Getting (some) things done
Getting Things Done is the bible of the burgeoning Life Hacking movement, which is proving popular among web designers and other techy types. I was curious, so I bought the book.
I haven’t finished it yet, but I’ve picked up a few things that I’ve found useful. In particular, the book suggests two key rules: the two-minute rule, and the “do/delegate/defer” rule. They’re both very simple (and sound like they’re stating the bleeding obvious): if you can deal with something in two minutes, do it. If you can’t do it in two minutes, take the do/delegate/defer rule: either do it now if you have the time to spare, delegate it if you’re not the right person for the job, or defer it for later (and pick a time when you’ll do it).
Obvious? Perhaps. Effective? Yup.
There’s lots more - making sure your to-do list covers actions rather than vague, amorphous concepts, sorting out your working environment, getting the most from PDAs and other handy gadgets - but those two rules are already helping me deal with information overload.
Right, my two minutes are up. Back to work :)
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Comments
Yeah, I know what you mean - particularly when the systems are for “managing” your personal life as well as your professional one. I tend to tune out at that.
As for the effort… yeah, but it’s a bit like housework: if you leave it for weeks, then when you finally get round to it it takes *forever*. Sometimes you have to bite the bullet and spend a bit of time before you can get into a maintenance routine.
An example of what I mean: in GTD he explains that using your inbox to file stuff is a no-no. Do, delegate or defer. It takes a while to plough through, but the result is better: when you’ve got mail to address it only takes a few minutes, but when there’s dozens you go “oh god, there’s too much” and run away screaming.
I think GTD’s like any other productivity system: take the bits you want, ignore the bits you don’t. I’m reserving final judgement till I’ve finished it, though.
I’ve been reading up on the GTD thing. While there are some interesting ideas there’s something a bit ‘control freakery’ about the whole concept. And I worry that if I followed the advice on sites such as lifehacker, I’d spend more time working on systems for getting things done than actually getting things done :)