GTD: Getting Things Done

October 03, 2005

After reading Ben Hammersley's article in the Guardian, "Meet the man who can bring order to your universe", I have been desperately trying to get hold of my own copy of David Allen's Getting Things Done. My brother Neil has also mentioned this in the space of seven days so I thought I would find out more at the weekend. But I couldn't 'cos no one stocks his book.

A browse through his GTD ( - that's Getting Things Done) webpage set me off in search of the Empty Intray that was promised. And I have to say, today I got close to it. I reckon that by tomorrow I'll have sorted it all out, be working on tasks that take 2 minutes and achieving far more than before.

It's not all waffle, either. I normally pour scorn on life coaches and the like but I am beginning to find a new respect for the breed after initiating some changes in the ways that I do stuff - and "stuff" is a technical term from the GTD philosophy.

Basically, I've got to stop thinking about Projects with a capital 'P' and start breaking them up into very small, two-minute tasks if I am ever to get them done. That means that I can do work while I'm waiting for Her to finish putting Her face on. I can make a phone call while waiting for the kettle to boil.

The good bit comes from having got all that stuff out of my head onto paper, ready to check off. The lists are not prioritised. I just get everything that can be done in 2 minutes done. There's a great workflow chart that you can download from his site that explains it so much better. The proof is in the doing: I've managed to get things done that had been languishing in my mind or in my intray for two weeks. All of it finito. In one day. It must be worth trying to get hold of that book.