The Writer’s Coin

I mentioned last week that I tried reading Getting Things Done, the productivity book that is so popular, but didn’t have time to get through it. There was quite a bit of response around that post so I wanted to share what I took away from the 30 or so pages I did read. Those 30 pages were a quick, entertaining read and just as I was getting into it two things happened: it got a little slow and I ran out of time. Either way, there’s one thing I read that has changed the way I organize my ideas and that’s what I want to share today.

I already do a lot of what the book describes in terms of writing things down, keeping “to-do lists,” and all that. I figured out on my own that my memory could not be trusted to remember all these ideas and thoughts that I had — that’s why I started a journal many many years ago. But as I got to writing creatively more and more, I figured out I needed a place to jot these ideas down. So I now carry a Moleskine notebook for that very purpose. All I would do is write the idea down and that satisfied me — I wouldn’t forget about it and if/when I wanted to see it again, all I had to do was check the notebook.

So that was good, but GTD says that it’s not enough. Writing something down makes it more likely that it’ll get done, but adding one small detail makes it even more likely to get done.

Instead of just jotting an idea down, GTD suggests you add the very next step that needs to be taken in order for that “thing” to be completed. So if I wanted to write a post about saving for retirement vs. living your life, I would jot down “Retirement vs. Living Your Life” and then I would add “Tue Morning.”

Now I know when I’m taking action on this: on Tue morning before work I’ll write the post out. Since I have almost two hours set aside every day before work, that’s where I can assign tasks to be completed. Having this time set aside every morning makes it easier to add the next step. Without it, it gets a little hairy.

But it also works for things like errands. I recently wrote this note down: “Call Tmobile. (Tue Lunch Hour).” I had to call about a bill and that’s when I assigned myself the time to call. I totally forgot about it once I got to work (that’s why we write these things down, remember?), and so I was surprised when my lunch hour came and “boom!” just like that guess what popped into my head? “Call Tmobile.” By writing it down and assigning it to a specific time, I kind of set my unconscious alarm to remind me about it. This time, it worked.

Another advantage of adding this “immediate next step” when it comes to my creative writing is that it gives my mind a preview of what is to come. For creative writing like fiction and essays, this is very important. Even if it’s happening subconsciously, it’s important to think about what you’re going to write before you sit down to do it (I call it “letting it simmer”). If I jot down “Start Essay on Personality (Mon Morning)” then my mind knows it’s sitting down on Monday to write this essay. It starts a countdown of sorts that I’ve found is incredibly helpful once you finally get to the writing part of it. Some people call it pre-writing — I call it “thinking before you write.” But most important, of course, is actually getting it done, which is what the whole book is about. A lot of people think inspiration and creativity are at the core of writing. And to a certain point they are, but a lot of time it’s just a matter of sitting down and cranking it out too.

It’s pretty cool that I only read 30 pages of this book and have already taken away something that has changed the way I keep track of my ideas. So if anyone else out there has read the book and thinks it’s worth it to keep reading the rest of it, please let me know if there’s anything else in there as good as this “next step,” because I think it’s a great idea and I’m already reaping the benefits of it.

Tags: david allen, Getting Things Done