Just do it — the famous words that made Nike one of the world’s most popular and recognizable brands. The message is straight forward as possible: Stop overthinking things and just get things done.
The simplicity is refreshing, especially if you’re a chronic over thinker, a procrastinator and a perfectionist, which go hand in hand, against popular belief.
David Allen’s book Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity takes same idea of “just do it” and gives it a greater depth, providing tools and hacks to lock into productivity mode.
Allen claims that applying the Getting Things Done method “involves no new skills, it’s simply a matter of learning how to leverage those skills to maximize effectiveness”.
Declutter & clarify
He outlines a series of basic principles that can help declutter your mind of distractions by creating an “external brain”, or a “trusted system” where we can temporarily store pressing thoughts and ideas.
Allen compares the brain to RAM in a computer—it is only capable of storing and processing so much information before crashing out. On top of that, with so many conflicting and loud thoughts go at once, it becomes more difficult to prioritize tasks.
Excessive dependence on our brains to store, memorize and recall in the short or long-term) is a recipe for failure. Doing so can stunt higher-order thinking and simply occupy to much meaningful mental real estate.
It creates “open loops”, such as unresolved or forgotten problems, tasks, relationship issues, etc. that create an underpinning sense of uneasiness and lingering distraction of feeling as if “there’s something I was supposed to do.”
Here are 5 key takeaways:
1. Personal organization
To fulfill a task to completion you must:
Clear your mind to close open loops: Write down or speak aloud the other things swirling in your mind to set aside and address post-tast
Clarify commitments: Consider what is most urgent and important based on time sensitivity, and the impact of your role in completing the task.
Define outcomes: Write down, talk to someone and establish what a successful outcome looks like upon completion and what it will take to achieve that.
These steps help create a mini action plan that shut down distraction, allowing you to launch into action mode. An important aspect to point out here is that by writing down you’re thoughts, we don’t mean write a clear cut to-do list.
Do a free write and pop down any thought or images that dance through your mind. This part of the process does not have to be extremely structured. Go with the flow!
2. Projects vs Actions
Allen asserts that “You can’t ‘do’ a project, you can only manage your actions.” This essentially means that a “project” is something that requires more than one “action.”
Within this model, we can use a vertical or horizontal perspective when assesing our committments.
Horizontal: Provides a birds eye view of all the activities we’re involved in at a given time, personally and professionally. This perspective gives us an idea of what needs to be done and when.
Vertical: Allows us to drill down into the project planning of an individual. This perspective defines what actions doing the work involves each step of the way.
3. Be Clear about Why
In order to get anything done, we need to have purpose attached to it. Even some tasks that feel mundane and meaningless can become easier to complete when we know the distinct purpose behind it—and how it contributes to the betterment of our lives, our families and communities around us.
No, not every aspect of work can ever be a profound and uplifting experience that comes with a great sense of reward. But the less glamourous pieces can feel less cumbersome when we can clearly see how it fits into a vision and values.
4. Trash the to-do list
Some people function amazingly with lists. They get a sense of joy and satisfaction from crossing off items. Others simply can’t think clearly enough to make one or might jot some lines down, get overwhelmed and abandon it. Others simply forget it even exists.
When trying to organize and empty your brain at the very beginning of starting a new project or task, try a free write to simply let those thoughts, feeling, etc. out of your system. Give your brain a fresh space to focus in.
David Allen argues for creating “hard edges” for calendars, meaning that only the things that must get done on that day should be on there. Of course, there will be things that you need to remember for later, as mentioned before, you can do a free write and organize your thoughts into a “Next Actions” list for the pressing items.
5. The illusion of urgency
Allen designed the GTD method to help people avoid “sacrificing the truly important for the seemingly urgent”. Our brains are master tricksters and can easily convince us that certain tasks take priority when they really don’t. This is especially the case with high-stress situations where anxiety can override our logic and trigger a series of rapid fire actions, which unfortunately can be sloppy and unhelpful.
When that anxious impulse boots in, try delaying your immediate reaction. Hold off on sending any texts, making hasty phone calls or emails with an strained undertone.
Pause, reflect and take a moment to process the event. Consider the urgency, take a look at what needs to be done and how that can be done to create a successful outcome, even in really challenging scenarios.
What is important to some may not be significant at all to others. Remember your values and integrity. With these skills, you can learn to handle anything with grace, regardless of how demanding.
For more about David Allen and his work, click here. Head here for more of our top recommended reads!
