Get Everything Done

This (http://www.skelliewag.org/productivity-in-11-words-1040.htm) just came across the Lifehacker RSS feed...

"Productivity in 11 Words
One thing at a time.

Most important thing first.

Start now."

What do we think?

Interesting

I like the "one thing at a time" part.

But the others... Not so much.

How do you know what is most important?

And what about those less-important things? If they are neglected they will eventually become important -- but wouldn't it have been better to get them done before it got to that point?

And what if NOW is 11 PM and I need to be at work at 7 AM tomorrow? I won't be in shape to do my work tomorrow, if I follow the NOW rule all the time.

Or what if NOW is the evening at home with my family but the thing occupying my attention is work-related? If I always follow the NOW rule in such a setting, I won't have much family life. I need a system that helps me do work when it's time for work, and do family stuff when it's time for family stuff, and reliably defer the tasks that pop into my head at the wrong time, for processing when it IS the right time.

what if it's not possible to do the most important thing first?

Agree 100% with the 11 words. I think it's very much in line with the Current Initiative from DIT, isn't it?

Not spending time
defining productivity in eleven words
on my blog.

Spending time
not defining productivity in eleven words
on Mark's forum?
:o)

I agree with "one thing at a time", don't agree with "most important first", and "start now" really depends on context.

For me Mark wrote the definitive analysis of the problems of "most important first" thinking in DIT.

Creativity in 11 words:

"Every day I find something creative to do with my life."
(Miles Davis)

Ooooh, somehow I was expecting the words to be a little more forceful. Perhaps since I was just reading the thread about motivating yourself by avoiding unpleasant consequences.

Anyway, this tweet from David Allen has both a 2-word and a 10-word solution.

http://twitter.com/gtdguy/status/6921166554

"Productivity in 11 Words
One thing at a time.

Most important thing first.

Start now."

I would agree with this, but I would also add:

"... on something small enough to finish soon.

Finish it completely.

Then reflect so you can improve how you do the next thing."

This guy has a word or two to say about productivity...
Though the message is not for everyone,
it's a nice viewing because of his sense of humor ;)
http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/62960
The videos of Kurt Vonnegut.

I don't get this Dan. How will your addendum ever let me work on big things (important things that can't be done quickly)?

"I don't get this Dan. How will your addendum ever let me work on big things (important things that can't be done quickly)?"

Good question.

Suppose my top priority is to write a good novel--certainly not a project that I would consider "small enough to finish soon."

In that case, my first thing to accomplish would be, "Finish a bad, terrible, no-good version of the entire novel in two weeks."

After two weeks of hard work, perhaps my entire novel is only twenty pages long, the characters are flat, there are gaping plot holes, and it has dozens of other problems that I can't even dream of at the moment. The good news is that it has a beginning, middle, and end. It's a bad novel, sure, but it isn't an incomplete novel: it is an entire, whole, complete bad novel, which puts it ahead of 90% of all work-in-progress novels out there. It is "finished"... for now.

Now that I have my bad novel, I can plan how I want to improve it over the next two weeks. Then I execute my plan. After two weeks of work, now I have a new "finished" version--better than before, but still not as good as I want it.

And so it goes. Every two weeks, I plan and then create a version of my novel that represents a new "finished" state. Every new version of the novel is better than the last one. Eventually, I declare that the improvements I would get by working on it further aren't worth another two weeks of my time. Then I stop.

This should give you a taste of what I mean by "small enough to finish soon" and "finish completely". What I mean by my "reflect/improve" comment will have to wait for another post. :-)

Quite an interesting way to do things.
I like it! I don't know why but I do...

I see. I thought soon meant less than a day.

+AJPM+

Re: Original Topic

1. Assess Situation.
2. Create Simple (2-3 Steps) Plan.
3. Take Action.
4. Evaluate Progress.

Addendum: On Evaluation - The 100% rule
1. 100% reliable? It stays.
2. It isn't? Fix it.
3. Irreparable? Dump it.

;)

Source: Unleash The Warrior Within by Richard Machowicz

11 words is a bit long winded for me, my three words...

Make it happen!

There we go, I got it!
I know why I like it now...

For a lo g time I was a perfectionist.
I still am but in a different way.
Before I wouldn't release something unless it was fully done.
Now I make it "done for now" and look for ways to better it.

That's exactly what I'm doing with my system and my website!!!
Thank you for putting into words something that I always new but never knew ;)

@Erik

Another favourite three words of mine:

It will do!

There's a lot of this seen in nature, if you're looking out for it. :)

in 8 words:

Now would be a good time to start.
~Alan Cohen

To do a big important thing, divide it up. The first few chunks should be doable in one sitting. The rest can be more vague. Subdivide the big chunks as you get to them. GTD goes into this in detail, but then gets bogged down in multiple lists -- something Mark's systems steers clear of.

As for now not being the right time, do whatever task is right for now. Sometimes that's getting a good night's sleep, sometimes that's spending time with the kids. Mark's systems take away the guilt of not doing the "most important" thing if it's not the right thing for now. GTD makes lists and sorts things by importance and location and energy and a few other things. Mark's systems skip that overhead and let you pick the most important thing you could be doing right now. Sleep and kids are just as important as the big project at work. Spinning your wheels because you can't work on what your boss calls most important is throwing away time.

While I agree with your post overall Cricket, especiially "...that Mark's systems take away the guilt of not doing the "most important" thing if it's not the right thing for now." I am reading David Allen's new GTD book (Making It all Work got it on my Kindle-- Mark how I wish your books were available on it!) I should note that he particularly says not to sort things by importance or energy. He says that those factors should play into your decision to do action x or not, but you should not sort items that way.

(You should sort them by location or "context") which I disagree. I like having everything on one DWM list, allowing me to decide based on myraid factors that include location, energy, and importance as well as by how long it has been on my list (the DWM expiry date).

Vegheadjones,

You're right. I mis-remembered. (And I agree, MIAW is a great book. It expands on the parts of GTD that most people skip in their hurry to set up their lists and contexts and inboxes.)

GTD does use sub-lists for context (so you can quickly find something to do when all you have is a phone or you have a meeting you need to cover many items), but trusts your awareness (enhanced by the weekly review) to decide what to pick which call to make.

I like how Mark's system does most of the weekly review frequently (every time you scan the list), and allows for more in depth reviews of parts. (Add "In depth review of health goals" or "List potential roles and goals ((Covey)) and three next actions for each.")