Getting stuff done (2/2) – by Steve

In part 1 of this post, Steve looked at getting organised; this post focuses on workflow

Workflow

So, that’s the general idea in broad brush strokes (See Further reading for a more detailed explanation), but what does that look like on a daily basis? Here’s my workflow:

Do due in next 24 hours

Before I do anything else on my list, I work through the things due in the next 24 hours. Hopefully this list should always be small or non-existent, otherwise, it means you are either using due dates for things that aren’t hard due dates or you have committed to do too much.

Flag

Next I use my perspective to work out what I can do and quickly skim through the items. Anything I see that I think “I really should have done that by now” I flag. Don’t flag too much, just the ones that will steal your time and attention if you don’t do them today. Got a deadline coming up you’re worrying about? Flag the next item on that list.

Do flagged in order added

I then do any flagged items in my perspective which are things I’ve decided I will do today. I generally do them in the order they were captured – this helps me with procrastination as I start with the thing I’ve put off for longest.

Flag…Do…Flag…Do…

Hopefully, with a short list of things you’ve decided you can and will do, you’ll finish it before the end of the day. Then just go through as before and flag anything else that’s going to steal your time and attention. If there’s nothing left that worries you, great, the system’s working.

Next I order the things I can do today and flag the 5 oldest.

Then do them….

Then flag the next 5…

And so on, until the day ends.

Share you’re thoughts

What things steal your time and attention? How do you deal with time and attention stealers?

Is ASAP a legitimate label for some tasks or are all tasks without hard due dates equal?

Let us know in the comments.

Appendix

Tools

Here are some software tools you can use to implement the system I’ve described.

Paid

OmniFocus

Remember The Milk

Things

Free

Chandler

iKog

Taskwarrior

TiddlyWiki

Tracks

Wunderlist

Further Reading

Getting Things Done – Includes paper record tracking, goal setting and more.

43 Folders – More on time and attention and other thoughts on productivity.

Blog editor : 30 Aug 2012 10:00 |  Tags: Organisation Steve Locke-Wheaton |  Comments (2) |  Report a problem