Search Results for: getting things done

Bring a dump truck

July 27, 2021 by
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If you have too much to do and don’t know where to start, the first step, according to David Allen’s Getting Things Done method, is to do a brain dump.

Get everything out of your head and onto a list—everything you need to do or want to do, all of your ideas and obligations, everything you can think of that might be in your way of achieving your goals.

If you keep things in your head, they nag at you and confuse you and stop you from taking action because there is always too much to do.

“Your brain is for having ideas, not holding them,” Allen says.

By getting everything onto paper or into an app, you can stand back from the lot, evaluate everything in comparison to everything else, and make decisions about what to do.

If you’ve never done a brain dump before, or it’s been awhile since you did, give it a try. Most people report an enormous sense of relief once they have everything out of their head and onto a list.

There’s no right or wrong way to do it. Some people write in a journal, some use a scratch pad, some type, some dictate.

Pick a tool that feels right to you and start.

As you make your list, don’t edit, don’t cross out anything, don’t worry about duplicates, and don’t try to figure out how you’re doing to do any particular task.

For now, just dump.

You’ll probably want to do more than one session because you won’t think of everything the first time. You may also want to use a mind sweep “trigger list” to prompt you to recall things in different areas of your life.

When you can’t think of anything else, go through your calendar and task apps or any other lists you have and add these to your list.

Record everything in one place. A “trusted system,” Allen calls it. And relax, because you’re on your way to clarity and calm.

Give yourself a day or two away from the list and come back to it with fresh eyes.

No doubt you’ll see a lot of things you can immediately eliminate or put on a someday/maybe list. You’ll also see things you want to or need to do that can wait. Finally, you’ll identify things you need to do next and know you haven’t forgotten anything important.

And then you can get to work.

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Filed Under: Productivity Tagged With: , ,

What to do when you don’t know what to do

March 25, 2021 by
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You’ve got a situation. A problem, something you need or want and you can’t figure out how to get it. You’re confused and frustrated and don’t know what to do.

We have a situation like this in our family right now. A close relative is ill and we’re trying to sort out the medical, legal, and financial options. It’s all been a bit overwhelming.

When you have a problem and you don’t know what to do, your feelings aren’t going to help you, you have to focus on action.

Here’s how:

1) State the goal

Where do you want this to end up? What would be a good outcome? How would you define success?

You need to know the destination before you you know what to do to reach it.

2) Write down the facts

What do you know about the current situation, and what do you need to find out?

What are the options? What can you do? What are the problems, issues, and obstacles stopping you from reaching the goal?

3) Choose the “next action”

Once you know the facts, it’s time to take action. Not just any action, however, the logical “next action,” in Getting Things Done terms, meaning something you can do to move the situation forward.

If you’re having trouble getting started, choose something small and easy to do:

Write down a list of questions. Make a call. Do some research.

Once you’ve done that, ask again: “What’d the next action?”

And do that.

If the next action is too big, break it down into smaller steps and find one you can do.

If you have several next action candidates and don’t know which one to choose, your next action might be to talk to someone or to weigh the pros and cons of each option so you can decide which one to choose.

We did this with our family situation and while it’s been a bumpy ride, we’ve moved forward from a place of not knowing what to do to knowing what to do (next).

And we know that if we continue asking, “What’s the next action?” and doing it, we’ll get through this difficult situation and eventually reach our goal.

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Filed Under: Personal development Tagged With: , , ,

Two clarifying questions from David Allen

February 23, 2021 by
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I spoke to a lawyer yesterday who told me he wants to continue building his practice (which is doing well) and find something he can do on the side that might one day lead to bigger and better things.

He has an itch and wanted me to help him scratch it.

Most of our time was spent talking about ways to find ideas. For now, that’s what he’s going to focus on.

At some point, after he does a lot of exploring and researching and thinking, if and when he finds an idea he wants to pursue, he’ll need to decide what to do about it.

When that time comes, I’d tell him to do what David Allen suggests in Getting Things Done:

“Ask yourself two questions: What’s the successful outcome? And, What’s the next action (logical next step) to make it happen?” Allen says, “These provide fundamental clarity for Getting Things Done, and they lie at the core of most everything I teach.”

