deleteorfile

it.Workyourwaydownthrougheachitemuntilyourinboxis

empty.Note:ifyouhavehundredsofitemsinyourinbox,it

mightbegoodtotossthemallintoafoldertobeprocessed

later(andscheduleacouplehourstodothat),andthen

startthisprocesswithallnewitemsfromthatpointon.

8.Repeatthisprocess,tokeepyourinboxesempty.Ifyou’ve

minimizedthenumberofinboxesyouhave,thisshouldn’t

betoohard.Celebratewhenyourinboxisempty!It’sa


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wonderfulfeeling.Remember:Don’tcheckthemalldaylong

—scheduleyourprocessingtime—anddefinitelydon’t

haveinstantnotificationon.

SeeGettingYourEmailtoEmptyandKeepingYourDeskClear

formore.

http://zenhabits.net/2007/01/email-zen-clear-out-your-inbox/

http://zenhabits.net/2007/01/steps-to-permanently-clear-desk/


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Soyouhavealistofthingstodo,andawhole

brandnewdaystaringatyou.Whatdoyoudo

today?

Thedecisionsyoumakeaboutwhattodoeachweek,eachday,

eachmoment,adduptoaprocesscalledworkflow.InZTD,I

suggestthatyoutaketheunstructured,moment-to-moment

workflowofGTDandshapeitintoanoptimalstructure.

Whyshouldyouaddstructureandplanoutyourdayandyour

week?Becauseotherwiseyouaretoomuchatthemercyof

thewindsofchange,reactingtowhatcomesyourwayinstead

ofdecidingwhat’simportantandwhatyoureallywantto

accomplish.Takecontrolofyourday,insteadoflettingthe

needsandwantsandprioritiesofotherscontrolitforyou.

Now,eachpersonhasadifferentworkingstyle,andifstructure

isn’tforyou,Isuggestyoutrythemoment-to-momentstyleof

GTD.It’snotabadwaytogoatall.

However,here’stherecommendedworkflowofZTD:

Eachweek,listtheBigRocksthatyouwanttoaccomplish,

andschedulethemfirst(moreonthatinamoment).Eachday,

createalistof1-3MostImportantTasks(MITs--basically

yourBigRocksfortheday)andbesuretoaccomplishthem.

DoyourMITsearlyinthedaytogetthemoutofthewayandto

ensurethattheygetdone.

� Habit 3: Plan

“��Spend�some�time�alone�every�day.”��Dalai�Lama


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ThisisoneofthesimplestoftheZTDhabits,butalsooneof

themostimportant.Why?Becauseitgivespurposetoyourday

andweek.Insteadofjusttryingtocrankoutabunchoftasks

onyourto-dolist,youaretryingtodothemostimportantones.

Sure,you’llalsodoothertasksonyourlist,butyou’re

identifyingtheonesthatyoureallywanttoaccomplish—the

oneswhereyoucanlookbackonyourdayandfeelproudof

accomplishingsomething.Oftenweworkhardanddoalot,but

whenwelookbackonourday,wehaven’treallyaccomplished

anything.

Sohowdoyoudothishabit?Herearesometips:

1.BigRocks.Atthebeginningofeachweek(eitherSunday

orMonday,youchoose),sitdownandlookatyourto-dolist.

Whatdoyouwanttoaccomplishthisweek?Theseareyour

“BigRocks”.ThetermcomesfromStephenCovey’s“7Habits

ofHighlyEffectivePeople”.Itmeansthatyoushouldputthe

BigRocksinyourschedulefirst,andletthesmallerrocksand

gravelfillintheschedulearoundtheBigRocks--otherwise,

ifyouputthesmallrocksandgravelinfirst,theywillfillup

theschedule,leavingnoroomfortheBigRocks.Trytokeep

yourBigRockstojust4-6accomplishmentsperweek,atfirst

—later,asyougetafeelforwhatyoucanaccomplish,you

mightbeabletoaddmore.Trytobesuretoincludeatleasta

coupleoftaskstofurtheralongyouryearlygoals.

Takecontrolofyour

day,insteadofletting

theneedsandwants

andprioritiesofothers

controlitforyou.


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2.Schedule.Nowtakethese“BigRocks”andplacethemin

yourweeklyschedule.Placeonlyoneortwoperday,soyou

aren’toverwhelmed.Placethemin1-2hourblocks,earlyinthe

dayifpossible.Nowthattheseimportanttasksareblockedout,

youcanscheduleotherstuffaroundthemwhenevernecessary

—butthesearealreadythere.

3.MITs.Eachmorning,decidewhatyourMostImportantTasks

areforthatday.ThesewillprobablybethesameasyourBig

Rocksfortheday,althoughasthingschangeyoumighthave

differentMITs.Chooseabout3MITsfortheday—thiscould

includeaBigRockandacoupleotherimportanttasks.Block

outtimeforthemearlyinthedayifpossible—ifyouputthem

laterintheday,otherthingspopupthatwillgetintheway.

4.Completethem.Nowhere’sthemostimportantpart:get

themdone.Firstthinginthemorning,beforeyouevencheck

email,getthatfirstMITdone.Clearawayalldistractions,and

besuretofocusononlythattaskuntilit’sdone.Whenyou’re

done,rewardyourself…butbesuretomoveontoyournext

MITshortly!

5.Lookbackandsayahh.IfyoucompleteyourMITs,youwill

feelgreat.Besuretolookbackonwhatyou’veaccomplished

andpatyourselfontheback—orevenrewardyourself.

Eachmorning,decide

whatyourMost

ImportantTasksare

forthatday.


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The“HabitofDo”isthekeytotheZTDsystem.It’s

thehabitthat’smissingfrommanyotherproductivity

system,andyetit’sthemostimportant.Alltherest

isjustbusyworkifyoudon’tactuallydothethings

onyourto-dolist.

Emphasizethedoingabovethesystem,thetools,theplanning,

theto-dolists.

ZTDfocusesondoingyourtasksoneatatime,tothe

exclusionofallelse.Don’tmulti-task,anddon’tletyourself

getinterrupted.Toooftenduringthedaywearecheckingour

email,answeringphonecalls,talkingtopeopleastheycometo

ourdesk–alltothedetrimentofthetaskwe’resupposedtobe

doing.

Theresult?Thingsdon’tactuallygetdone.Single-taskingand

focusarethekeystoexecution.Herearesometipsforfinding

focusandactuallydoingthingsonyourlist:

1.ChooseaBigRock.First,selectatask(preferablyoneofyour

MITs)anddecidethatyouaregoingtoworkoniteitheruntilit’s

done,orforasetamountoftime(say30minutes).

2.Getzoned.Beforeyougetstarted,eliminatealldistractions.

Shutoffemail,cellphone,Internetifpossible(otherwisejust

closeallunnecessarytabs),clutteronyourdesk,anythingthat

mightinterruptyou.

� Habit �: Do

“��Talk�doesn’t�cook�rice.”��Chinese�Proverb


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3.Timedburst.Setatimerifyoulike(asimpleonelike

CoolTimerwilldo),orotherwisejustfocusonyourtaskforas

longaspossible.Don’tletyourselfgetdistractedfromit.

4.Interruptions.Ifyougetinterrupted,writedownany

requestorincomingtasks/infoonyournotepad,ortossthe

documentintoyourinbox,andgetbacktoyourtask.Don’ttry

tomulti-task.

5.Ifyoufeeltheurgetocheckyouremailorswitchtoanother

task,stopyourself.Breathedeeply.Re-focusyourself.Getback

tothetaskathand.

6.Theinevitable.Therearetimeswhenaninterruptionisso

urgentthatyoucannotputitoffuntilyou’redonewiththe

taskathand.Inthatcase,trytomakeanoteofwhereyouare

(writingdownnotesifyouhavetime)withthetaskathand,and

putallthedocumentsornotesforthattasktogetherandaside

(perhapsinan“action”folderorprojectfolder).Then,whenyou

comebacktothattask,youcanpulloutyourfolderandlookat

yournotestoseewhereyouleftoff.

7.Relax.Takedeepbreaths,stretch,andtakebreaksnow

andthen.Enjoylife.Gooutside,andappreciatenature.Keep

yourselfsane.

8.Ahhhh.Whenyou’redone,congratulateyourself!Reward

yourselfwithashortburstofemailorblogs—butlimititto10

minutes,andthenmoveontoyournexttask.Don’tletyourself

Alltherestisjust

busyworkifyoudon’t

actuallydothethings

onyourto-dolist.

http://www.download.com/Cool-Timer/3000-2350_4-10062255.html?pid=10400996


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getcarriedaway—it’sveryeasytogetofftrackandwander

forhours.

