海角大神

This is the ninth entry in a fourteen part series discussing the time management classic by David Allen. New entries in this series will appear on Tuesday afternoons and Friday mornings through July 16.

Over the last four articles, we鈥檝e reviewed four of the five major components of getting things done:
1. all of the stuff you need to do
2. that stuff down
3. that stuff into appropriate places
4. to make sure you鈥檙e keeping things going

Today, we鈥檙e going to focus on the fifth step: actually doing stuff.

Allen offers up three models for determining how to decide what to do next.

The Four-Criteria Model
On page 192, Allen spells out this concept:

Remember that you make your action choices based on the following four criteria, in order:

1 | Context
2 | Time available
3 | Energy available
4 | Priority

You have your day鈥檚 to-do list. On that list are some errands, some things to do at your desk, some things to do in the kitchen, and so on. When you look at that list and decide what to do next, you鈥檒l naturally want to do most of the desk things in a group, the errands in a group, and so on. That鈥檚 context.

Within each context, though, you might be boxed in by time. It鈥檚 noon, you have an appointment at 2, and you have three hours鈥� worth of stuff to do in the kitchen. Which tasks get done and which ones do not? That鈥檚 time available.

It鈥檚 8 in the evening and you鈥檙e starting to run out of steam. One task involves carrying a bunch of heavy boxes. The other one just involves sitting on a chair as you clean out the fridge. Which one gets done? That鈥檚 energy available.

You鈥檙e at your desk. You have plenty of time and all of your tasks require about the same amount of energy. Which of your desk tasks do you do next? That鈥檚 all about the priority.

My method for handling these things usually comes at the start of the day when I assemble my to-do list. As I mentioned before, I maintain a Word document that contains my to-do list, adding to it every time I process my inbox. At the start of each day, I go through that list and organize it by context 鈥� errands, work tasks, personal tasks, and household tasks are usually the big four groups. Within each group, I usually list the things I need to do by priority. I then print off that list and, as I accomplish the items throughout the day, I cross them off.

Whenever I鈥檓 in a particular context, I usually just scan the things that need done, recognizing that they鈥檙e listed by priority but not necessarily following that priority with any strictness. For example, if I鈥檓 running errands, I鈥檒l usually run them based on what things are near each other rather than by how important they all are.

I just cross things off as the day goes on and at the end of the day, I revise my Word document by deleting all of the completed tasks (and usually adding more that have built up throughout the day, to be done tomorrow).

The Threefold Model
Allen lays out this model for work on page 196:

As I explained earlier, during the course of the workday, at any point in time, you鈥檒l be engaged in one of three types of activities:

- Doing predefined work
- Doing work as it shows up
- Defining your work

Sometimes, during the day, I follow my to-do list. Sometimes, I鈥檓 taking care of impromptu stuff, like unscheduled phone calls and other little emergencies. At other times, I鈥檓 reviewing my to-do list or processing my inbox or something like that.

I find that when I put these three elements into very separate boxes with as little overlap as possible, I find the most success. I unplug the phone to prevent 鈥渨ork as it shows up.鈥� I turn off my email program. I put away my to-do list and ignore my inbox.

This allows me, along with knowing that all of the stuff I need to remember is safely recorded in my system, to quickly get into a 鈥渇low state鈥� at my desk, which is incredibly productive time.

The Six Level Review Model
On page 200, Allen touches on the six levels of review:

The six levels of work as we saw in chapter 2 (pages 51-53) may be thought of in terms of altitude:

50,000+ feet: Life
40,000 feet: Three- to five-year visions
30,000 feet: One- to two-year goals
20,000 feet: Areas of responsibility
10,000 feet: Current projects
Runway: Current actions

Obviously, each of these levels should be in line with and enhance the levels above it. The current things you鈥檙e doing should fulfill current projects. Your current projects should be in line with your areas of responsibility. Your areas of responsibility should build toward your one- to two-year goals. Your goals should be the building blocks of, well, your life as a whole.

In other words, every action you take should ideally have some impact on the larger vision of your life. Even if you don鈥檛 see it directly, it should become clear if you sit back and think about it in terms of these levels of work.

For me, thinking about my work in this way, particularly during my weekly review, helps me minimize the unnecessary work and maximize the valuable work. The time I spend thinking about each of these levels really helps me figure out what鈥檚 actually important in my life and what I can be doing with regards to that.

I鈥檒l use an example to show how a simple action echoes through every level of my life, connecting my current action to my overall life goals.

One of my major overall life goals is to be a good father. To me, that means teaching my children how to have self-control and how to be self-reliant (five year visions). This involves teaching them things like how to go to the bathroom themselves, how to be patient and not cry when they want things, how to behave in an appropriate way around others, and so on (two year goals). I鈥檓 responsible for encouraging their good behavior in these areas and discouraging their bad behavior (areas of responsibility). One of my current projects is to teach my daughter to listen to instructions instead of just ignoring them when she鈥檚 doing something else (current project). When she doesn鈥檛 listen, I focus on getting her attention and if she refuses, I penalize her in some simple fashion, such as putting her in the 鈥渢ime out鈥� chair, getting down at her eye level, and talking to her seriously about it (current action).

So, my immediate action leads (slowly) to an improved ability to follow directions, which helps her grow as a socially functional young person. This is part of self-control and self-reliance, lessons which I view as an essential part of being a good father.

What I generally find is that the more direct the connection between my current action and a major life goal, the more powerful and genuinely important that action is. The above connection is very straightforward, but sometimes they鈥檙e not all that straightforward 鈥� or at least not all that impactful. This is how I often prioritize my tasks. Not by urgency 鈥� if something is urgent but unimportant, I鈥檒l often blow it off 鈥� but by genuine importance to what鈥檚 central in my life.

This is all very much a thought exercise. However, it is this kind of thinking 鈥� hand in hand with a trusted system that records all of the stuff you need to do 鈥� that creates an efficient and very fulfilling life, both professionally and personally.

On Thursday, we鈥檒l talk about applying these ideas to getting project planning under control.

------------------------------

海角大神 has assembled a diverse group of the best economy-related bloggers out there. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. To contact us about a blogger, click here. To add or view a comment on a guest blog, please go to the blogger's own site by clicking on the link above.