These questions are equally valuable for parsing a task or project list as they are for choosing your future.

Whether you’re starting a new chapter in your legal career, a new work project, or a new business, ask yourself what “done” looks like for you.

As Stephen Covey said, “start with the end in mind”.

In my work, especially when I’m struggling to start a project, or complete it, asking myself, “What’s the next action?” has been a game changer.

I ask that question and it helps me figure out the best (or easiest) place to start. I come back and ask that question again and again, and it helps me figure out what to do “next”.

Go ahead, think about something you need to do that you’ve been avoiding. Look at the list of all of the tasks you need to do and ask yourself, “What’s the next action?”

Start there.

How I use GTD in Evernote

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Filed Under: Productivity, success Tagged With: ,

You can read this anywhere: a few thoughts about GTD contexts

February 22, 2021 by
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Getting Things Done (GTD) teaches us to identify our tasks by context—location, people, tools, and so on—so we can do things when and where we’re best equipped to do them. 

I stopped using most contexts a long time ago, since I can do just about anything from just about anywhere.

Calls, emails, reading, writing—I can do all of these from the office in my pocket. 

I still use the @waiting context, but not much else. 

I’m going to take another look at my use of contexts, however, based on a short video I saw last night, which makes the case for contexts based on “time plus energy”.

GTD has long recommended contexts for time and contexts for energy, but I like the way the presenter combines them:

  • Short Dashes: Tasks that can be done in more than 2 minutes and less than 15 minutes. Most calls and emails fit here, don’t they? 
  • Full Focus: Tasks requiring maximum energy, no distractions, and longer periods of time; deep work.
  • Brain Dead: When you can’t do anything that requires a lot of thought.
  • Routines: Your weekly review, exercise, writing a blog post. 
  • Hanging Around: Tasks that don’t require a lot of time or energy and don’t have a deadline, e.g., Light research, organizing notes, buying something online.

What do you think? Do any of these appeal to you? Do you already use something similar?

I like “Brain Dead” or “Hanging Around,” especially for things I can do after I’ve shut down work for the night. I’ll give this some thought later today. 

But first, I have some “Short Dashes” to take care of. 

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Filed Under: Productivity Tagged With: , ,

Greased lightning

June 11, 2019 by
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I woke up with the words “low friction” in my head. To me, this means reducing complexities and removing bottlenecks in what I do, so I can get things done more quickly and with less effort.

I guess I’m thinking about this because I’m on (another) simplification binge.

I look at what I’m doing and ask, “How can I make this (app, process, tool) simpler or work better?”

Sometimes, the answer is to use one app to do a job instead of two. The second app might be better at what it does, but I have to weigh that against what I gain by not having to learn it, update it, and use it.

Sometimes, it means getting back to basics.

As you may know, I use a version of Getting Things Done to manage my tasks and projects. I’ve gotten sloppy about a few things, leading to a mind like mud rather than a mind like water.

Instead of doing things the way they’re supposed to be done, I fell into shortcutting the process and wound up complicating my life.

To fix things, I’ve gotten back to writing “next actions” the way they’re supposed to be–the single next action I can do to achieve the desired result or advance the project.

It only takes a few seconds to write down the task in “verb plus noun” format, and this really helps. Before, when I scanned my “Next Actions” list, I wasn’t sure what to do next.

Frankly, I didn’t want to look at my list at all.

When I look at my list now, instead of feeling resistance and confusion, I feel drawn to do things.

I’m also taking a little more time to flesh out projects by asking, “What’s the desired outcome?” and “What’s the next step?”

Doing this has helped me realize that some of the projects on my list shouldn’t be there. By moving them to the someday/maybe list, I have less stress (friction) and more time to focus on a shorter list of things I’m committed to doing.

Finally, I’m getting back to doing a weekly review. Now that I’m more intentional about next actions and projects, the weekly review is no longer the big mess it had become. It’s actually enjoyable.