Fixing execution problems

Now,ifyoudothesethings,andyou’restillfindingresistanceto

doingthethingsonyourlist,herearesomethingsyoucando:

•Tinychunk.Tellyourselfyouonlyhavetodo5minutesof

workonit.Thatsmallamountofworkislessintimidating.

•Juststart.Onceyougetgoing,it’smucheasiertokeep

going.Sotellyourselfthatallyouhavetodoisstart.Iliketo

comparethistomyphilosophyofrunning:insteadofworrying

abouthavingtodothewholerun,ItellmyselfthatIjusthave

tolaceupmyshoesandgetoutthedoor.Afterthat,it’sreally

easy.Dothesamethingwithanytask—justfireupyour

program,anddothefirstfewactions(i.e.starttyping).Itgets

easierafterthatpoint.

•Rewardyourself.Don’tletyourselfcheckemail(orwhatever

rewardworksforyou—somethingthatyouneedtodoevery

day)untilyoudoatleast10minutes(or15or20,itdoesn’t

matter)onthetask.Setatimer.Onceyour10minutesisup,

setanothertimerfor5minutesanddoemail.Thenrepeat.

•Getexcitedaboutit.Thisisactuallyatipthathelpswithany

ofthesepoints.Ifyouareexcitedaboutdoingsomething,

youwillnothesitatetodoit.Forexample,Ilovedthistopic

suggestion,andIwasexcitedaboutwritingit.Assoonas

Onceyougetgoing,it’s

mucheasiertokeep

going.Sotellyourself

thatallyouhavetodo

isstart.


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Ihadthechance,Isatdowntowriteitandonlytookone

break.Buthowdoyougetexcitedaboutatask?Trytofind

somethingexcitingaboutit.Willitbringyourevenue?What

canyoudowiththatrevenue?Willitbringyounewclients,

newopportunities,newrecognition?Ifyoucan’tfindanything

excitingaboutatask,considerwhetherit’sreallyimportant

ornot—andifnot,findawaytonotdoit.Sometimes

eliminating(ordelegatingordelaying)thetaskisthe

bestoption.

•Stopfocusingonnegativeaspects.Youmightbefocusingon

howhardsomethingis,oronalltheobstacles.Trylooking

atthepositiveaspectsinstead.Focusonwhatagreat

opportunitythisprojectrepresents…anopportunitytolearn,

togetbetteratsomething,tomakemoremoney,toworkona

relationship,togainsomelong-termrecognition,toimprove

youradvancementopportunities.Thisissimilartothe“get

excitedaboutit”itemintheprevioussection.Ifyoulookat

theopportunities,nottheproblems,youwillbelessterrified

andmorelikelytowanttodoit.

•Committhyself.Ifmotivationisyourproblem,commityourself

tomakingsomeprogresswithagoalorprojecttoday,or

everydaythisweek—tellallyourfamilyandfriends,write

itinyourblog,orjointheZenHabitsforum—it’sagreat

motivator.Thenholdyourselfaccountablebyreportingto

otherswhatyoudidtoday.


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Oneofthekeystoanytime-managementsystemis

theto-dolist--itkeepsallthetasksthatyoucan’t

doatthismomentorganizedsothatyouknowwhat

youneedtodoatalltimes.

DavidAllen’sGTDasksyoutoseparateyourtasksintoseparate

to-dolists,knownas“contextlists”,suchas@work,@

computer,@home,@calls,@errands,andsoforth.Thereasons

issothatwhenyou’reinaparticularcontext,youonlyhaveto

lookatthetasksyoucanactuallydoatthismoment,rather

thanlookingatalonglistoftasksthataremostlyun-doable

rightnow.

InZTD,itisimportanttokeepasimplesystemthatyou

willactuallyuse...asystemthatyouwilltrusttokeepyour

information.Herearethethreecomponentsofasimple,

trustedsystem:

1.Setup.Asimplesystemwouldconsistofinboxes,acalendar,

lists,andareferencesystem.

2.Tools.Itisalsoimportantthatyouuseverysimpletools,so

thatthesystemdoesnotneedtobemaintainedmuch.

3.Usage.Finally,theimportantthingisthatyouactuallyuse

thesystem,andmakeahabitofcheckingitdaily.

� Habit �: Simple, Trusted System

“�Simplify,�simplify,�simplify.”��Thoreau


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The Setup

ZTDsaysthatyoushouldusethelistsyouneed,butkeepyour

systemassimpleaspossible.Whiletheconceptofcontextlists

areuseful,theycanbedifficulttomaintain.Instead,keepas

fewaspossible.Asamplesetupmightlooklikethis:

@work:foreverythingwork-related.

@personal:allyourpersonaltasks.

@errands:soyoucanhaveaneasyerrandlist.

@calls:forcallsyoucanmakefromanywhere.

@waitingfor:ausefullistforstuffyouneedtofollowupon.

Someday/maybe:alistofstuffyoudon’twanttoorcan’tdo

rightnow,butwanttocheckonlater.

Howeveryoudoit,rememberthatthesearenotyourdaily

to-dolists.Theworkandpersonallistsarejustmasterlists

thatyoucanpullfromforyourdailyMITsandyourBigRocks

(seeChapter7).Theerrands,callsandwaiting-forlistscanbe

checkedasneeded,ofcourse.Inaddition,ifithelps,youcould

useaProjectlist,tokeeptrackofyourprojects.

Theothercomponentsofasystem,besidesthelists,wouldbe

inboxes(seeChapter5),acalendar,andasimplefilingsystem.

Usethelistsyouneed,

butkeepyoursystem

assimpleaspossible.


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The Tools

AndwhilemanypopularGTDtools(Kinkless,stikkit,Outlook,

RemembertheMilk,etc.)makethingsabitcomplicated,the

truthisthatallyouneedarelists.

Manypeoplegettoocaughtupinfiddlingwiththetools,with

creatingcomplicatedsystems,changingtoolsandsystemsevery

weekortwo,insteadofactuallygettingthingsdone.ButZTD

asksyoutousethesimplesttoolspossible,andthenforget

aboutthem.ZTDisaboutthedoing,notthetools.

Sotheobviousquestionis:whichtooltousetokeepyourlists?

Herearemyrecommendations—thesimplest,mosteffective

GTDtools:

•SimpleGTD:Thisismyfavorite,andtheoneIuseright

now.IwasusingTracks,whichisalsosimpleandverygood,

butIrecentlyswitchedbecauseIwantedsomethingalittle

simpler.SimpleGTDhaswhatyouneed,withaniceinterface,

butnoneofthefrills.Playaroundwithit—theinterfaceis

extremelyintuitiveanddoesn’trequireamanual.Itdoesn’t

havealotoffeatures,butthat’sitsappeal.

•Moleskine:Anotherofmyfavorites.Actually,anysmall

notebookthatfitsinyourpocketwilldo—theeasyofuseofa

notebook(youdon’thavetopowerituporpressanybuttons!)

isperfectforthisdailyGTDhabit.ButtheMoleskinehasa

specialappeal—itisaestheticallypleasing,andwonderfulto

ZTDasksyoutousethe

simplesttoolspossible,

andthenforgetabout

them.

http://www.simplegtd.com/

http://www.moleskine.com/eng/_interni/catalogo/Cat_int/catalogo_notebooks.htm


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use.Ihighlyrecommendit!

•HipsterPDA:Popularamongthelow-fiGTDcrowd,the

HipsterPDAisasbasicasitgets,andextremelyportableas

well.Basically,it’sastackofindexcardsattachedwithaclip.

Youcanfindtemplatesforprintingthemonline,orjustsimply

writeyourlistsonthem.Thecoolthing:youcantossthecards

whenthey’refull,andreplenishyourPDAatanytime.

•Tadalist:Perhapsthesimplesttoolofthemall,tadalistis

simplyalistprogram.Nofrills,althoughtheinterfaceisnice

(it’sfromthesamefolksasBackpackandBasecamp).Create

asmanylistsasyouneed,printthemifnecessary,checkonly

thecontextyouneed.Simplicityatitsbest.

•Todoist:Anothersimple,slickto-dolistmanager,thishasa

fewextrafeatures,butnothingcomplicated.Idon’tuseit

simplybecauseIdon’tliketheoutlineinterface,butthatmay

appealtosomeofyoumore.It’sworthalook,atleast.

Onceyou’veselectedatool,setupyourlists,andkeepthem

simple!

Othertoolsforasimplesetup:

•Calendar:IsuggestGoogleCalendar,30Boxes,Outlookora

papercalendar.

