Get things done ✅
Full title: Besides reduced stress, moving tasks out of your head provides the less obvious side effect of getting more things done.
– a mini workshop
Too many tasks in my brain stress me out
After work hours
I check Slack, Mail and Trello
I do impromptu work
I think about work tasks
In work hours
I get notifications
I let notifications determine tasks
I pick up new tasks immediately
Overwhelmed
Impatient
Annoyed
Stressed
«I'm doing an extra effort at the moment»
– OK, but that's not why you feel stress
Distractions do not make you productive.
Your distracting tasks are not urgent to solve.
Message replies are not needed now.
Rested and stress free at work = faster work.
If you need, can or want to put in extra hours,
put in hours of actual work.
Extra effort need not be extra stress
2 min?
A...
B...
C...
Brain requirement: 1 ticket
System requirement: Contain a few task lists
– Ticketing systems are mindless. But effective.
Dispatcher
MAX
Let's unload brain
– 10 min: write down existing brain tasks.
Some day
Later
Soon
Superquick
I think about doing this some day (> 30 days )
Learn the guitar
I should do this within the next 4 weeks.
Buy birthday gift
I need to do this soon (< 7 days)
Call mum
Anything you should do, taking < 3 minutes.
Buy train tickets
x
Everything you think about should be noted down. You can mark non-work tasks.
No PC/Phone.
Make descriptions actionable.
Write down everything, not just urgent todos or things your certain about.
5 task lists for your brain
– Defining our task lists
Inbox: New tasks
Next: Tasks to do next
Soon: Tasks to do soon (< ~7 days)
Later: Tasks to do later (< ~30 days)
Some day: Want to, but not at the moment
?
Don't let new tasks steal your focus
– Rule #1: New tasks are done now or put in Inbox
- < 2 minutes? Do it immediately
- > 2 minutes? Add to Inbox.
- It's ok to say no.
nope
2 min?
just do it
inbox
👉 Handling new tasks
Don't let Inbox become a monster
– Rule #2: Clean your Inbox once a day
- It's still ok to say no.
- It's ok to delegate.
2 min?
nope
delegate
nope
just do it
inbox
👉 Handling new tasks
👉 Once a day
next
list X
list X
later
Make sure you can trust your lists
– Rule #3: Groom your lists once a week
- It's still ok to say no.
- It's still ok to delegate.
2 min?
nope
delegate
nope
just do it
inbox
next
list X
list X
later
👉 Handling new tasks
👉 Once a day
👉 Once a week
«What should i do now?»
– Rule #4: When you're looking for work, always use Next
You're always only doing Next.
Don't skip. Don't consider. Just do it.
Done? Hurray! Fill up list from Soon.
2 min?
nope
delegate
nope
just do it
inbox
next
list X
list X
list X
👉 Handling new tasks
👉 Once a day
👉 Once a week
RDY FUR NEXT.
JUS DO EET
NO PROBLIM
List systems
– Should always be available at hand
- Your email inbox w/extra functionality
e.g. Gmail with multiple inbox views and colored stars.
- A todo app
e.g. Todoist.
- ReMarkable
or just a small pen & notebook
Don't
forget us
Put us in Todoist!
Resources
- Book: David Allen – Getting things done
- Related: The Pomodoro technique – focus minutes
Go do your Nows now
We don't want to those
tasks laying around.
Get things done
By Tomas Fagerbekk
Get things done
- 857
