System setup & How does my GTD work
So, we need to organize the dashboard, as in an airplane, to control life. The goal is to provide management, control and monitoring. We need to know what projects there are and what tasks they include. You need to see what the deadline is, what tasks are repeated, what it’s worth reminding about, what the status is, and so on. It is also necessary to unload memory to save resource.
You need to make yourself a virtual memory and unload everything into it. To do this, we are creating a system that will help us keep goals in focus, manage tasks, do not forget anything and do not keep unnecessary things in our head. Previously, notebooks or planners were used for this. They do not know how to store and display information on different devices, repeat tasks, synchronize with the calendar, remind and much more. Therefore, we will take advantage of the positive aspects of the rapidly developing VUCA world. We will use modern services.
To assemble the system, we will need the services themselves and the algorithm for working with them. I suggest using:
1. Microsoft To Do as a task Manager to manage tasks;
2. Microsoft OneNote as a knowledge base and virtual memory;
3. Google Calendar for time planning.
After you understand the principle, you can use one service instead of three or find another that suits you better. For example, you can do everything in Google Calendar or use Notion. I’m used to using these three tools and I’ll show you how my system works.
As the algorithm of the system, I use the very well-known Getting Things Done (GTD). GTD is a personal efficiency improvement technique created by David Allen and described by him in the book of the same name. You don’t have to read the whole book to figure it out. YouTube is full of videos of how it works, and here I will show my simplified algorithm.
How does my GTD work
GTD has an algorithm for processing and organizing tasks. It is needed to keep everything under control and stress less. We focus specifically on the processing of tasks, and what for and why these tasks are being done, we have already discussed in previous chapters. You do a lot of things that support your life. In addition, you are bombarded with tons of new information and new flying tasks. This happens for various reasons, and you can’t always influence it.
The task of GTD is to organize the processing of the incoming flow of information so as not to lose anything, choose the most important thing, skip the unimportant and plan the correct steps for the execution of the task. The point is not to have time everywhere, to remember everything and not to miss it. On the contrary, there is you, you have a box in which everything important falls. Then you calmly plan what to do with the contents of the box. If it didn’t get into the box, then it doesn’t matter, and you don’t need to worry about it.
The GTD algorithm looks like this:
Let’s go through the blocks of the algorithm.
1. “Something” — all the information that you can get. Work tasks or household chores, unforeseen situations, useful articles, phone call, ideas, thoughts, messages, and so on.
2. “Inbox” is the same box in which everything is put one by one and then processed. It can be mail, selected Telegram messages or a task manager. In our case, this is Microsoft To Do. You can use one inbox, or you can use many. I use all three. At work, I use email for non-urgent tasks. If they come up to me and ask me to do a difficult task, then I will ask them to email it. I don’t need to remember anything, at the right time I will look through the mail and decide what to do with the task. If the task appeared in the Telegram chat, or I found cool information in it, then I will send it to “Favorite Messages” or another chat with myself in Telegram. Just like with the mail, then I’ll go to the Telegram and decide what to do. If I came up with an idea or an action, I will immediately write it down in my Microsoft To Do task manager. Sometimes I can send a task to my email or Telegram, depending on the source format. As a result, everything will end up in Microsoft To Do. Not everyone needs such a multi-layered inbox. Learn how to work with one and then add if necessary.
3. “What is it?” — the process of dispatching information from “Inbox”. The tasks are in the inbox and are waiting in the wings. I put on a terry robe, pour myself champagne, turn on Mozart and start going through the inbox. Just kidding. There is a time when I look through the inbox and decide for each piece of information or task what to do with it. I ask myself the questions, “what is it?” and “why would I do that?” To immediately figure out what problem of mine it solves or what goal it moves me to.
3.1 “Does this task require action?”
