Getting Things Done! (GTD)

I will be the first to admit that I am NOT an organized person! My life is many things, but organized is not one of them! =) Everyone has an area that they can improve upon, so this was the perfect opportunity for me to start changing the way I do things. I think my biggest problem was that I didn’t have just one system to keep my life organized. Instead, I had many little systems in place and ways of trying to “organize stuff.”

I first started the process of Getting Things Done by writing down everything that had to get done on one piece of paper (and yes, I had to write small!). This is the COLLECT step. Of course, every time I thought my list was complete, I would think of something else to add to it. Although my list was long, I actually felt a lot better after getting it out of my head and onto a piece of paper. I was feeling very overwhelmed before I began GTD, and once I saw it all on paper, it wasn’t as bad as it seemed in my head.

Next, I started the PROCESS step, which is where I went through each item on my list and decided if it was something I could do right away (like mail the Valentine’s Day cards I bought), or if it was something to be done at a later date (like my taxes, and making that dessert for the baby shower).

Then I had to ORGANIZE what I had processed. This step made me feel good because I felt like I was more in control of all the things I had to do! I am a big fan of making lists, and that is how I organized things before I started the GTD process. I like to make a shopping list on one piece of paper by putting the names of individual stores as headings and listing the items I need to get at each place underneath the heading. My favorite part is crossing things off the list! =) So, I went through my list and decided which group each item belonged in. I separated my tasks into three groups: 1) Home 2) Work 3) School. Anything on my list that had a specific deadline, I wrote down on my calendar. I added these things to my Google calendar, too, which I just started using at the start of this class and I love it! The problem is, I do not have a smartphone with internet, so I still write things down on a paper calendar or put them into my phone as reminders. Anything that needed to be done as soon as possible (like cook the asparagus before it goes bad) I labeled as Next Action. If it was something that I had a commitment to finish, like a school project, I labeled it as Project. At work, I am in the process of creating the “Tickler” file, which is made up of 43 folders, one for each month and one for each day of the month. I really like the idea of having the whole year planned out in one place.

The fourth step in GTD is REVIEW. Once I have the “Tickler” file in place, I am going to review what needs to be done for the day each morning, before the students arrive. I will review this file again at the end of the day before I leave work, to be sure I got everything done and to prepare for the following day. That way, I can stay one step ahead! At the end of the week, I will review my projects, calendar, and next action tasks to be sure that I am up-to-date.

Finally, the last step in the GTD process is DO. I had to prioritize and decide which things were do-able, based off of how much time I had and how much energy I had. On a Friday afternoon, after a long week at work, I can tell you that most of the things on my list had to wait! =)
I think that this process has helped me, in that I had to motivation to try something new to help me get organized. I went through my emails at work, deleted the ones I no longer need, and created separate folders to store the emails that I want to keep for reference.

I am going to try to continue with this process, but I’m not sure that I’m doing it entirely correct. I am creating a “tickler” file for myself at work, but that doesn’t help me with the things I need to do at home and for school. I need something more portable to organize and store tasks for all three contexts. That’s why I like Google calendar, but I don’t have access to that when I am not on the computer. Maybe I will eventually cave in and get a phone with the internet……….