•Referencesystem:Forpaperfiling,usemanilafoldersin

alphabeticalorderinasingledrawerisasimplesetupthat

http://www.43folders.com/2004/09/03/introducing-the-hipster-pda

http://www.diyplanner.com/templates/official/hpda

http://tadalist.com/

http://todoist.com/


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worksbest.Justcreateafileforeachproject,client,and/ortopic.Fordigitalfiles,

youcoulduseasimplefoldersystemsimilartothepaperone,orjustarchivestuff

andsearchforthemwhenyouneedthem.

Usage

Thenextpartofthishabit,andreallythemostimportantpart(moreimportantthan

thetoolyouuse),ischeckingyourlistseveryday.

Isuggestmakingitapartofyourdailyroutine(moreonthisinChapter13),where

youcheckyourlistsinthemorningandattheendoftheday,andofcoursecheck

yourcallsanderrandslistswhenyouneedthem.Thisisn’tsuchahardhabit,butit’s

onethatyoushouldgivespecialfocusforabout30days.Becauseonceyoumake

checkingyourlistsadailyhabit,yourlifewillbecomemuchmoreorganizedand

productive.

Becauseonceyou

makecheckingyour

listsadailyhabit,your

lifewillbecomemuch

moreorganizedand

productive.


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Oneoftheoldestorganizingtruismsaround,but

perhapsthemostimportantofall:“aplacefor

everything,andeverythinginitsplace”.

Whyisitsopopular?Becauseitworks.Let’stakea

lookathowtoformthishabitandneverloseathing

again.

Aretherepapersscatteredalloveryourdesk?Doyoulookfor

yourcarkeyseveryday?Doyouknow,atthismoment,where

everysinglethinginyourlifeis?

Yourlifecanbecompletelyorganizedwithonesinglerule:put

everythinginitshome.It’sahabitI’mtryingtoteachtomy

kids,soIdon’thavetokeeppickingupafterthemallthetime,

andbecauseit’soneofthemostusefulhabitsI’veeverformed.

Here’showtodoit:

•Haveasystem.Putallincomingpapersinyourinbox(atwork

andhome).Processthatinbox,eitherdoingthetasks,putting

themonato-dolist(andinanactionfolder),filingthem,

forwardingthem,ortrashingthem.Withthissystem,there’s

neveranyquestionastowhattodo—you’vegotalimitedset

ofoptions.

•Findahome:Ifyou’reabouttoputsomethingdownonyour

countertop,ortable,ordesk,ortossitonyourcouchorbed,

10 Habit �: Organize

“��The�best�way�you�can�predict�your�future�is�to�create�it.”�Stephen�Covey


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thinkaboutthis:isthatwhereitbelongs?Whereisit’shome?

Ifitdoesn’talreadyhaveahome,findone.Designateaspotfor

thatitemortypeofitem.Carkeys?Haveoneplacewhereyou

putthekeys,allthetime.Dirtyclothes?Theydon’tgoonyour

bed.Handcuffs?Puttheminthatspecialboxinyourcloset

marked“Taxes”.

•Simplefilingsystem:Onceyou’veprocessedpapersout

ofyourinbox,you’llneedaplacetoputthemifyouneed

toreferencethemlater.Don’thaveabunchoffilesstacked

somewhere—createasimplefilingsystem(alphabeticalis

easiest,althoughyoucouldsortbyhexadecimalinsteadif

you’reageek).Alwayshaveblanklabelsandfoldersonhandso

youcanquicklymakeanewfileifneeded,anddon’tbeafraid

tomakenewfiles.NeverhaveaMiscellaneousfile.Youmight

aswellcallittheProcrastinationfile.

•Putitawayimmediately.Yes,Iknow,youweregoingtoput

itawaylater.It’sjustsittingthereuntilyoucangettoit.Well,

afterawhile,“later”createspilesandmesses.Don’twaituntil

later.Doitnow!

•Makeitahabit.Puttingthingswheretheybelongisnot

somethingthat’sgoingtohappenovernight.You’llforget,orget

lazy.Toreallymakeitstick,youneedtofocusonthathabitfor

30days.Doa30-daychallenge,concentratingyourenergyon

ituntilitbecomesautomatic.

“Aplaceforeverything,

andeverythinginits

place.”


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•Payattentiontotransitions.Thetimebetweenwhenyou’re

doingonethingandwhenyou’redoingthenextthingisa

transition.Thisisthetimewhenyoushouldputstuffaway

whereitbelongsandcleanupyourmess,butit’salsoatime

whenwe’renotthinkingaboutthatstuffandonlythinking

aboutwhatwe’regoingtodonext(orthenextepisodeof

GilmoreGirls).Whileyou’reworkingonyourEverythingInIts

Placehabit,paycloseattentiontotransitions.Awarenessof

thesetransitionswillmakeiteasiertoremembertoputthings

away.

•Keepflatsurfacesclear.Nevertosssomethingona

countertop,table,desktop,bed,dressertop,coffeetable,or

thefloor.Ifyoudo,catchyourself,andfindanotherhomefor

it.Infact,whileyou’reatit,clearoffalltheseflatsurfaces,

tossinghalfthestuffandfindinghomesfortherest.Ahhh!

Isn’tthatnice?Whoknewtherewasadeskunderthere?

•Label.Thesearetheorganizer’sbestfriend.Havealabel

makeronhand,oratleastsomeblanklabels,andlabel

containersorboxes,soyouknowthehomeofeverything.Itried

labelingmywifeandkidsbuttheydidn’ttakewelltoit.

•Evaluate.Everynowandthen,it’sgoodtoreviewyour

organizationofeverything.Sometimes,itdoesn’tmakesenseto

havesomethinginoneroomwhenyouusuallyuseitinanother.

Sometimes,it’sgoodtogetthreepairsofscissorsifyouuse

themfrequentlyinthreedifferentrooms.Sometimesyouneed

Yourlifecanbe

completelyorganized

withonesinglerule:

puteverythinginits

home.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002T470S?ie=UTF8&tag=zenhab-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0002T470S

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002T470S?ie=UTF8&tag=zenhab-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0002T470S


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todeclutterorre-organizeadrawerorcloset.Revisitingthese

thingsperiodicallywillhelpkeepthingstogether.

Ifyoueverloseathingagain,gobacktotheabovetips,and

workonthemsomemore.Ifyouneverloseathingagain,

thinkabouthowmuchtimeandmoneyyou’vesaved.Ifthat

happens,feelfreetosendmeacheck.


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Let’sfaceit:eventhebestofuslosestrackofthings

overtime,andlosesfocusonourgoals,andlet’sthe

best-plannedsystemfallapartalittle.Withabusy

workweek,andabusylifeoutsideofwork,thebest

systemstendtogravitatetowardchaos.

That’swheretheWeeklyReviewcomesin—itgivesyouachancetogetthingstogetherandrefocusyourselfonwhat’simportant.

Butinthischapterwe’regoingtolookathowtotapintothepoweroftheWeeklyReviewinaslittletimeaspossible—theSimplifiedWeeklyReview.

ThefocusoftheSimplifiedWeeklyReviewisonreviewingyourgoalseachweek.Duringyourweeklyreview,youshouldgooveryoursingleyearlygoal,seewhatprogressyoumadeonitinthelastweek,andwhatactionstepsyou’regoingtotaketomoveitforwardinthecomingweek.

Here’showtodoapowerfulweeklyreviewinfivesimplesteps:

1.Reviewyoursinglelong-termgoal,andshort-termgoal.Reviewyourlifegoals(ifyouhaven’twrittenthemyet,takesometimetodoitnow),andfromthosegoals,youshouldchooseonelong-termgoalthatyouwanttoaccomplishthisyear.Justonegoal,toallowyoutofocusonthatgoalcompletely.Onlychooseone—ifyouchoosetoomany,youwilllosefocus,andfocusisthemostimportantcomponent

11 Habit �: Review

“�Besides�the�noble�art�of�getting�things�done,�there�is�a�noble�art�of�leaving�things�undone.�The�wisdom�of�life�consists�in�the�elimination�of�the�nonessentials.”��Lin�Yutang

Tapintothepowerof

theWeeklyReviewinas

littletimeaspossible

—theSimplified

WeeklyReview.


