A couple years back we hired a new co worker at Trinity named Nicole and she talked about this "system" called "Getting Things Done." My boss eventually jumped on the bandwagon but at the time I kind of had my own little system for my event planning job so I didn't pay too much attention to it. When I started talking to Dan about his job, I figured it couldn't hurt to read the book and maybe I could gain some tips to pass onto Dan. Needless to say, it was 100% my kind of book.
A lot of the stuff he says isn't revolutionary, it just makes sense. He starts out by showing us that the single largest consumer of our time and energy is preoccupation with things you have to do- so the real issue is how we make choices about what we want to do at any given time. We are constantly thinking about what we need to do or wondering what we should do next, so his theory is:
1. Write down every single thing that is on your mind. Seriously.. everything from watering the plant in your guest room to picking up Johnny from school.
2. Turn those things into action steps- {huge step} So don't just write down "Plan trip to Chicago" write down what the first step is that you need to do- whether it's looking up flights, talking with spouse to figure out a date- he wants you to be very specific.
3. Organize your results in to separate lists {will explain below}
4. Every day review your next actions list and use that to determine what your "to do list" is for the day.
Something I really liked was his different list ideas. He suggests having a couple different lists:
1. Next actions (most immediate things that need done)
2. Waiting list (ie: you emailed someone and you're waiting for them to respond to you about that project)
3. Projects list (can separate by home and work)
4. Someday/ maybe list (books you want to read, vacations you want to take, things you want to buy) etc.
5. Just a basic calendar with meetings, etc.
What makes this so helpful is that now, when you have 5 minutes, you can look at your lists and decide what is the best way you can spend that 5 minutes of time, because you have everything you need to do in front of you. I have even broken down my "next actions" list into a couple different things like "Stuff to do when Jake naps," "errands to run," "basic next steps."
Then came the fun part for me- create a work space that you enjoy! Honestly, in a perfect world I would have my own adorable little pinterest styled office right off the living room. But we don't have that. We don't even have an office. So, our dining room table and buffet table is my "office" most days. However, I purchased some cute office supplies at Target and collected all of our pens, markers, paper, post it notes, rubber bands, scissors, etc. and organized them. I also bought a couple of these to store all of our paperwork in (bills, taxes, receipts, medical, etc.) and then this binder which I use daily to keep all of my lists in. I can't even begin to tell you how much fun I had doing this. Again, I'm type A, so that's probably why :)
There is honestly SO much more to this book from how to keep track of your emails to specifically explaining how to create your lists and sort through pretty much everything that is going on in your life. He talks about how he meets with CEO's and it can take days to do this part. For me, a stay at home mom with one little boy, it didn't take me days :)
One of the main things this process did do for me is increase my ability to think about our long term goals and vision for our family and also increase my creativity. Because I'm not spending time wondering about the little things I should do, I have more time to think about bigger more important things such as, "who can Jake and I bless today?" or "what little project can I tackle while Jake naps?" Since all of my lists and to do's are right in front of me, every morning I can make a decision knowing that based off of everything that I've thought and prayed through, doing this is the best use of my time. Obviously, as with everything, not everything can get done when I want it to. But that's ok, if I can't get it done then that little project I didn't get to will stay on my projects list until I have time later, and I'm not thinking in five days, "what was that project that I wanted to do last Tuesday?"
I love this kind of stuff. Probably too much but it's something that gets me really excited. And, if you are thinking you would love a new way to keep your home life, job, etc. organized, I would recommend the read. From specifically writing down who we can be praying for to restaurants we would like to try out in Binghamton, I feel so much more organized after reading his book and implementing his system.