No matter what apps or systems you use, if you find yourself lacking clarity, feeling resistance, or failing to get things done, I encourage you to simplify what you’re doing and how you do it.

Slow down (and assess what you’re doing) so you can speed up.

And if you don’t know what to do, go back to the basics.

The fundamentals of effective attorney marketing

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No, the damn thing didn’t get up and walk out the door

January 31, 2019 by
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My wife and I can’t find “the clicker”–the remote control for our TV. We’ve looked everywhere–in the couch cushions, under chairs, in other rooms, but no luck. 

Usually when we lose something–sunglasses, keys, our sanity–we retrace our steps, look again, and eventually find the thing. Usually, right under our nose.

But not this time. This time, we’re convinced the clicker got up and walked out the front door. 

Okay, we know it probably got thrown out somehow and when we get tired of getting up every time we want to change something, we’ll buy a replacement. Until then, the struggle is real. 

The other day I heard from an attorney who is having trouble finding something. She’s looking for attorneys in another jurisdiction to whom she can refer some clients. “It is not hard to find someone who talks a great game,” she said. “But when it comes to actually getting things done, it’s been almost always rather lacking.”

The answer is probably right under her nose. 

One of the best ways to find attorneys to whom you can refer your clients is also one of the best ways to vet them. Talk to attorneys you know. 

Ask them who they would hire? Ask them who they recommend?

When you hear the same names being mentioned by two or three attorneys you know and trust, you’ve probably found someone you can trust. 

If the attorneys you know don’t have any names for you, ask them who they know who might know some good attorneys and talk to those folks. 

The same is true when you’re looking for any professional or business. Ask people you know and trust for referrals to people they know and trust. 

Now if I can just get the couch to tell me where the clicker went. 

Go here for more ways to find referral sources

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Filed Under: Referral sources

Cleaning up your email inbox

February 5, 2018 by
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How much of your day is spent writing and responding to email?

Yeah, a lot.

When you don’t get through it, not only can bad things happen (mistakes, missed opportunities, unresolved problems, broken promises, etc.), these “open loops” weigh on your subconscious mind and bedevil you. (The Zeigarnik effect is the psychological tendency to remember uncompleted tasks.)

So, if you don’t have your email inbox under control, here’s a reminder to make it so and a checklist of what to do, courtesy of David Allen (Getting Things Done):

  1. Take out the trash. Go through the inbox and delete everything you don’t need or want. Just do it, already. (Or, archive them if you’re not sure.)
  2. Use the “two-minute rule”. Any actionable emails that you can read and reply to (or complete the required action) in two minutes or less, do it.
  3. Tag/file/label “waiting for” items. If you ordered something and you’re waiting for it arrive, if you tasked someone to do something and you’re waiting for them to complete it, move the corresponding emails to a folder or label them accordingly. (I forward them to Evernote.) Tip: when you confirm by email that someone will do something, cc or bcc yourself and label that email “waiting”.
  4. File/tag “action” items. Anything you need to do that will take longer than two minutes should be filed in an “action” folder or tagged or labeled accordingly. (If forward these to Evernote, too).
  5. File reference material. For emails that don’t require action but you want to keep, move them to their own folder or tag or label them. (Once again, I forward these to Evernote.)

When you’re done, your inbox should be empty. I did this several years ago, over a period of several days, and it felt great to get it done. Everything was out of sight and in the place it needed to be and I knew where to find it. Nothing screaming at me for attention. No open loops.

Try it and let me know what you think. (I already know what I’ll do with your email.)

Evernote for Lawyers

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Filed Under: Email, Productivity Tagged With: , ,

Do you (still) work nights and weekends?

February 1, 2018 by
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When I started practicing, even though I had few clients, I showed up at the office every day, including Saturdays. I spent most of that time setting up form files and writing form letters I could use once I got some new clients, and doing whatever I could think of to try to make that happen.

When I finally got some new clients, I started staying late at the office and bringing work home with me. I thought that’s what I had to do to make it and I was too scared to do anything else.

