GTD

Corbett | May 29, 2009 2:54 PM

I seem to be able to get a lot of stuff done pretty quickly. At least that's what people say. I think I put off more stuff than I ever get done, but hey, that's the secret sauce to my personal efficiency system.

Lately I've been using iGTD, which I like since it's simple and it works in lists. I've always been a list kind of guy, and got through several crazy start-ups just on legal pads and lists.
With iGTD, I can easily input stuff to get done, then decide what needs to really get done and what can be put off - and my favorite - forgotten entirely.

The above diagram is the complicated way of using the GTD system.

My simplified method is as follows:

Give it a "1" when it really really needs to get done.
Give it a "2" when it needs to get done, but can wait until it really really needs to get done.
Give it a "3" when it's something that should get done eventually.
Give it a "4" when it's in purgatory.
Give it a "5" when it's in hell.

My goal then it to whittle down the ones and twos first. Ones get done regardless of how much of a pain they are. Two's either get promoted to ones, or get demoted to threes. Threes get done once ones are done, or when they come up as easy tasks along the way.
Fours just sort of hang out there until they can get noticed, repositioned, or deleted. Fives are all those time wasting things that don't really make your life better but clog up the mind, so I condemn them to hell, where occasionally instead of surfing or making a call or zoning out, I'll pick one off and get it done. If they hang around in five land too long, then they just get deleted.

Category: Ramble

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