GTD in action
In this article:
- What is Getting Things Done?
- GTD at Springest
- Practical guidelines for Asana
- Prioritising your tasks and projects
- Weekly GTD reviews
- GTD Coaches
What is Getting Things Done?
We work according to the method of David Allen : Getting things done. This guru has developed theories and instruments for working productive, efficient and stress free. His book is the sole inspiration for our implementation of GTD. If you prefer a video presentation, check this out . GTD is a time management method and it's one of the few obligations we have at Springest. It's not always easy to start with, but once you master it, you will love it! (Hopefully ;))
GTD Kicks Ass! Because it:
- creates overview
- let you take control of your work
- lowers the stress level
- makes us all more productive
- turns ideas into actions
GTD at Springest
- We use Asana as a tool where we create tasks for ourselves and for others
- Never use your Gmail for contacting other Springeteers. refer tasks from your e-mail inbox to Asana, if these are next actions, by forwarding to x@mail.asana.com and by adding them to a project in Asana
Gmail hacks
You're either in processing, or in doing mode. When you process, you want to OHIO (Only Handle It Once), so you can make a conscious decision about what to do next instead of jumping reactively from task to task. So if a mail comes in that you can't deal with in 2 minutes, you want it out of your inbox and into your tasks so you can decide later on when to do it, compared to all your other tasks.
1. Set up a label in Gmail
Easy: just add a label, called Asana for instance. Setup 2 if you, like me, want one for incoming stuff and another for reminding yourself to followup something 7 days from now. With the 7 day label, I tag mails from my Sent box.
Create a free account at Zapier, and setup a Zap like the one in the image. OF course you can change the formatting of the task that is made by Zapier, to suit your quick task scanning needs. I chose to have the mail's subject first and the (sender) after it, as well as a direct link to the message in the body of the task so I don't have to search for the mail.
3. OHIO the shit out of your inbox
You should use keyboard shortcuts, like this:
- Go to inbox, view mail, label it with asana if 2min+, archive: gi enter, l (pick label) enter, y
- Go to Sent, view mail, label if you want a followup, do whatever you want next (usually another task)
Practical guidelines for Asana
- For every task assigned to you, ask yourself “Is it a next action? If not, make it actionable / make a project out of it / kill it.
- Clean your inboxes until you have 0 messages left every day or at least every two days. Make a distinction between processing and working: going through your inbox does not mean that you have to DO it immediately. You should make clear next actions to work on or add them to a project. With this, you file and order your tasks, instead of leaving them in your inbox.
- Each task that can be done in under 2 minutes, do it immediately!
- Be in control of your tasks and choose. Deciding that you will not do a task is also a good option, as long as you prioritize.
- Review your tasks weekly.
- If there is something in your mind, immediately write it down in Asana so it's out of your head.
- Separate your Asana inbox from your e-mail; do not let Asana-tasks be mailed to your Springest-inbox (you can adjust this at your settings in Asana ). Do it the other way around; refer tasks from your e-mail inbox to Asana, if these are next actions, by forwarding to x@mail.asana.com and by adding them to a project in Asana
How to clean your Asana inbox
IMPORTANT: Cleaning your inbox is a task, you should complete it.
For every item ask yourself the questions:
- “Is it a next action? If not > make it actionable / make a project out of it / kill it or put it on your private “Someday / Maybe” tag and unassign.
- Why am I a getting this in my inbox? Do I really care?
- Is it my role? (match accountability, fits purpose)
- Is it a project? Or should it be in a project?
- How important is it?
Process items:
- Clean your inboxes (mail, AS, new tasks in AS) every day or so: do it (<2min.), defer it (Project + Tags) or delete it (respond to it immediately or make it a NA i it requires more than 2min.).
- If you need someone else do do something for a task you own, make a subtask or @name-of-someone to ask the question in a comment if it probably takes <2min to answer.
- If you’ve completed a task for someone: Complete the task (don’t assign it back) and comment the change/result
- Every task should be actionable
- Every task should be linked to a project or to a project list or to a private project ( My waiting for, My GTD review)
- Only use your Today for things that must be done Today (eg. KPI updates), not for prioritizing.
