How to clear your inbox, make decisions and generally get things done
June 16th, 2012 GTD Times Team - Staff ContributorsCategories | David Allen | Getting Started | Getting Things Done | Implementation | Inspiration | Interviews | Latest News
David Allen gets right to the point about productivity in this interview with the Washington Post.
How to clear your inbox, make decisions and generally get things done
By Tom Fox, Published: June 13 The Washington PostWhat are some of the biggest productivity problems that leaders face?
A lot of stuff banging around in their heads; and if not captured, you’ll be driven by the latest and loudest. Even if you’ve captured everything, but you don’t decide what it means quickly enough, then you become a compulsive list-maker. You’re still not getting anything done, and you’re just wasting time making lists. People must ask: What does this mean? Is this actionable or not? What is the outcome that I am committed to?
Many people make decisions when they blow up instead of when they show up. Even if you’ve decided what the next step is, you must be organized. And, even if you’ve captured, decided and organized, you will still face problems if you don’t step back, review and reflect on your decisions. The worst practice is to fall off of any of those steps and start working out of hope.
Read the full article here.
Bravo. If you claim to be a leader, you better have a clear idea of what’s going on, by getting your inboxes to zero regularly. Funny how some people like to think they’re leading, but they can’t even catch up.
wow! nice to know, One of the most essence of being a leader are having clear and wide identity.You are open to all suggestions and ideas and after all things well done.
David makes an excellent point about the need for capture tools. It is critical that your capture tool be with you at all times because you never know when you are going to get an idea or make some kind of commitment that you need to capture. While I agree pen and paper are excellent for this, many of us want to use our smartphones for this capture function.
I have found Evernote is an excellent tool for this because it is available on smartphones, tablets and computers. It is free and syncs notes to all devices. Since I carry my phone with me everywhere I go I always have my capture tool with me. For more information on how I use Evernote to capture stuff go to http://gtdforcios.com/2011/08/07/you-must-have-your-“capture-device”-with-you-at-all-times/