If not, then you may not do it and delete it. If you can decide later, then you can leave it in the inbox so that it waits for its turn. If there is nothing to do, but the information is useful, then we send it to our knowledge base. In my case, Microsoft OneNote. You can use Evernote, Bear, Agenda, Things, Notion, bookmarks in the browser, etc. if a lot of actions are required. For example, the task is complex or abstract. In this case, we create a new project in Microsoft To Do or put it in an existing one. At the scheduled time, we will return to the project and decompose its tasks.
3.2 “What is the next action?”
If it is less than two minutes, then we do the task immediately and move on. For example, they asked to open access to the table. If there are a lot of such small tasks, or there is no way to spend 2 minutes on it now, then you can just spend 10 minutes later to make a pack of such small tasks.
Is it possible to delegate it to someone? The word “delegate” always makes me smile. Who can I delegate to? Most likely, you don’t have an assistant, but the task may have component parts where other people do the work. Maybe the task as a whole is not for you, but at the stage of inboxing you did not immediately understand this. No worries, you can ask for help from a colleague or friends. If in any sensible way you cannot do it yourself or get help, then use it whenever possible.
3.3 “If the next action can only be done by you, it takes more than 2 minutes and requires reflection.”
According to the algorithm, such a task has already been included in a new or current project. It remains to determine when you will do it. If there is a deadline, then we immediately put it on the task in Microsoft To Do and add a slot for the task in Google Calendar. If there is no deadline, then there are questions about the importance of this task. There are tasks that have a deadline far away, so they lie quietly in the project. At the next review of the system, you will decide whether to leave it lying further, change the deadline or delete it.
This algorithm works automatically for each new task and a new piece of information. As a result, tasks are left undone, done immediately, queued up or grouped into projects. No need to think every time what to do with the incoming stream. Automatically act according to the algorithm and do not waste the resource of attention. Our task is not just to accumulate tasks in Microsoft To Do indefinitely. It is necessary to maintain the operation of the system. Working with GTD takes place in 4 stages: information collection, structuring, processing and review.
1. Information collection.
At the very beginning, before you start using the GTD algorithm, you need to fill the system with current tasks and projects. You need to unload everything from your head to Microsoft To Do. The first time will be difficult, as it is a lot of information. You can use an intermediate stage. For example, in the old-fashioned way, take an A1 sheet, write everything out on it, and then transfer it to Microsoft To Do. I would recommend using any service for mind cards. Write down all the current activities where you are already performing tasks. Take the main blocks: “work”, “family”, “friends”, “leisure”, “life”, “development”, “relations”, “purchases”, “government agencies”, etc. In all the blocks, write down all the activities that you spend time on.
See which tasks are still only in your dreams, which are already in the queue and which are being done regularly. Create folders and projects for the main blocks in Microsoft To Do and write down all the tasks there. Do the same with goals. In the chapter about planning, we have already figured out how to break a goal into tasks. Create a folder for each goal and record tasks. As a result, you have to unload everything from your head to Microsoft To Do. Don’t be afraid if there are vague formulations. The main thing is to write out everything that is already happening to you and what you are going to do. At this stage, there is a top-level grouping of all your actions into projects.
2. Structuring.
When everything is written down, you need to filter and organize the information. Make sure that the tasks are grouped into projects, the information for storage is added to the database. In each project, check the tasks for clarity of wording, and whether they are duplicates of other tasks. Check the assignment of the task. Formulate the tasks so that they sound like an action. Check the size of the tasks so that they are not too large. Break the task into parts if necessary. Set deadlines for all tasks. Configure the task to repeat if it has a periodicity. Write notes inside the tasks if there is important information.
In Microsoft To Do, you need to make a portfolio that contains folders with projects, and task files inside. For example, I have a “Lifespace” folder with a list of my personal tasks. Everyday life, leisure, shopping lists, payment for services, tasks in progress, in focus and in the queue. The “Development” folder contains lists of books, articles, videos and notes. The “Projects” folder is for my personal projects. Websites, book, Telegram channel, course development, etc. Folder “Redmadrobot” — for work projects and tasks.
