More About To-Do Lists and their Ilk
A few months back I wrote a post on to-do lists, a short piece to be run in late August, when readership was down. As sometimes happens with blog posts, this one attracted more attention than I had expected, both in written responses and in comments made by people I talked with. The humble to-do list is the source of more emotion than I had thought.
To-do list junkies strongly advocates their use to ensure prioritization, productivity, and responsiveness of tasks. Several people praised David Allen’s Getting Things Done books and software, which I jokingly described as a graduate level course in to-do listing. The software allows you to sort tasks by priority into different lists. You can also sort by the time required, so that when you have ten found minutes, only tasks that can be completed within that opening appear. Or you can sort by the need for access to a phone, so that activities requiring one don’t appear when you pull up your list on an airplane. These are useful enhancements to the old-fashioned lists. David Allen has come up with the proverbial better mouse trap.
The principal complaint about to-do lists remains their demotivating effect when they get too long and when workload denies the author of the list the satisfaction of crossing tasks out. Said a partner at one firm, “One of the people who works for me froze up when his list got too long.” I have a suggestion for people who suffer from this problem.
A to-do list person is a doer. She likes to get things done and wants the respect that others show her for contributing. Her can-do approach has won her promotion and authority. As a side effect to this behavior, she sometimes does things she shouldn’t, because she fails to delegate, to say no or to insist that someone else does his job. If she treats this by increasing the sophistication of her to-do list, it is like addressing a growing overdue receivables problem by hiring more collection agents, instead of by tightening the credit policy.
Such people (and I admit that I am one) may benefit by putting together a Not-To-Do List, which itemizes the things you are to cure yourself of doing. This list should be looked at daily. A task can only be scratched off when someone else is doing it routinely. Items that people I know have gotten rid of this way include filling out expense reports, making duplicates of documents, making travel arrangements, screening emails, proof reading, and scheduling meetings.
The Not-To-Do List Challenge
So here is a challenge for you all. We all do things that are not a good use of our time. I ask each one of you to identify something you are doing now that you will work your way out of doing over the next six months. Please send me a short comment noting what you are offloading. If I get enough, I will assemble a list of Not-To-Do Items that can help us all identify more ways to free up time for developing business.
October 15th, 2008 at 10:17 am
Dear Ford,
I like your Rainmaking book and I like your blog. I respect all that you have contributed to the marketing body of knowledge, especially in the construction industry. Please realize that I make the following statement out of love and respect…that was the most p*ss poor explanation of David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD) method I have ever read.
Here is a better one….
“Get everything out of your head. Make decisions about actions required on stuff when it shows up—not when it blows up. Organize reminders of your projects and the next actions on them in appropriate categories. Keep your system current, complete, and reviewed sufficiently to trust your intuitive choices about what you’re doing (and not doing) at any time.” - David Allen
So to try and simplify that, the GTD method works off the premise that there are more things to do than you can possibly do. Allen’s methods (its really a workflow) are about capturing every commitment you have into a “trusted” system. By reviewing that trusted system each week, you can make decisions about what to do and feel “ok” about what you are not doing.
In the GTD method, your “not-to-do” list would fall in a couple places. First, these items might appear on your Someday/Maybe list. For example “Draft table of contents for that great book I’m going to write,” might appear there. Another place might be your Waiting For list. This is where you store the things you have delegated to or expect from others. For example “Ford Harding RE: Angry response to my flame post.” Another place would be your next actions list. This outlines the next physical action you need to take to move a project forward. For example, “Call Randy RE: PPP article idea.”
The problem with To Do lists is that they often list projects or goals.
To DO: Clean the Garage
There is no “TO DO” list in GTD. Let me repeat that… there is no “TO DO” list in GTD. Instead, there are Project/Desired Outcome and Next Physical Actions Lists
For example:
Project: Clean Garage So Jimmy Can Move in There
Next Action: Call Uncle Bob RE: Does he want Old Fridge?
By defining the next physical action, the task no longer seems daunting. This helps combat procrastination.
Another major point that you have to understand is that you have to make decisions about your “stuff” up front. For example, you may get this email, “Ford, stop blogging and pick up the dry cleaning! – Love Mom.” Now you have to make some decisions about this request.
What do I do?
2 Minute Rule (Can I do this in two minutes?): Automatic Do – see below
Do: Drive to dry cleaners RE: pickup
Delegate: Tell little Billy to get the laundry (this would be captured on your Waiting For list)
Defer – Specific time: Drive to dry cleaners at noon RE: Pickup
Defer – As soon as you can get to it: Drive to dry cleaners RE: Pickup
Someday/Maybe: “She’s got enough clothes, maybe I’ll do it someday.”
Basically, David Allen’s GTD method solves the issues you are talking about
You were told, “One of the people who works for me froze up when his list got too long.”
Tell this person to buy two copies of David Allen’s Getting Things Done book: One for him/her and one for the employee. Then they should work together to implement the system. The boss should also help the employee determine what can be delegated. People often don’t delegate out of fear. “They won’t do it as well as I would.” We can’t let “perfect” be the enemy of “good enough.”
They need to work together to define projects/desired outcomes and determine the next physical action needed to move each project forward. Projects can not be done, only physical actions.
In reality, the average person should have about 200 next actions captured in their trusted system. If you don’t capture these things into a trusted system, you have 200 open loops floating around in your head. This is what causes frustration, procrastination, and inefficiency.
Here are some links you and your readers can check out to become more informed about the GTD Method.
http://7pproductions.com/blog/2008/02/18/a-primer-on-getting-things-done/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getting_things_done
http://www.davidco.com/what_is_gtd.php
http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/15-10/ff_allen?currentPage=all
October 15th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Dear Matt:
Thanks for your comment and your persistence in making sure that I got it. Your description of David Allen’s Getting Things Done is far clearer than I could have ever provided. I am reminded of why I referred to it as graduate-level to-do listing. I am a bit winded just from reading your descripton.
Seriously, I do not doubt that this is an excellent approach for some people, even many people, though not for all. The kinds of things that I would suggest putting on a Not-to-Do List don’t belong on a Get-to-Someday list. These are things you should wean yourself from doing–forever. The To-Do list may include things you need to do to get rid of them. Only when you have gotten rid of them do they come off your Not-To-Do List.
Ford Harding
October 16th, 2008 at 6:55 am
As I get older I keep more and more lists. I use a planner and list each day the things I want to accomplish, this has worked out much better for me than the legal pad list that never ended was working!
To accept your challenge, I have switched to web based email and am now handling each email once. I used to read them and say, I will get to that later. Now, I am going to handle my emails as I handle my inbox and only handle each email once.
I am quite sure this will save me a lot of time and stress with the amount of emails I receive.
October 16th, 2008 at 8:44 am
Michelle:
What an excellent idea! I never thought of it and it’s so obvious. I bet lots of people will benefit from your comment. I will try to build up my resolve to do the same.
Ford Harding
November 19th, 2008 at 6:40 am
[...] Ford Harding added an interesting post today on Hardingco Blog » Blog Archive » More About To-Do Lists and their IlkHere’s a small readingI use a planner and list each day the things I want to accomplish, this has worked out much better for me than the legal pad list that never ended was working! To accept your challenge, I have switched to web based email and am now … [...]