Obsessed with finding the right method to improve productivity, I subscribed to sites like Inc

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I'd previously rejected most of Nick's reading recommendations (I prefer to read long-form fiction, since most nonfiction can be summarized in an article), but Nick insisted that I read How to Do Everything, going on to surprise me with the book when we met for coffee.

"Trust me, Rach: this will change your life."

I was skeptical about the book... and immediately forgot it in the car.

Two months later (it was Saturday, April 25, 2015), Nick asked for it back. Reminding him that the forgotten book was probably under the seat of a car, I hurried to find and read the manifesto before returning it to its owner.

By Sunday the 26th, I had finished working on David Allen's masterpiece and felt obligated - for real, this time - to stick with the "How to Get Everything Done" productivity method.

What is "getting things done" and how does it work?
Getting Things Done is a simple system for collecting overseas chinese in australia data ideas and completing tasks that is designed to increase productivity and eliminate unnecessary clutter. As one blogger put it , “[GTD] should be called ‘Getting Things Done Better Than Just Letting Things Happen, Which Often Turns Out To Be Not So Great’.”

Here's how it works:

Start by writing down absolutely everything you need to do. It could be work-related. It could be family-related. It could be cutting your nails. Just gather up all the tasks that need to be done at any given moment and write them down. Add to this list as new tasks come up.

This unorganized list is called the "incoming" list.

From there, ask yourself if it can be done. If it can’t, throw it out. (For example, if you wish you’d learned Spanish as a kid, but you’re in your 30s, that time has passed. Throw it out. Instead, work on something actionable, like “Learn conversational Spanish on vacation to Costa Rica in 2020.”)

If it works and it takes less than two minutes, do it right now!

If it is necessary but needs to be scheduled, postponed, or delegated, do it immediately.

For larger tasks that require two or more steps, create project folders for them. Break each related task into tiny tasks that are easy to check off and work toward completing the overall project.

In other words, follow the picture below.



Let's look at a simple example: this blog post.

The idea to write a blog post about my experience with Getting Things Done came into my inbox. The end result was actionable, took more than two minutes, and needed to be broken down into bite-sized tasks.

The next thing I did was create a folder and highlight the following tasks:

Ask people on Quora about their experiences with Getting Things Done (to research and brainstorm based on my own experience)
Create a drawing document
Go to Google Analytics to see what keywords are best for this article.
Create a title for the article by marking the keyword in the document so I don't forget
Brainstorm and write down all the lessons you learned from How to Succeed.
Select the five most informative lessons and rank them by importance.
Brainstorm and note down important memories associated with each lesson.
Outline the rest of the piece