Getting Things Done

Here's a suggestion on personal productivity.  Around 25 years ago I was handed the Time Manager system at IBM, and I've been carrying organisers and using various different approaches ever since.  I find that every couple of years I need to change system, and read a good book on the topic to re-vitalise my ideas and shake things up.  Recently I'm a convert to David Allen's Getting Things Done.  I recommend reading the book, the first line of which is "It's possible for a person to have an overwhelming number of things to do and still function productively with a clear head and a positive sense of relaxed control." 

The diagram gives you a flavour of the approach, but one of the keys is that this system makes you deal with all that amorphous stuff that is bouncing around in your head and causing you grief at night.  Other ingredient's are the "do it, delegate it, defer it, drop it" approach to emptying your in tray, and a 2 minute rule on deciding what to do now and what to defer.

There are many fervent evangelists for the approach, which can be a little off-putting, but they've created some useful tools that you can find with a quick Google search.  My own personal system uses a combination of my Time & Chaos PIM, use of note flags in MS OneNote (my main vehicle for note taking) and lots of manila folders.  Whichever tools you decide to use, get the book, and give yourself an injection of organisation.

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