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inachievingagoal.Thenchooseoneshort-termgoalthatyoucanaccomplishinthenextweekorsothatwillmoveyouclosertoyourlong-termgoal.Onceyou’vedonethis,everyweek’sWeeklyReviewshouldbejustareviewoftheprogressyou’vemadeonthatsinglegoal,andarefocusingonthatgoal.It’simportanttorefocusyourselfonyourgoaleveryweek,asthiswillkeepyouontrack,keepyourattentionandenergywhereitshouldbe,andcontinuetomoveyouforwardonyourgoal.(10-15minutesinyourinitialplanningsession;5minuteseveryweekthereafter)

2.Reviewyournotes.Ifyou’vebeenfollowingZTDHabit1(Collection),youwillhavenotesfromthepastweek.Manyofthetasksinyournoteswillbealreadydone,butit’simportanttolookbackoverthemsoyoucanfindunfinishedtasks,phonenumberstoenterintoyourcontacts,etc.Justdoaquickscanandjotdownanyunfinisheditems.(5-10minutes)

3.Reviewyourcalendar.Lookbackoveryourlastweek’scalendaritemstoseeifthere’sanythingthatneedstobemovedforward,andtoseeifthere’sanythingthattriggersnewtasksthatneedtobedone.Alsolookoveryourupcomingweek’scalendartoseeifthere’sanytasksthatneedtobedone.(5minutes)

4.Reviewyourlists.Whetheryouhavemultiplecontextlistsoroneto-dolist,it’simportanttolookoverthem,tomakesurethey’reup-to-date.Crossoffcompleteditems.Also

You’llwanttoclear

awayalldistractions.


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reviewyourfollow-uplist,yoursomeday/maybelist,andyourprojectlist,ifyoukeepthem.(10minutes)

5.Setyourshort-termgoalthisweekandplanyourBigRocks.InStep1above,ifyou’veaccomplishedyourshort-termgoal,you’llneedtosetanewone.Ifnot,refocusyourselfonthatshort-termgoal,andseewhatmini-tasksyoucandotocompleteit.Listthosetasksandanyotherreallyimportanttasksthatyouwanttoaccomplishthisweek,andschedulethemonyourcalendar.Putthemearlyinthemorning.Thesetasksshouldhavethehighestpriorityeachday.Onlyputoneortwooneachday’sschedule.(5-10minutes)

Totaltimeforreview:30minutes,ifyoustayfocused.

Don’tgetdistracted,andgothrougheachstepquickly.You’llwanttoclearawayalldistractions,turnoffemailandtheInternet(unlessyourlistsandcalendarareonline),turnoffyourphone.Atthemost,thesestepsshouldtakeyou45minutes.

BydoingtheseessentialtasksatyourWeeklyReview,youwillnotonlykeepyoursystemtogether,butyouwillkeepyourselffocusedonyourgoals.

Remember:justfocusononegoalatatime,makingitmuchmorelikelythatyou’llachieveit.Printitoutandpostitupifnecessary.Sendyourselfemailreminders.Telleveryoneaboutit.Putitonyourblog.Howeveryoudoit,maintainthatlaserfocus,anditwillhappen.

Remember:just

focusononegoalata

time,makingitmuch

morelikelythatyou’ll

achieveit.


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Ifyou’relikeme,youhavealonglistoftaskstodo,

perhapsbrokendownbydifferentcontexts(work,

personal,errands,calls,etc.).Yourlistoftasksis

solongthatit’soverwhelming.Youcannevercom-

pletelywipeoutyourlistbecauseit’sgrowingevery

day.

Simplifyyourlistdowntothebarestofessentials,andyoucan

eliminatetheneedforcomplexplanningsystems.

Thelongto-dolistsareoneoftheproblemsofmostproductiv-

itysystems.Butthetasksontheselistshavenopriorities,and

everythingisaddedtoyourlists.Intheend,it’soverwhelming,

andyouareleftextremelybusy,tryingtoknockoffallyour

tasks.

Inthischapterwe’lllookatwaystoreduceyourgoalsand

taskstotheessentials

Let’sfirstimaginetheidealscenario.RecentlyI’vebegunsim-

plifyingmytimemanagementsystemfromGTDdowntobasi-

callynothing.Istillhavelonglistsofthingstodo,butIdon’t

lookatthemmuchanymore.Instead,I’vebeguntheprocessof

elimination,andfocusingonwhat’sreallyimportant.

Nowmyto-dolistisbasicallyonelistofthreeessentialthings

Iwanttodotoday(myMITs).Ialsohavealistofafewsmaller

tasksthatIwanttoknockout,allatonce,usuallyinabout

1� Habit �: Simplify

“��Before�enlightenment,�I�chopped�wood�and�carried�water;�after�enlightenment,�I�chopped�wood�and�carried�water.”��Zen�Saying


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30minutesorso,leavingtherestofmydayfreeforthemore

importanttasks.Istillusemycalendar,justasawayofre-

mindingmeofappointments,butit’snotreallyatimemanage-

menttool.Idon’tneedtimemanagementtoolsanymore—I’ve

simplifiedmylistdowntothreetasks,everyday.

Howcanyougettothispoint?Herearethekeysteps:

•Eliminate,eliminate.Takeafewminutestoreviewyourtask

andprojectlists,andseehowmuchyoucansimplifythem.

Makeitachallenge.Seeifyoucancutitinhalf!Ifyou’vegot

50items,cutitdownto25.Thentrytocutitevenfurthera

fewdayslater.Howdoyoueliminatetasks?Sometimesatask

getsoldandisn’tnecessaryanymore.Crossthoseout.Some-

timesataskcanbedelegated.Dothat,andcrossitout.Read

onformoretips.

•Knowwhat’sessential.Howdoyouknowwhat’sessential?

Byknowingwhatyourmaingoalis,andothergoalsifneces-

sary.Youreallyshouldfocusononegoalatatime,butifyou

wanttodo2or3,that’sOKtoo.Justdon’tdo10goalsor

anything.Thosegoalsshouldbeyouressentialprojects.Any

smallertasksareessentialiftheyhelpyouaccomplishthose

goals,andnotessentialifthey’renotrelated.

•Simplifyyourcommitments.Howmanyprojectsareyou

committedto?Howmanyextracurricularstuffdoyoudo?You

can’tdoitall.Youneedtolearntosayno,andvalueyour

Simplifyyourlistdown

tothebarestofessen-

tials,andyoucanelim-

inatetheneedforcom-

plexplanningsystems.


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time.Andifyou’vealreadysaidyes,it’sstillpossibletosay

no.Justbehonestwithpeopleandtellthemthatyouhavea

highnumberofurgentprojectstocompleteandcannotcom-

mittothisanylonger.Slowly,youcaneliminateyourcom-

mitmentstoaverysmallnumber—onlyhavethosecommit-

mentsinyourlifethatreallygiveyoujoyandvalue.

•Simplifyyourinformationstream.I’verecentlygonethrough

theprocessofeliminatingmostofmyRSSfeeds.Ialsohave

cutbackonthenumberofemailsIrespondto.Andformore

thanayearnow,Ihaven’treadasinglenewspaper,watched

television(exceptDVDs),orreadasinglemagazine.Thenews

nolongergivesmeanyvalue.Simplifytheinputsintoyour

life,andyoucansimplifytheoutputs.

•Reviewweekly.Yourto-dolisttendstobuildupoverthe

courseofaweek.Takeafewminuteseachweektoeliminate,

andeliminatesomemore.Youdon’tneedahugeto-dolistto

beproductive—justdothestuffthatmatters.

•BigRocks.Duringyourweeklyreview,figureoutthemost

importanttasksthatyou’dliketoaccomplishoverthenext

week.ThoseareyourBigRocks.Nowplacethemonyour

schedule,firstthingintheday,ondifferentdaysoftheup-

comingweek.Makethosethemostimportanttaskseachday,

anddothemfirst—don’tletthembepushedbacktothe

endoftheday.

Howdoyouknow

what’sessential?By

knowingwhatyour

maingoalis,andother

goalsifnecessary.


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•Biggestvalue.Considerthecaseoftwonewspaperwriters.

Oneissuperbusyandwritesadozenarticlesaweek.They’re

alldecentarticles,butthey’reprettyroutineinnature.The

secondwriterwritesonearticlethisweek,butitgetsthe

frontpageheadline,it’stalkedaboutallaroundtownand

bloggedaboutontheInternet,itgetshimajournalismaward

andhebecomesabignameinjournalism.Fromthisarticle,

helandsabiggerjobandabookdeal.Thatexampleisabit

extreme,butitillustratesthepointthatsometasksreally

payoffinthelongterm,andothersjustkeepyoubusyand

inthelongrun,don’tmatteratall.Thefirstwritercould

havestayedhomeallweekandslept,anditwouldn’thave

changedhisworldmuch(excepthewouldn’tgetpaidforthat

week).Focusonthosebigtasks,thatwillmakeanamefor

you,thatwillgeneratelong-termincome,thatwillgiveyou

lastingsatisfactionandhappiness.ThoseareyourBigRocks.

Eliminatetherest.