- Use @project_name / @task_name as reference in comments
- Move task to upcoming if linked to active project
- Move task to project list of your accountability (see How to create a list for my role's accountabilities) and unassign
- Move task to one of your project. If project is future, then unassign the task
- IMPORTANT: Communicate the (process) change in the comment field to update other roles/followers
Pitfalls:
1. Cleaning my inbox takes all my time
Solution(s):
- Start your day with something important (take action on your current active projects)
- Do not get distracted, complete your task of cleaning your inbox
- Follow this guideline, to improve your GTD
- Unfollow tasks / projects you do not care about (from your roles)
- Ring the alarm and plan a GTD review with someone, your GTD process needs to be improved
2 . My upcoming is full of tasks other roles expect me to do based on my accountability
Solution:
- Create lists based on your role (PUBLIC). Example for Conversion backdater : List in asana , screenshot
- Communicate back -> set expactations
3. I have all these actions to follow up on HS tickets
NOTE: Supporting customers has its own process, HS is designed to provide the best support possible. Keep it separate from asana as much as possible
Solution:
- Setup workflows to manage communication with customers in HS
- Check [Practical Guideline for Support and Helpscout]
Other common pitfalls while processing inbox (DO NOT DO THIS):
- Too many comments, I will do it later and leave it in inbox for now
- Read the comment, not sure what to do, but will find out today (move it to upcoming)
- Read the comment sure i can do it, archive it
- Not sure if my role, but it has to be done, so upcoming
- Nice I can do this, will do it now
- Do not create tasks for yourself to discuss something with other role, just put the question out in asana
- Do not create tasks to set a meeting with someone, just do it!
The image above shows you how to process a new task in your inbox.
How to pick a task:
- Process over work (especially if they are quick fixes). => Don’t get me wrong, in the end you need to get stuff done
- Check your active projects and see if they have a first NA assigned
- Check your upcoming list, and select most important.
- Start working
Project Must Haves:
- Is represented by a placeholder task in the Asana project, under a placeholder sub heading at the end of the task list. You can then add this placeholder in the Projects overview of the circle.
- Has a progress bar (■■□□□) in the Custom Field showing the progress and relative size of the project (i.e. □□ is half the size of □□□□). Make sure they are up-to-date before tactical meetings.
- Has a "Why now" in the placeholder detailing why it should be done now. The "now" part is important, it's not just about why something is a good idea, but why is it the most important now. If possible, this should be connected to an OKR and also explain how it helps reach that OKR. Or if not, some metric or accountability you're impacting and how.
- Has a State indicating whether it's currently Active, Waiting for or Future.
- Every role involved in a project has their own placeholder describing their part of the project and their progress.
- The name of your project contains a verb in past perfect tense (voltooid verleden tijd) instead of present tense which is used for actionable tasks
- Has an outcome that is more about the effort (the actual work that needs to be done) instead of its intended impact.
- Projects that are active are added to your Circle's Projects project (Marketplace Projects, Smooth ops Projects etc) and put under your own name/ role in the Projects project (create a new section with your name if needed)
Prioritising your tasks and projects
When you work in Holacracy an essential skill is determining your priorities. A task, project or action that has high priority should be important and urgent. Tasks or projects that fall in that category are the ones you should do now or asap.
Even though high priority tasks deserve you utmost attention, a common mistake is to only focus on these tasks and projects. Because if you only focus on those, that means you are always working reactive, since urgency is mostly determined by an outside source.
Tasks and projects that are important, but not urgent are actually the one you should focus your energy on. These are your strategic projects, that you care about, that will improve your KPI's, that align with the circle's strategy. In this case urgency is usually created by an outside source (a colleague's input, a mediapartner or client that you are waiting for). Since this is important for you, you should be pro-actively chasing the outside source and make sure that the issue becomes urgent (for them)
Next to that it is up to you to determine what is important. You should really consciously choose, because what is important for somebody else, might not be important for you. Or if it seems important, but the data shows something else, it's just not important.
Some questions to determine importance are:
- Does it align with our strategy?
- Can it change the status quo
- Can it create leverage? (of all projects I have, is this the one which creates the most impact
- Does it directly improve my core KPI’s
- Is there a project which is (even) more important?
Weekly GTD reviews
Simply put, the weekly review is a set-aside period every week, usually an hour or two, where you dedicate yourself to getting organized for the week ahead and ensure that nothing is slipping through the cracks.
The important thing to remember is that the review is time reserved for you to be an executive of your personal and professional life, organize your tasks, make lists of people you need to follow up with, and arrange your priorities so you're always working on the things that are actually important.
This also means that you shouldn't spend your review time actually working. This is your time to step back. During your review, it's important that you—like any good manager—set the priorities, not micro-manage.
Do a GTD review together
You can team up to help each other in your weekly review and in getting things done. Doing that, keep in my mind the next points during a weekly review:
- Is this an action or a project (more than one action)?
- What's the Next Action?
- Show me all your projects, which are in focus this week?
- Can you really do this NA, is it clear or does it have dependencies?
- What's the first NA you'll REALLY do today?
- From what role do you care?
- Show me your Asana inbox: process a few items together, same for mail inbox
- Show me a future project? Does it have the first NA assigned and is it in later?
- Show me the tasks of one or more of your active projects? Does it have the first (and only the first) NA assigned and is it in your upcoming?
GTD Coaches
We have special roles to help you with your GTD and weekly reviews. You can schedule a meeting with them to help you improve your GTD. GTD Coaches can help you with a GTD review, tips, tricks or with specific questions about GTD.
Each circle has his own GTD coach. This coach will grade your GTD level at the end of each session. In this way you can see how you're doing and what you need to improve to reach the highest GTD level ("water"). Here you can find back the grading.