Do you know the famous best-seller Getting Things Done, more know as GTD? Let’s get right to the point: the GTD method is famous in the United States, it’s a best seller and features in numerous web-based resources, whether in the form of articles to help you get things done, or software to go with it (there are over hundred, for all platforms, and many are free!)
What this book teach us? Basically, that to be efficient, your mind must be crystal clear, like spring water; to get to that point you need to get rid of all the parasitic thoughts that permanently distract you, which you can accomplish by putting everything that you want to, or must do into an external automated system, thus relieving your brain of the need to think – which it does badly, without directed prioritization and without consciously choosing the right moment.
The author, David Allen, is a business management and productivity consultant since the early eighties, and he begins by telling that the world of work has evolved and that managers have to multi-task more often to get several things done at once, and even if they could dedicate their whole life to it, they would not have enough time to do things. What’s more, a lot of organizations have had their internal boundaries eroded, and their effectiveness rest on endless collaboration and communications using different services – and you can no longer avoid any of the many mail services in use. Executives therefore generally need to multitask more than before. This evolution by organizations must necessarily come with new tools and new work approaches.
So imagine if you could choose to focus entirely on your tasks, without any interruptions, daydreams, parasitic thoughts, and other sources of distraction, while remaining alert and in full possession of your faculties. Sound like a dream? It’s possible. David Allen recommends with his method something that martial arts practitioners call “mind like water,” or athletes call “in the zone”, a state of mind that is free from worry and totally focused on the goal you want to reach. You have no doubt already experienced it at times. Were you able to perform better, feel more satisfied with yourself and your accomplishments in that moment? David Allen recommends a system to make those moments the norm.
How? Basically, it is with the help of writing, but not writing on a lot of small pieces of paper that would be lost or forget, but in a very reliable system that you can trust, so your mind can be in peace and don’t have to bother with all the stuff you have to do. Your mind will be then “like water”.
GTD is not so easy to implement, but you can start slowly, using just a few techniques, and then you can adopt it more heavily. It is work, but you will rewarded with an incredible productivity and a lot a peace of mind that will make you calm and quiet even in the most stressful moments!
To learn more about GTD, please read this summary and book report: Getting Things Done on the blog Books that Can Change Your Life
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