•ThreeMITs.Here’syourplanningsystemeachday:write

downyourthreeMostImportantTasksonasheetofpaper(I

writemineinaMoleskinepocketnotebook).That’sit.Check

offthosetaskswhenyoufinishthem.Devoteyourentireday,

ifpossible,tothosethreetasks,orattheveryleastdevotethe

firsthalfofyourdaytothem.YourMITsarebasicallytheBig

Rocksyouplannedforthisweek,andanyotherMITthatyou

needtodofortoday.

Focusonthosebig

tasks,thatwillmake

anameforyou,that

willgeneratelong-term

income,thatwillgive

youlastingsatisfaction

andhappiness.Those

areyourBigRocks.

Eliminatetherest.


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•Batchsmalltasks.Duringthecourseoftheday,otherstuff

willcomeupthatyoureallyneedtotakecareofortheycould

createproblemsforyoulater.Writethosedownonanother

smalllistofsmalltasks(mineisatthebottomofmypocket

notebookpage).Youdon’tneedtodothemrightnow,most

likely.Justwritethemdownforlater.Setatime(probably30

minutesorso)tobatchprocessthesetaskssometimelater

intheday(perhaps4p.m.).DoyourMITsfirst,andthendo

allthesmalltasksatthesametime.Thesemightbecalls,

emails,writingashortletter,doingpaperwork,etc.Trytodo

themquicklyandknockthemoffyourlist.Youmighthavea

fewtasksleftattheendoftheday.Bettertoleavethesmall

tasksuntiltomorrowthanthebigones.Batchprocessemail,

too—ifyoudoitthroughouttheday,it’sjustabunchof

interruptions.Justdoitonceortwiceaday.


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Createweeklyanddailyroutinestogiveyourday

andyourweekamoreorderedandcalmfeeling.

Routinescanalsogreatlysimplifyyourworkdayandpersonal

life,asyourdaywon’tbeoverlychaoticandcomplicated,you

cangroupsimilartaskstogetherandbatchprocessthem,and

youcanbesureofdoingthethingsyoureallyneedtodo.

Mostimportantly,itputsyouincontrolofyourday,insteadof

puttingyouatthemercyoftheebbandflowofallincoming

requests.Withoutaroutine,wehavenogoodwayofsaying

“no”torequestsastheycomein,andweareatthebeckand

callofeverypersonwhowantsourtimeandeverywebsitethat

wantsourattention.That’snotagoodthing,notifyouwantto

gettheimportantthingsdone.

Takecontrolofyourlife.Setsomeroutinesandlearntofollow

them.

Herearesometipsfordoingthat:

•Worktasks.Makealistofallthethingsyouwantorneed

toaccomplishinyourworklife.Thiscouldbebigthings

liketheWeeklyReview,orlittlethingslikepaperworkor

reports,orclearingyourphysicalinboxeachday,setting

yourMITsatthebeginningofeachday,reviewingyourgoals,

communicatingyourprogresswithyourboss,processingyour

emailinboxtoempty,phonecalls,writing,designing,etc.

13 Habit �: Set Routines

“��Zen�is�not�some�kind�of�excitement,�but�concentration�on�our�usual�everyday�routine.”��Shunryu�Suzuki


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•Personaltasks.Dothesamethingwithyourpersonallife.

Thiscouldincludethingslikeexercise,yoga,meditation,

writinginajournal,reading,readingyourRSSfeeds,aswell

aschoresanderrandssuchaspayingbills,balancingyour

checkbook,laundry,cleaningroutines,groceryshopping,pet

chores,stuffinyourkids’lives,goingtothebank,goingto

thepostoffice,fixingyourkids’lunch,etc.

•Batchprocess.Takealookatyourlistsandfindwaystoput

smallertaskstogether.Thissavestimeandcutsdownon

interruption.Forexample,ifyouhavegroceryshopping,going

tothebank,goingtothepostofficeandgoingtothepetstore

onyourlist,putthemtogetheras“errands”anddothemon

oneday.Youcandoa“deskday”eachweekforpersonal

stuffandtakecareofprocessingyourmail,payingbills,

balancingyourcheckbook,filingpersonalpapers,getting

stuffreadyforthepostoffice,settingyourweeklydinner

menuandcreatingagrocerylist.Forwork,youcouldbatch

processallphonecallsintoonehour,batchprocessemail

intooneone-hourperiod,batchprocesspaperwork,etc.

•Dailylist.Nowlookatyourlistsandseewhichonesneedto

bedoneeveryday.Thosemightincludeemail,phonecalls,

settingyourMITs,writinginajournal,exercise,readingRSS

feeds,processingyourphysicalinbox,andmore.Planout

yourdailyroutine.Don’tscheduleeveryminuteofyourday,

buthavecertainsettimeseachdaywhenyoudothesedaily

Mostimportantly,it

putsyouincontrol

ofyourday,instead

ofputtingyouatthe

mercyoftheebband

flowofallincoming

requests.


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tasks.Mysuggestionistohaveamorningroutine(maybe

onemorningroutineathomeandanotherwhenyoufirstget

intowork)andanend-of-the-dayroutine(again,fortheend

ofyourworkdayandforrightbeforeyougotobed).Leavethe

middleoftheday(thebiggestportionoftheday)openfor

completingyourMITsandotherthingsthatcomeup.

•Weeklylist.Thestuffyoudoonceortwice(ormore)aweek,

butnoteveryday,shouldbeonyourWeeklyRoutine.This

couldbethingslikeyourWeeklyReview,laundry,reviewing

goals(althoughthiscouldbeputinyourWeeklyReview),

housecleaning,exercise(ifyouexercise3xaweek,for

example),errands,financialstuff,yourDeskDay,gardening,

yardwork,etc.Schedulethesethingsthroughoutyourweek,

tryingnottopiletoomuchoneachday.Youshouldhave2-3

thingsperdayatthemost.Anidealmixwouldbe1-2things

perday.Ifyouhavesomanyweeklytasksthatyouneed3-4

thingsperday,ormore,youprobablyneedtosimplify,asit

willbehardtomaintainthisschedule.Eitherbatchsome

thingstogetheroreliminatetheleastimportant.

•Tryingitout.Nowthatyou’vesetyourdailyandweekly

routines,giveitago.Forthedailyroutines,trytostickwith

themforatleastaweek.Attheendoftheweek,review

howitwent.Iftherearethingsthatjustdidn’twork,make

adjustments.Fortheweeklyroutine,seeifyoucanstick

withitforatleasttwoweeks(unlessit’sreallynotworking,


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inwhichcaseyoushouldadjustasyougoalong).Make

adjustments,andtryitagain,untilyoufindwhatworkswith

you.

•Stickingwithit.Thisisthetrick—it’seasytosetroutines,

buthardertostickwiththem.Butonceyoufindagoodset

ofroutinesthatworkforyou,ifyoucanstickwiththemfor

30days,itwillbecomeahabit.Andyouwillfindyourself

feelingmuchcalmerandincontrolofyourlife.Howdoyou

stickwithitfor30days?Makeita30-dayChallenge,give

yourselfrewards,committoitinpublic,postyourroutinesup

onthewallathomeandnearyourdesk,anddon’thaveany

othergoalsorhabitchangesgoingonwhileyoudothis.Ifyou

canreallyputyourenergyandfocusintoitfor30days,itwill

becomemoreautomaticandrequirelessenergy.

It’seasytosetroutines,

buthardertostick

withthem.Butonce

youfindagoodsetof

routinesthatworkfor

you,ifyoucanstick

withthemfor30days,

itwillbecomeahabit.


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OfallthehabitsinZenToDone,thisoneis

themostdifficult--andyet,perhapsthemost

important.

Ifyoudoonethinginthisbook,thisistheoneIwould

recommend.Isitessentialtothesystem?No.Youcouldapply

alltheotherhabits,skipthisone,andbeproductive,calm

andorganized.Butthisonestepwillmakeyounotonlymuch

happier,butmoreproductive.

Giveitathought:ifyoureallywanttodosomething,you’llwork

likehelltogetitdone.You’llworkextrahard,you’llputineven

morehours,andyou’relesslikelytoprocrastinate.It’sforwork

thatyoudon’treallycareaboutthatyouprocrastinate.

Ifyoudreadgoingtoyourjob,orfindyourselfconstantly

lackingmotivation,orfindwhatyou’redoingdulland

repetitive,youneedtostartlookingforanewjob.Stayingin

yourcurrentjobwillnotonlycontinuetomakeyouunhappy,

butyouarenotrealizingyourfullpotentialinlife.