Maybe you are where I was. Maybe you’re working longer hours than you need to, or should. Even if you are getting things done and making money, at some point, you have to ask if this is the right way to go.

What if you set up some boundaries for yourself? What if you worked a full day but reserved your nights and weekends for yourself and your family? What if you actually scheduled took a vacation?

In the short term, as you work fewer hours, you’ll probably earn less income. In the long term, probably sooner than you think, you might see your practice explode, as mine did when I made the switch.

All work and no play really does make Jack a dull boy.

Start living a little. At night, on weekends, read novels, play games, take the kids to the park and toss a ball. If you don’t have kids, start making some. You’ll have the energy now, so get busy.

Leave your work at the office. Turn off your phone. Use your free time to get in shape. Start a hobby. Take a class or join a club. Not only will you have some fun, you’ll meet some new people (who share your interest) and have something to talk about besides work.

You’ll be more relaxed. More interesting. And have more energy. You’ll attract new friends, business contacts, and clients. You’ll have time to work on taking your practice to the next level.

You’ll earn more without working more. And finally realize that work isn’t the goal, it’s how you reach the goal.

How to earn more without working more: go here

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Filed Under: Dealing with stress, Increase your income, Inspiration, success Tagged With:

The objective of every productivity system or methodology

January 24, 2018 by
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If you’re like me, you read a lot of article and books, watch a lot of videos, and try out a lot of apps, looking for the Holy Grail of productivity.

Even when things are working smoothly, you continue looking for ways to improve.

I think that’s fine. Wherever you are in life, you always want to do better. As long as you don’t spend more time searching and tinkering with your system than using it and getting things done, continually seeking improvement is a good thing.

But have you ever asked yourself how you can tell when you’ve found the right tool or method?

As I see it, there are two ways to tell.

The first way is quantitative. You track your results and establish a baseline. Then, you change something and compare those results. Are you getting more done with the second method? Is the other tool helping you to accomplish more important goals? Are you able save time or money or energy using one method versus the other?

Unfortunately, these questions are often difficult to answer.

You may not be able to measure accurately. Outside factors or timing may affect results. The new system may help you in some areas but hurt performance in others.

Like relationships, it’s complicated. Which leads to the other way to know you’ve found the right method.

You’re probably thinking I’m going to say something like “trust your gut” and you’re right. But I won’t leave you hanging. I’ll offer you some words of guidance I heard David Allen use to describe the objective of every productivity system or method.

He said that no matter what you use, the objective is to help you feel “relaxed, focused, and in control”. So ask yourself if your current method or system does that.

If it does, don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater. Keep doing what you’re doing but be open to incremental improvements.

If your current method doesn’t help you to consistently feel “relaxed, focused, and in control,” however, your next project should probably be to find something that does.

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Filed Under: Productivity

3 ways to get better at finishing what you start

November 10, 2017 by
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Success isn’t measured by what you start but by what you finish. Here are 3 things that have helped me to get better at finishing things:

1) Choose tasks and projects you know you can finish

Whenever possible, choose tasks you’ve done before or that you know you have the talent, time, and resources to complete. Delegate everything else, unless it’s something you want to learn how to do.

2) Break up big projects and tasks into smaller parts

Preparing for trial is a big project. Break it up into smaller parts: make a list of evidence, compile research, and make a list of parties or witnesses to interview.

Too big? Break up each part into even smaller parts, things you can do in a few minutes, an hour, or today. Finish a chapter, not the book. Finish a page, not the chapter.

The smaller the parts, the more parts you’ll finish. Each time you finish something, you’ll feel good and want to repeat that feeling by doing more.

3) Do one thing at a time until you finish it

Single-task. Focus. Get rid of distractions and interruptions and keep at it until the task is done or you have taken it as far as you can reasonably go.

One more thing. As you finish a project or a part thereof, reward yourself. Get another cup of coffee, watch a video, read a chapter in a novel, or take the afternoon off. It doesn’t have to be much, just something that you can look forward to, enjoy, and feel good about getting things done.

Get organized and get things done with Evernote

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Filed Under: Productivity
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