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How to get more things done in five simple steps
Before encountering David Allen’s workflow system for getting things done, my system was mostly ad hoc. E-mails would come in. I would adjust my work priorities on the fly. Tasks and whole projects would be stored in my head as I thought about them everywhere I went, even when I was off work.
This, as I now understand, was not the best system to use.
David talks about a system that helps to maximize your time, energy and priorities and I thought I’d share the five step workflow to help you improve your system.
1. Collect
The first thing to do is to collect everything that you have going on. Tasks, e-mails, projects and other activities are written down either on paper or electronically. The point is that when you can see everything that is going on in your life (and I mean everything), you can see exactly what your priorities are. Another benefit of writing things down is that you do not use your precious mental capacity thinking about the things that you could or should be doing, only the one item that you must do.
2. Process
Once you have all of your ‘tasks’ collected, the next step is to process each task or to-do item. What is the next step you can take on…