Imaginethisinstead:yougetupearly,jumpingoutofbed,

excitedtogotowork.Youmightputinmorehoursthanthe

averageperson,butitdoesn’tseemdifficulttoyou,because

yourworkhoursjustzoomrightby.Youareofteninthatstate

ofmindoftenreferredtoas“flow,”whereyoucanlosetrackof

theworldandtime,losingyourselfinthetaskathand.Workis

notworkasmanypeoplerefertoit,butsomethingthatisfun

1� Habit 10: Find Your Passion

“��Nothing�great�in�the�world�has�been�accomplished�without�passion.”��Hegel


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andinterestingandexciting.It’snota“job”butapassion.

Ifyou’vegotajobyoudislike,orevenhate,thiswillsound

likeapipedreamtoyou.Andifyouneverputintheeffortto

findwhatyou’repassionateabout,you’reright:suchathing

willneverbepossible.Butdaretodream,daretoimaginethe

possibilities,anddaretoactuallysearchforwhatyoulove,and

itisnotonlyapossibility,butaprobability.

Whatdoyoureallywanttobedoingrightnow?(Don’tsay

sleeping!)Whatdoyoulovedoing?Whatisyourdreamjob,and

howcanyougetit?Givethissomethought,notjustrightnow

butforthenextfewdays.Firstyoumustidentifythatjob,and

thenyou’llhavetoplanhowtogetit.

HowtoFindYourPassion

Whatifyoudon’tknowwhatyourpassionis?Don’tfret--

you’reinthesameboatasmanypeople.Thekeyistostartthe

search,andtokeeplookinguntilyoufindit.

Herearesomesuggestions:

•Istheresomethingyoualreadylovedoing?Doyouhavea

hobby,orsomethingyouloveddoingasachild,butnever

considereditasapossibility?Whetherit’sreadingcomic

books,collectingsomething,makingsomething,creatingor

building,thereisprobablyawayyoucoulddoitforaliving.

Openacomicbookshop,orcreateacomicbooksiteonline.

Ifthere’salreadysomethingyoulovedoing,you’reaheadof

Imaginethisinstead:

yougetupearly,

jumpingoutofbed,

excitedtogotowork.


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thegame.Nowyoujustneedtoresearchthepossibilitiesof

makingmoneyfromit.

•Whatdoyouspendhoursreadingabout?Formyself,whenI

getpassionateaboutsomething,I’llreadaboutitforhours

onend.I’llbuybooksandmagazines.I’llspenddaysonthe

Internetfindingoutmore.Theremaybeafewpossibilities

hereforyou…andallofthemarepossiblecareerpaths.

Don’tcloseyourmindtothesetopics.Lookintothem.

•Brainstorm.Nothingcomestomindrightaway?Well,getout

asheetofpaper,andstartwritingdownideas.Anythingthat

comestomind,writeitdown.Lookaroundyourhouse,on

yourcomputer,onyourbookshelf,forinspirations,andjust

writethemdown.Therearenobadideasatthisstage.Write

everythingdown,andevaluatethemlater.

•Askaround,andsurfforpossibilities.Askotherpeoplefor

ideas.Seewhatothershavediscoveredastheirpassions.

LookallovertheInternetforideas.Themorepossibilities

youfind,themorelikelyyourchancesoffindingyourtrue

passion.

•Giveitatryfirst.It’sbesttoactuallytestyournewidea

beforejumpingintoitasacareer.Doitasahobbyorside

jobatfirst,sothatyoucanseeifit’sreallyyourtruecalling.

Youmaybepassionateaboutitforafewdays,butwherethe

rubbermeetstheroadiswhetheryou’repassionateabout

It’sbesttoactuallytest

yournewideabefore

jumpingintoitasa

career.Doitasahobby

orsidejobatfirst,so

thatyoucanseeifit’s

reallyyourtruecalling.


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itforatleastafewmonths.Ifyoupassthistest,youhave

probablyfoundit.

•Neverquittrying.Can’tfindyourpassionatfirst?Giveup

afterafewdaysandyou’resuretofail.Keeptrying,for

monthsonendifnecessary,andyou’llfinditeventually.

Thoughtyoufoundyourpassionbutyougottiredofit?No

problem!Startoveragainandfindanewpassion.There

maybemorethanonepassioninyourlifetime,soexplore

allthepossibilities.Foundyourpassionbuthaven’tbeen

successfulmakingalivingatit?Don’tgiveup.Keeptrying,

andtryagain,untilyousucceed.Successdoesn’tcomeeasy,

sogivingupearlyisasurewaytofail.Keeptrying,andyou’ll

getthere.

HowtoGetThere

Onceyou’vefoundyourpassion,you’vetakenahugestep

towardshappiness!Congratulations!Celebratethisfact,then

rollupyoursleeves,becauseyou’renotthereyet.

Herearesomesuggestionsforactuallylivingyourpassion:

•Don’tquityourjobjustyet.Ifyoufindyourcalling,your

passion,don’tjustturninyourresignationtomorrow.It’sbest

tostayinyourjobwhileyou’reresearchingthepossibilities.

Ifyoucandoyourpassionasasidejob,andbuildupthe

incomeforafewmonthsorayear,that’sevenbetter.Itgives

youachancetobuildupsomesavings(andifyou’regoing

Don’tgointoit

withamateurskill

level.Ifyouwantto

makemoney—to

beaprofessional

—youneedtohave

professionalskills.


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intobusinessforyourself,you’llneedthatcashreserve),

whilepracticingtheskillsyouneed.

•Dosomeresearch.Whoelseisdoingyourdreamjob?What

istheirexperience?Howdidtheygetthejob?Whatarethe

requirements?Researchitontheinternet,askpeopleyou

know,makesomecalls.Themoreinfoyouhave,thebetter.

•Whatareyourobstacles?Whatdoyouneedtodotoget

there?Doyouneedaneducation?Doyouneedtoknowthe

rightpeople?Doyoujustneedtofilloutanapplication?Do

youneedtolearnsomeskills?

•Makeaplan.Workoutsomesolutionstoyourobstacles.

Ifyouneedaneducationorskills,youwillnotbeableto

executethisplanovernight,butifyoudon’tplanitoutnow,

youmightnevergetthere.Layoutthepathtoyoursuccess.

•Takeaction.Don’twaitforopportunitytocomehityouonthe

head.Gooutandgrabthatopportunity.Executeyourplan

—doatleastonethingtoday,andeachday,untilyouget

there.Itmightseemlikeitwilltakeforever,butifyoureally

putinthework,you’llachieveyourdreamssomeday.

•Practice,andpractice,andpracticesomemore.Don’tgointo

itwithamateurskilllevel.Ifyouwanttomakemoney—to

beaprofessional—youneedtohaveprofessionalskills.Get

verygoodatyourfuturecareerandyouwillmakemoneyat

it.Practiceforhoursonend.Ifit’ssomethingyoulove,the


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practiceshouldbesomethingyouwanttodo.

•Bepersistent.Don’tgiveupbecauseyou’vebeenrejecteda

fewtimes(orevenalotoftimes).Keepknockingondoors.

Keepmakingthosecalls.Keepsubmittingyourresume.Keep

makingappointments.Don’teverletup.Thepersonwhois

relentlesswillwinoverthepersonwhoquits.

Landyourdreamjob,doingsomethingthatyou’repassionate

about,andyoumayneverneedtomotivateyourselftobe

productiveagain.


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Youmightthinkaboutallofthis,aboutthe10

habits,andwonderwhatitwouldlooklikein

practice.Well,ZenToDoneisprettymuchthe

systemIuse,andIcantellyouwhataZTDday

wouldbelike.

However,insteadofgettingintothedetailsofmypersonallife,

let’slookatahypotheticalZenToDoner...justtogiveusan

ideaofwhatthesystemlookslikeinpractice.We’lltakealook

atSteve,whohasbeenimplementingthehabitsofZTDforthe

pastyear.

Morning

Steve’sanearlyriser,sohegetsupat5:30a.m.Thisisbyno

meansmandatoryinZenToDone,ofcourse,butSteveenjoys

it.

FirstthingtosayaboutSteveinthemorning?He’squicktoget

up,becausehe’sexcitedabouthisday.Why?Becauseinthe

pastyear,he’sachievedHabit10,andfoundhispassion.It’s

nowhisjob,andhedoesitathome.Ofcourse,youdon’tneed

toworkathometoimplementZTD,butSteveenjoysit.

Sohegetsupoutofbed,readytogreettheday.Thenhe

beginshismorningroutine:hegroomshimself,thenenjoysa

nicecupofcoffeeandwatchesthesunrise.Thenhebeginshis

morningwritingritual,writinganarticlethatalsohappenstobe

1� A Day with Zen To Done

“��Never�mistake�motion�for�action.”��Ernest�Hemingway


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oneofhisMostImportantTasks(MITs)fortoday.

