GTD Phase 5: Do, Part II

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Originally published 6 Apr 2006

[Note: this is the final phase of the GTD process, as outlined in Chapter 2 of Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity (aff) by David Allen]

Doing

Ah, yes, DOING. The precursor to DONE. As in Getting Things DONE.

(I also believe that the GTD methods also allow you to take a guilt-free break, but that’s for another post)

David Allen presents three models to use to determine what to do at any given point. I’ll be hones: the first through this book I blew through this section, because part of it reminded me too much of the “roles” of Seven Habits, which I had used to overwhelm myself a few years ago. This time through the book, though, I’m really considering it, and I’ve drawn some conclusions about each method.

I am tackling this last phase in three parts, mainly because I found that my notes on the total were too much for one post. So I will address each of the methodologies presented in this phase separately.

Method 2: The Threefold Model for Evaluating Daily Work

The three phases of this are doing predefined work, doing work as it shows up, and determining work to be done.

This is the model I use at work. I have my set tasks and support tasks. The proportion of each is dependent on the client and project.

At my current client I am supposed to maintain an at least 60% of new development and no more than 40% of my time going to support. My new development tasks are laid out, and support comes in via email and phone. My client determines urgency, and all tasks have a definition.

I will have to note here that my current client is very unusual, however. Most of the clients I have had left it to me to manage my own time, guessing at what the important stuff was in relationship to their expectations. Sometimes even the tasks are not defined, and that is where the third part of determining what work is, or to be technical “analysis”.

I didn’t realize I used this methodology at work at all until I reread this section, but it really is a good model for how my days operate.