Master Your Productivity: 5 Essential Tips from David Allen’s ‘Getting Things Done’

For anyone with an interest in productivity, the methods outlined in David Allen’s Getting Things Done: the art of stress-free productivity will be familiar, either directly or indirectly through his influence on future productivity gurus. The principle of the Getting Things Done (GTD) method is that only when our minds are clear and our thoughts are organised can we effectively achieve results and reach our creative potential.

The book is full of so much wisdom and actionable advice, it would not be possible to explore all the ideas in an article. As someone constantly seeking ways to enhance productivity and free up mental space for creative pursuits, I was intrigued by the GTD method. Below are five actionable tips from the GTD method that I personally have incorporated into my life.

1. A system for capturing tasks

A system for capturing all your tasks is key to having a clear and calm mind. Your mind is not the place to store your to do list or your calendar, it is for thinking creatively and solving problems. The challenge is to ensure that you have a system that you will actually use and that you trust to work. This requires a few important elements:

• All in one place - the system needs to capture all your tasks in the one location, rather than across multiple notebooks, post-it notes, phone notes, reminders, task apps. This ensures that tasks don’t get unintentionally missed. Pick one method that is flexible to be used across multiple settings. For me this is a phone-based task app (Google tasks) that also syncs to my computer.

• One that you trust - by setting up a system where all tasks are captured in one location, this means it is more likely you will trust the system to actually capture all your tasks and that you can easily find them again later. This part is key to let yourself remove the task from your mind.

• Easy to use - as with any system, if it isn’t easy to use, you won’t stick with it. In this sense, a digital system is often easier for keeping track and ease of access on the go. For me simple is best, I have a task list app where I can group by rough categories (such as errands, admin, and by project).

2. A system for regular review of tasks

As part of trusting your task capture system, you need to ensure you have a system to regularly to review your task list, and allocate time to do those tasks. This review system ideally uses a combination of a daily review to cover that day and the next day’s priorities, and a weekly review to review and plan for the full week ahead.

I do a separate daily and weekly review for both work and my personal life. These reviews help me ensure that I have focus and clarity in both my work and personal life. For work, I do a daily review at the end of the work day to capture all new tasks and mark off any complete tasks, and then I plan out my next day. At the end of the week I review tasks and commitments for the following week and plan out at a high level what needs to be done across the week.

For my personal life, a do a similar daily review each evening before going to bed to plan out my next day in detail. I combine this with a weekly review on Sundays where I plan out the next week at a high level, for example planning out social activities, exercise, life maintenance and admin such as grocery shopping, among other things.

This process does not need to be onerous. The daily reviews take 5-10 minutes, and the weekly review 15-20 minutes. In my experience, this is time well spent to make your whole week a lot smoother and to ensure you are actually spending time on your priorities. Since implementing this, I’ve found my weeks are much less chaotic, and I’m able to stay on top of my priorities.

3. A list of things you are waiting on

When you have ticked something off on your to do list, that’s the end of it, right? Not quite if that task involves passing an action onto someone else and then you need to know the outcome before you can action your next task. For example, you asked a colleague if they are available on a particular date and time for a meeting with a client. You are waiting on their response before you can take the next step of booking it.

While the task may now depend on someone else, it’s still your responsibility to ensure it’s completed, which is why tracking what you’re waiting on is crucial. Having a list of things you are ‘waiting on’ is key to a calm mind as this gets this task out of your head, and by capturing it in your task list you are confident you won’t forget about it. You won’t need to remember to follow up manually; your system ensures it’s on your task list. This tip was key for me, particularly in a work context where I often need to do some chasing of people for a response.

4. The someday / maybe list

As part of your task capture system, having a system for capturing all those random thoughts and ideas for things that you might do someday. For example, someone recommends a film or a book that you think sounds interesting - rather than trying to remember the name, have a someday / maybe list of films to watch. Then next time you want to stay home and watch a film, you have a list to start from.

This can also apply in a work context, we often have things to read that are relevant to our job but don’t need to be done urgently, so you could create a professional development reading list. The key is to have all this information in one place, organised under relevant groupings - such as books to read, holiday ideas, business development ideas, skills to learn etc - so you can trust you can access the list easily when required.

5. Projects are not just for work

Start thinking of all areas of your life as projects, not just work-related tasks. For example, are planning a holiday? That’s a project. Organising a birthday dinner? That’s a project. Doing your tax return? That’s also a project. Anything that involves more than one task or action item to complete is a project. This means that some small tasks that might not traditionally be viewed as projects should be included in your project list.

Taking the example of planning a holiday, this involves several tasks at a minimum such as choosing a destination, figuring out when to go and for how long, booking accommodation and flights, checking the weather, planning and booking activities, researching where to eat, and packing for the trip, among other tasks.