Whenhe’sdone,hechangestohisrunningclothes,lacesup

hisshoes,andgoesfora30-minuterun.Steveenjoyshisrun,

becauseitgiveshimsomequiettimetothink.Afterhisrun,he

takesaquickshower,eatsahealthybreakfast,andthengetsto

hissecondMITfortoday.

WhenhedoesoneofhisMITs,Steveclearshisdesk,turns

offtheInternetandphone,closesallprogramsonthe

computerexcepttheoneheneedstodohiswork,andfocuses

completelyonthetaskathand.Hewillgetupandtakeabreak

every10-15minutes,butdoesn’tallowhimselftoconnectto

emailorotherdistractions,untilhe’sdone.

Onlywhenhe’scompletedthismorningroutine,anddonetwo

ofhisMITs,doesheallowhimselftocheckemailandreadhis

morningRSSfeeds.

Planning

SteveactuallysethisthreeMITsthenightbefore,duringhis

eveningroutine,sohewouldbereadyfortheday.Heusesa

simpleMoleskinepocketnotebookashisZTDtool,andon

afreshpage,heputstheday’sdate,andthenlistshisthree

MITsfortheday.Atthebottomofthepage,helistshis“batch

tasks”--smallertasksthathehastododuringtheday,but

thathesavesupfor“batchprocessing”laterinthedayso

thattheydon’tinterrupthisMITs.HealsousestheMoleskine

ZenToDoneispretty

muchthesystemIuse,

andIcantellyouwhat

aZTDdaywouldbe

like.


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notebookasa“capture”tool,carryingitwhereverhegoes,and

hasasection(markedbyalittlePost-it)wherehewritesdown

thoughtsandtasksastheycometohim.

TodayalsohappenstobethedayofhisSimpleWeeklyReview,

sohedoesaquickrun-throughofhissystem,spendingonly30

minutesonthereview.Hegoesthroughhisto-dolist(whichhe

keepsatthebackofhisMoleskinenotebook),andweedsout

taskshedoesn’treallyneedtodo,leavingonlythosethatare

mostimportant.

HereviewshisSingleGoalforthisyear,ensuringthatsome

ofhisBigRocksforthenextweekarerelatedtomovingthat

SingleGoalforward.Healsolooksattheprogresshe’smade

onthatSingleGoalinthelastweek,andispleasedthathe’s

actuallyaheadofschedule.Hecrossesoffsometasksthat

werecompleted,andthenemailsafewtaskstoothersthat

hedoesn’treallyneedtodohimself.Satisfiedthathislistis

simplifiedasfaraspossible,henowplanshisBigRocksfor

thecomingweek,ensuresthathisinboxesareemptyandhis

filingsysteminplace.

EveningRoutine

Steve’sdaygoesprettymuchasplanned.Heaccomplishes

histhreeMITs,whichissatisfying,andgetsmostofthebatch

tasksdoneneartheendoftheday.Heclearsouthisemail

inboxandhisphysicalinboxbytheendoftheday.Afewother

Whenhedoesoneof

hisMITs,Steveclears

hisdesk,turnsoffthe

Internetandphone,

closesallprogramson

thecomputerexcept

theoneheneedstodo

hiswork,andfocuses

completelyonthetask

athand.


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taskscameup,buthedisposedofthemquickly,addingoneto

histo-dolistatthebackofhisnotebook.

Afterhe’sclearedouthisinboxes,finishedhisbatchtasks,and

checkedoffhislists,Stevedoestherestofhiseveningroutine.

Hegetslunchespreparedforhiskidsfortomorrowmorning,

reviewshiscalendarandto-dolisttoseewhatheneedstodo

tomorrow,selectinghisthreeMITs.Hereviewshisday,writing

inajournaltorecordhisprogressandthoughts.


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Anumberofreadershavewrittentomewith

questionsaboutZenToDone,andIthought

itwouldbeusefultoaddressthemhereina

FrequentlyAskedQuestionsformat.

HowisZTDdifferentfromGTD?Itseemsthesame.

ZenToDoneadoptssomeoftheprinciplesofGTDandother

productivitysystems...butwithsomedifferentfocuses:

1.GTDasksyoutoadoptabunchofnewhabitsallatonce,

andsomanypeoplehavefailed.AsI’vetalkedaboutonZen

Habits,habitchangesrequirealotofenergyandfocusto

besuccessful,andit’smuchbettertodooneatatime.ZTD

askspeopletodothehabitsofGTDoneatatime(ortwoat

themost).

2.ZTDfocusesonsimplifyingwhatyouaregoingtododown

totheessentials,andnottryingtotackleeverything.GTD

haslessofafocusonwhat’simportant,andinsteadtreats

everythingcominginthesame.

3.WithGTD,manypeoplehavefocusedonthetoolsandthe

system,whileZTDfocusesmoreondoing.Itpresentsaway

ofdoingyourtaskssothatyouarefocusedononetaskata

time,clearingyourdistractions,andgettingintothezone.

GTDdoesn’ttalkmuchabouttheactualdoing.

4.GTDonlycursorilymentionsgoals.Itisintentionallya

1� The ZTD FAQ

“��You�begin�by�always�expecting�good�things�to�happen.”��Tom�Hopkins


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bottom-upapproach,andforwhatittriestodo,itisgreat.

ButZTDfocusesmoreongoals--duringyouryearly,

monthly,andweeklyreviews,andonadailybasiswithyour

MITs.Soitcombinesthebottom-upapproachofGTDwith

thetop-downapproachofpeoplelikeStevenCovey.

5.WithGTD,yourdayisveryunstructured,whichagainisa

strength,butforsomepeoplecanbedifficultandconfusing.

ZTDaddsstructuretoyourdaywithyourMITsandwithyour

routines(morning,eveningandotherwise).Manypeoplefind

thiseasiertoworkwith,butit’sanoptionalhabit.

6.Finally,ZTDaddsthelasthabitoffindingyourpassion.

Whilenotstrictlyatask-relatedhabit,findingyourpassionis

extremelyimportantindoingsomethingyoulove,sothatyou

actuallygetmoredone.Ithinkthisisanimportantpointfor

alotofpeople.

WithHabit8(Simplify),aren’tyoudefeatingthepurposeof

GTD’smandatetogetallopenloopsoutofyourheadand

dumpthemonyourlists?

Ifyousimplifiedbeforeyouwrotethingsinyourcapture

tool(suchasapocketnotebook),yes,thatwoulddefeat

thepurposeofthemandatetogetthingsoutofyourhead.

However,ZTDasksyoutofirstwritethemdown,togetthem

outofyourhead,andthentoreviewthemlater.It’sduringthe

reviewprocessthatyousimplify,anddecidewhetheryoureally


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needtodothetask,andwhetherit’sreallyimportant.

Thissystemdoesn’tseemverysimpleatall.It’s10different

habits!

First,mostproductivitysystemsactuallyhavewaymorethan

10habits.GTDhasperhapsdoublethatnumber,forexample.

StephenCovey’s7Habitsareactuallymanymoreonceyou

implementhisentiresystem,wheretherubbermeetstheroad.

Forexample,toimplementthehabitFirstThingsFirst,you

actuallyneedtodoseveralsteps,puttingthingsinquadrants,

prioritizingfromthere,etc.Theothersystemsjustdon’tspell

outthehabitsassimplyasZTDdoes--andtheysuggestyou

implementthemallatonce,whichisabigreasonforfailure.

Second,youdon’tneedtoadoptall10habits.Theyareall

goodhabitstoadopt,butyoucanjustchoose5ofthem,for

example.Usethehabitsthatwillhelpyouthemost,andwill

workwithyourworkingstyle.Everyoneisdifferent,andnoone

systemwillworkforeverysingleperson.Thisapproachallows

flexibility.

Foramoreminimalapproach,seeMinimalZTDinChapter3.

Itseemslikeitwouldtaketoomuchdisciplinetodoonlyone

habitatatime.

Iagree,itcanbedifficulttorestrainyourselfenoughtodoone

habitatatime.Butitisactuallymuchmoredifficulttotryto

adoptmanyhabitsatatime.


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Thinkaboutitthisway:whatifyoutriedtoquitsmoking,

becomearunner,workoutatthegymthreetimesaweek,

becomeavegetarian,wakeupat5a.m.everyday,stop

procrastinating,becomeneatandorganized,anddomeditation

...allinthesameweek?Howsuccessfulwouldyoube?You’d

probablyfail,right?

Thetruthis,habitchangeisdifficult.It’saskillthattakes

practice.Itcandefinitelybedone--I’vedoneit,andso

havemanyothers--butitrequiresfocus.Youcan’tfocus

on10thingsatatime.Youcanfocusonafewatatime,

butifyoufocusononethingatatime,yourfocusismuch

moreconcentrated.Thatmakesyoumuchmorelikelytobe

successful.