It is important to leave as few tasks as possible so that there is no garbage and clutter. Don’t strive to do it perfectly. Over time, the excess will disappear by itself or fit into the desired project. After all, we will continue to constantly work with our system.
Then take Google Calendar and immediately set the sleep time to see the free space when you work and live. Add tasks that are repeated there. For example, every Wednesday at 19:00 you want to play football. Put a football slot in your calendar and set up a weekly repeat. Also add household blocks to the calendar. For example, time for a shower, breakfast, lunch, dinner, cleaning, etc. During working hours, you will use desktops.
There is no need to transfer all tasks to the calendar for a year ahead. It is enough to fill out the first couple of weeks and some recurring tasks. The goal is to see how much totally free time you have. Often people tell me that they don’t have time for anything. I ask, “where are you wasting your time?” I usually get an answer like, “well, a lot of things, and this needs to be done, and this as well…” I ask them to fill the calendar with their activities, and suddenly it turns out that there are a lot of white slots in it. When planning happens superficially, without recording tasks in the calendar and fixing regular events, there is no clear breakdown and sense of time. The most important thing is that there is no awareness that there is free time, but it is not possible to use it. The calendar helps a lot in this case, we’ll talk about it in more detail in the time management section.
3. Processing.
Information processing takes place according to the GTD algorithm, which you have already read about. There is Microsoft To Do, it contains all your tasks and goals. When everything is laid out on the shelves and planned, you can go to the “Planned” section and see the list of tasks for “today”, “tomorrow”, “for a week” and “later”. I group the display by lists to see layers of tasks by project. So, I immediately see where there are a lot of tasks and where there are few. I write down all new tasks in the “Tasks” Microsoft To Do item, send them to my Favorites by Telegram or mail. I have three inboxes that I sort out at certain hours during the system review. Tasks are executed in scheduled slots in the calendar. If the task has a lot of steps, then I immediately plan a lot of slots in the calendar to work on the task.
4. Review.
To maintain order in the system, you need to perform a review. It is better to do a daily, weekly and quarterly review. Consider your first filling out of the system a quarterly review. In a quarter it will be necessary to allocate time again and conduct a revision of the system. Some plans will change, new tasks will appear, projects will fall off, etc. At the quarterly review, a global clean-up is being done, we put things in order and clear our brains. A weekly review is done every Monday. At the beginning of each week, we check the tasks planned for the week, update them, set deadlines, fill out the calendar.
Then go to Microsoft To Do “This week” and see all the tasks for the week. Same with the daily review. We start every day with a review of the tasks for the day. Some tasks can be immediately moved to another day, something can be postponed, and the most important ones can be marked with an asterisk. My every working day starts with Microsoft To Do. I look at the tasks and plan the day. I don’t keep anything in my head. From any device, I can look at the list of current tasks and tasks in the queue. The task queue, or as it is commonly called in the Scrum backlog, does not bother me. On the contrary, it gives a sense of control. I know what awaits me next, and at the next review I will put the task from the backlog in the plan. The review is a ritual that calms me down. You can say it kinda closes the gestalt. Be sure to give it time and you will feel more control.
With these four processes and three services, you can organize your task management system. If this is your first time encountering GTD, then it may seem complicated. I assure you, you will get used to it very quickly, just try it. GTD will become one of the key parts of time management that works automatically. I showed my system, which has evolved from a variety of approaches and services. I repeat, not everyone needs and not everyone will fit such a design.
If you work with a small amount of information, then you can use one Microsoft To Do or Google Calendar. For example, in Google Calendar, in addition to the calendar, there are task lists and notes. Here’s a calendar, a task book and a database in one place. Try to build your system, see how it works. Then you can try new services and approaches, adjust the algorithm for yourself. Look at the system through the principle of “People and interaction are more important than processes and tools”. Learn how others do it, project someone else’s experience onto your tasks, experiment, make mistakes, get rid of unnecessary and complicated things, and also never use tools for the sake of tools. Over time, you will find a middle ground between the processes and the capabilities of the services to build your system.
