Getting Things Done: how to organize yourself

This might seem a bit off-topic on a blog about the music industry and about how musicians can benefit from the opportunities of the internet to forward their musical career. However, being well-organized and being able to keep track of all your tasks, projects and ideas, is not a minor problem for musicians, in my opinion. It is at least how I feel about it in my life as a musician and an entrepreneur.

So I decided to read Getting Things Done by David Allen, one of the most acclaimed books about time management. The book has a very practical approach and contains a lot of useful tips and insights. I would really recommend to read it. In this post I will touch some topics that where the most revealing for me. In a later post I will talk about how I try to apply Allen’s principles by using the Remember The Milk app.

Point n° 1: It is important to have a physical representation of all your to-dos, tasks and projects. It is the best way to ‘clear your head’. If you don’t write anything down, you always keep worrying about things that you should do and your brain doesn’t have time to really focus on getting things done. If everything is written down, a lot of stress disappears.

Point n° 2: Allen stresses the importance of the question ‘What is the next action?’. Meetings, brainstorms, etc., they are not useful, unless you ask the question: ‘What is the next action?’ In your daily life, what you actually do is managing your list of ‘next actions’.

Crucial in Allen’s theory is the work flow diagram. I think the diagram is quite self-explanatory.

One of the most important aspects is the two minutes rule: if you can do something in two minutes, do it now. If it takes more than 2 minutes, delegate it or defer it to another moment.

I hope this short introduction will entice you to read the book and will help you to get more productive.