Ifyouthinkyou’reprettygoodathabitchanges,Iwould

suggestyoutryadopting3-4habitsatfirst,butnotall10.

PerhapstryMinimalZTD,andthenaddonotherhabits1-2at

atimeafterthosefirst4habitshavebeenadopted.Dothem

onemonthatatime,andgraduallyaddmore.

Lookatitlikethis:badhabitsweren’tformedovernight,and

goodhabitswon’tbeformedovernighteither.Ifyouadopt

onehabitpermonth,bytheendofayear,youwillbeavery

productive,organized,andcalmperson!Isn’tthataprettygood

accomplishmentforayear?


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WhatifIcan’tfindmypassion?ShouldIstillimplementthe

otherhabits?

The10thhabitisoptional,andyoushouldstilladoptasmany

oftheotherhabitsasyoucan(orasapplytoyourworkstyle),

evenifyou’renotinajobyoulove.However,thekeytothe

10thhabitistokeepyoureyesopen.Atleastbeginthesearch,

andalwaysbeonthelookoutforopportunitiesorideasthat

couldleadtoyoulivingalifewhereyourpassionisyourwork.

DoIreallyhavetojuststicktoonegoalperyear?Ihaveso

manyIwanttofocuson!

Iknowhowyoufeel!Butagain,focusisthekeytoachieving

anything,andyoucan’tfocuson10goalsatatime.

Iknowthisforafact,becauseIstartedout2007withalong

listofgoalsIwantedtoachieve,andalotofenthusiasm.

Eachweek,Iwouldplanouttheactionstepsneededtomove

allthosegoalsforward.Itwasn’tlongbeforemyenthusiasm

waned--it’sjusttoohardtokeepthatenergygoingforsomany

goalsatonce.

Instead,I’veadoptedanewapproach:tackleonegoalatatime.

Now,doyouneedtotakeanentireyeartoaccomplishthatgoal?

No.Youcanfocusononegoalthatcanbedoneinaweek,ora

month,or6months.Butjustfocusonthatgoal.Whenyou’ve

accomplishedit,thenchooseanother.Inthisway,bymaintaining

thathighleveloffocus,youcanachievealotinayear.


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Isn’tZTDatrademarkinfringementonDavidAllen’sGTD?

No,actually.Firstofall,althoughIamheavilyindebtedto

DavidAllenandotherproductivitysystems,DavidAllendidn’t

inventtheconceptofcollectionorprocessingorreview.These

havebeenthetoolsofproductivitygurusfordecades.Allen

justputthemtogetherinagreatsystemthatisverylogicaland

comprehensive,andmakessense.

I’vetakensomeofthosetoolsheuses(andthathavebeenused

fordecades)andcombinedthemwithothertoolsthathave

beenusedfordecades.ConceptssuchasBigRocksandMITs,

thatwereusedbyStephenCovey...andothersbeforehim.

Conceptslikesimplifying,thatbecamepopularinthe1970s.

Conceptslikefindingyourpassion,thatarecenturiesold.

Second,“ZenToDone”isnotaninfringementupon“Getting

ThingsDone”.Theyonlyshareonewordincommon,tostart

with,andthereisnotachancethatanyonewouldgetthetwo

termsconfused.Also,while“ZTD”mightsoundlike“GTD”,

DavidAllendoesnotholdthetrademarkonallcombinationsof

lettersthatrhymewith“GTD”.

Intruth,IamindebtedtoDavidAllen,andothers,butthis

systemismyownblendofveryusefultools,andonethat

othershavefoundusefulaswell.

SowhatisyourZTDsetup?

Everyone’ssetupwillbedifferent,asyouneedtofindthetools


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andsetupthatworkforyou.However,ifyou’reinterested,

here’smysetup:

•Moleskinepocketnotebook,thatIcarryeverywhereanduse

asacapturetool.

•Inthenotebook,IwritemythreeMITsfortheday,alongwith

“batchtasks”atthebottomofthepage.Iwritemymaster

to-dolist,alongwithseparatelistsforerrandsandcallsand

follow-ups,inthebackofthenotebook.

•IuseGoogleCalendarforappointmentsonly(andmykids’

activities),Gmailforemail,andGoogleDocumentsand

AbiWordforwriting.

That’sall!


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Tools

•To-dolists:

Vitalist,Tadalist,Backpack,

SimpleGTD,

Nozbe,Tracks,Remember

theMilk.

•Calendars:

GoogleCalendar,30Boxes.

•Others:

CoolTimer,

HipsterPDA.

Articles

•MITs

•BigRocks

•ClearingYourEmailInbox

•ClearingYourDesk

•MorningRoutine

•EveningRoutine

•30DayChallenge

•Top20MotivationHacks

•ExecutingYourTo-doList

•WeeklyReview

•GTDFAQ

•MassiveGTDResourcesList

Forms

Inthenextfewpages,some

sampleformsareprovided:

•SingleGoalForm

•ZTDWeeklyForm

•ZTDDailyForm

•ZTDLists

1� Resources

“��How�soon�‘not�now’�becomes�‘never’.”��Martin�Luther

http://www.vitalist.com/

http://www.tadalist.com/

http://www.backpackit.com/

http://www.simplegtd.com/

http://www.nozbe.com/

http://docs.gtdtracks.com/

http://www.rememberthemilk.com/

http://www.rememberthemilk.com/

http://www.google.com/calendar/render

http://www.30boxes.com/welcome.php

http://www.softpile.com/Business/Notes_and_Reminders/Review_07317_index.html

http://www.diyplanner.com/templates/official/hpda

http://zenhabits.net/2007/02/purpose-your-day-most-important-task/

http://zenhabits.net/2007/04/big-rocks-first-double-your-productivity-this-week/

http://zenhabits.net/2007/01/email-zen-clear-out-your-inbox/

http://zenhabits.net/2007/01/steps-to-permanently-clear-desk/

http://zenhabits.net/2007/01/habit-4-my-morning-routine/

http://zenhabits.net/2007/02/jumpstart-your-day-night-before-evening/

http://zenhabits.net/2007/07/the-new-zen-habits-forums-and-the-july-challenge/


http://zenhabits.net/2007/07/how-to-actually-execute-your-to-do-list-or-why-writing-it-down-doesnt-actually-get-it-done/

http://zenhabits.net/2007/02/how-to-do-weekly-review-in-under-hour/

http://zenhabits.net/2007/06/the-getting-things-done-gtd-faq/

http://zenhabits.net/2007/05/massive-gtd-resource-list/


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Zen TO DOne FORMS Single Goal Form

2007

ThisYear’sSingleGoal:

MantraforSingleGoal(2-4words):

Firstsubgoal(1-2weeks):

Note:Afteraccomplishingthefirstsub-goal,checkitoffandcreateasecondsub-goal,andsoon,untilSingleGoalisaccomplished.Eachsub-goalshouldtakeabout1-2weekstoaccomplish,butcanbealittlemoreorlessifneeded.


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Zen TO DOne FORMS Weekly Forms

Week of

Mantra:

CurrentSingleGoalsub-goal:

BigRock#1:

BigRock#2:

BigRock#3:

BigRock#4:

BigRock#5:

Projects this week


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Zen TO DOne FORMS Weekly Forms

Simple Weekly Review Checklist

ReviewSingleGoalforYear

Reviewshort-termsub-goalforlastweek

Reviewnotes

Reviewcalendar

Reviewcontextlists

Reviewsomeday/maybe,follow-up,projectlists

Planshort-termsub-goalforthisweek

PlanBigRocksforthisweek

Weekly Routine

Monday:

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Friday:

Saturday:

Sunday:


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Zen TO DOne FORMS Daily Forms

Today’s date

Mantra:

CurrentSingleGoalsub-goal:

MIT#1:

MIT#2:

MIT#3:

Batch Tasks (to be processed)

Incoming Tasks & Ideas

Daily Routine


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Zen TO DOne FORMS Lists

Projects List

Work Tasks

Personal Tasks

Follow-up

Calls

Errands

Someday


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Thankyoutomywife,Eva,forthepatienceinallowingmetowrite

thisbook,andforeverythingelseyou’vedone.

ThankyoutoJamesWondrack(wondrackdesign.com)fortheexcellent

designworkforthisebookatanextremelylowcost--perfectfora

cheapskatelikeme.Hemetmyminimaliststandardsandexceededthem

withhisgreattaste.

Andmostofall,thankyoutothereadersofZenHabits,whohave

encouragedmeinmorewaysthantheyknow.

Leo