Today's marketing column
isn't about marketing at all. It's about getting organized (so you have more
time for marketing!).
David Allen's book,
Getting
Things Done, is a best-selling book about,
well, getting things done. To do that, of course, you have to get yourself
organized. He has tools and charts and books and CDs and newsletters and all
kinds of stuff to help you achieve your organizational dreams.
To be honest, I don't have
time to sort out and make sense of all his stuff--maybe I'm just not organized
enough. But I believe his premise is sound and it has made me far more
organized than I've ever been. For the benefit of those who just want the
facts, here they are.
Stuff--emails, telephone
calls, ideas and so much more--comes flying at you from every direction, every
day. It's relentless. It's no wonder things get missed and the piles get
higher. The trick, says David Allen, is to determine immediately whether it's
trash--we know where that goes--or
treasure.
If it's treasure, do
one of two things. If it takes two minutes or less, deal with it
immediately. If you can't, put it on a "trusted" list, one that is constantly monitored so it won't get lost.
"Trusted" is key. If your
stuff is on a trusted list, you can
forget about it for now without worry and free you mind to focus on other
things.
I have three lists. The first is the Project
List. Every time a project moves--that is,
something is done, I receive an email, or it moves ahead in some other manner--that list is updated. At a glance,
I can scan the project list to ensure everything is on track.
The second is the To-do
List. These are things that aren't tied to projects but are still
important. I always stick a date on them so I know when they must be addressed.
The third list is actually
my calendar. When something needs to be done on a certain date (for example, a meeting or a telephone
call), it goes on the calendar.
That's it. I scan those
lists daily to make sure nothing falls between the cracks. So far, so good. And
it follows David Allen's three-step process. First, he says, make a decision
about your stuff. Then, write it down in a trusted place. Then, look at the
reminders (those are my lists).
It's not a perfect system,
but it works for me. Maybe it will work for you, too.
"We were not taught these
practices growing up," says Allen. "The workaday world of our parents did not
require these critical behaviours of knowledge work. People just showed up, and
did what obviously needed doing--they could see it in front of them. Few people
work in that kind of world anymore. These days, just showing up and expecting
to work on what's visibly been put in front of them, is hoping for a retro
world that doesn't exist."
There. Another article done. I can check that
off my list.
