What's the next action

Getting things done without getting it done

11 03 07 - 22:04 - Bookmark this post

David Allen often talks about the firehose of events that's coming at you when you leave your comfortzone. You could be planning and renegotiating your agreements, but when you get out there in the real world, that's when the real deal starts. I've had that sort of week the past 7 days. I've been working like crazy to get some projects on the road both personal and professional. Since Tess is born, I work one day less to be at home with her. But even that day I got swamped in telephones and emails. Ofcourse, I could shut them off. But sometimes you just can't because other parts of the projectplan start to fall apart. I could really relate to Cynicalgeek's story on working 86 hours a week...

But enough sobbing about the past week. What I realized is that even though I worked my behind off, I still had lots of fun and I could see new opportunities, read some magazines I've had lying around and yes, even visit some friends and had some amazing conversations. You know why? Because I knew that everything I had to do was in my trusted system and everything that would come to mind, I would capture that one way or another and it would end up in the trusted system. I could decide to Not Do a Next Action.

Did I get anything done last week that is in my system? Nope. Lots of other stuff came running in between and I had to make the executive decision every time "What do I do now?" Yes, the executive decision. It is based on knowledge I have on the different actions and projects and it made it a lot easier to say "No, not now" to some Next Actions. It was not a decision based on some gut feeling. I could make the decision to not do something, but I know that I will do it some other day. It will come back to me. 

So concluding, I think I had another milestone in my GTD Mind Like Water-state. I know I can get things done without getting them really done. But just by capturing them in an easy way (digital or analog), processing them, organizing them and best of all, reviewing this list every week, I know I will get them done eventually. As long as I put them in a Trusted System. This system is with me. Not 24/7 but I know I can get to it really easy and see what Next Actions need to be done.

Sounds simple huh? It actually is, you just have to see it and well, just do it.

First of all, thanks for a great blog.

I’ve noticed the same thing lately. I manage to feel good about things even if some weeks I don’t get anything done that is in my system. Because I know that when I get some quiet time all I have to do is to open my book and start doing all those Next Actions. It has taken me two years to get to this point but it feels great.
Nickus - 12 03 07 - 10:31

I think this post is useful information, no doubt, but I have a question.

Don’t you think that adopting an attitude of “it will get done later” justifies procrastination through the use of GTD?

Certainly, there can be times when you can make use of this approach, as long as it doesn’t become the norm.

For a lot of people GTD is the best thing in the world for shaking them out of procrastination and moving them towards a more productive and stress free life.

Let’s not fill every day with rampant activity either. For me, I work to live, not the other way around and I want to work in the context that David Allen uses and be stress free, but as long as I’m Getting Things Done.

I’m new at GTD, but it seems most people in these blogs talk about how to do things and what to use but I see little about how much more is being achieved through it’s use. (Or is this the perspective of a motivated newbie ;-) )

I love the posts and comments and assistance they provide. Now let’s motivate people by providing examples of just how much can be achieved.
Alan - 15 03 07 - 00:22