Since we're talking about books, I want to mention another new product, this time from the field of self-organization - this is How to Keep Things in Order. Russian edition David Allen's third book, Making It All Work, for which I had the honor of writing the foreword. The book was published by Mann, Ivanov and Ferber.

The book is based on a revised model that combines all the main tools of the first book into one whole. I can say that the book fortunately fell into my hands precisely at the moment when I felt the need to seriously restructure my lifestyle, and it greatly helped me cope with this task. I recommend it to anyone who feels that it’s time to put things in order - in their head, in their living and working space and in their affairs.

The text of my preface to the book:

To follow a difficult route, you need a map. This simple metaphor applies well to the routes of our lives, which today are becoming more chaotic and confusing. In his new book, How to Keep Things Done, David Allen presents his approach, known as GTD, as just such a road map to help you stay on track and achieve your goals in the most unpredictable circumstances.

This book will especially help those who feel that the track is getting more and more difficult, the speed is getting higher, and the visibility is getting worse. Start reading it - and you will see how the road becomes clearer and the area around takes on more inspiring shapes.

Allen's new book is the result of a lot of work, and this is immediately obvious. What looked like a spontaneous revelation in the first book has been thought out and tested a thousand times. Allen's approach has acquired depth and harmony, for the sake of which the author even diverges from his earlier self once or twice, although not to the detriment of reality - he still carefully avoids overly smooth constructions and magic numbers.

Just two words for GTD practitioners: a must read. “How to keep things in order” is an opportunity to see the whole picture where there once was a set of tools, to understand these tools themselves in a new way, evaluate your successes and set new goals for yourself.

Self-organization does not mean putting everything around you in a sterile order. Its goal, as Allen rightly says, is the freedom necessary for a creative, truly full life. A feeling of greater freedom will constantly accompany you throughout this book, and many things will naturally fall into place as you read.

Of course, to achieve real results you need not only to read, but also to act: try, repeat, fantasize, ask questions. However, in our case, the transition from knowledge to action turns out to be not at all difficult - after all, this book is dedicated to how to act.

Notes on the topic

Comment (already 9)

I remember the introduction of the GTD system greatly changed my life. Then I read Stephen Covey’s book, and now I’m gradually putting his advice into practice. However, I don’t want to get acquainted with Alain’s new works—apparently, there’s no need.

I also didn't think I'd need anything else after Getting Things Done, and when I started reading Making It All Work, I wasn't sure I'd learn anything new. But it was not a matter of new information, but a new level of understanding.

This morning I read Vitaly Kolesnik’s latest post about David Allen’s new book, “How to Keep Things in Order,” published in Russian. I wrote about this book when I bought it in Dubai in January. […]

In the terrible heat and smokehouse of this summer Moscow region, all I could do was put my feet in the bathtub and carefully read GTD. The translation, of course, was a little disappointing. But this did not affect my understanding, since I have been closely occupied with this topic since 1965. I believe that any intellectual is simply obliged to have this “ambush regiment” in his arsenal. The book is very good! Of course, it needs additions and improvement (namely the book). This is what I’m doing now, taking notes, and then - as usual - I’ll rewrite it in my own way and distribute it to students at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, where I have the honor of teaching for more than 50 years. Please accept my assurances of respect. The topic you are dealing with on this blog is extremely important. Kapustyan Viktor Mikhailovich.

Allen David_ Things are fine. doc

You will improve your self-organization skills

You will be able to put in order not only your professional affairs, but also an avalanche of personal information

BOOK SUMMARY

David Allen. How to keep things in order. Principles of a fulfilling life without stress. Publishing house "Mann, Ivanov and Ferber", M. - 2010

Plans are the essence external manifestations human internal free will.

annotation

A vitally important question for modern man: how to keep everything under control, act effectively and don't get tired? Getting Things Done (GTD), outlined in his book - How to Get Things Done, saved thousands of readers from under the rubble of current affairs.

This book is about GTD - about " personal system of extended thinking"and how to properly configure GTD for trouble-free operation.

Feel the freedom! 006

1. Introduction 008

2. GTD 018 phenomenon

3. Starting the system and maintaining its operation 059

4. Basic principles of self-organization 072

5. Full control: fixation 092

6. Full control: significance assessment 126

7. Full control: 160 ordering

8. Full control: verification and analysis 206

9. Full control: version 216

10. Full control: using the 245 system

11. Gaining Perspective 255

13. Ten Thousand Feet: Projects 274

14. Twenty Thousand Feet: Areas of Focus and Areas of Responsibility 287

15. Thirty Thousand Feet: Goals and Objectives 297

17. Fifty Thousand Feet: Purpose and Principles 315

IS. Perspective: revisiting Grade's Gardens 331 store

19. How to keep the system running 337

20. Conclusion 358

Feel the freedom!

To follow the route, you need a map. This metaphor also applies to the routes of our lives. In his new book, How to Keep Things Done, David Allen presents his approach, GTD, as a road map to help achieve goals in unpredictable circumstances. This book will help those who feel that the path of life is becoming increasingly difficult and the visibility is getting worse. .

This book is the result of a lot of work. Self-organization is not about bringing everything around you into a sterile order. Her goal is Liberty.

The feeling of freedom will constantly accompany you, and many things will fall into place.

Vitaly Kolesnik ,

dedicated to personal development and productivity

1. Introduction

The art of making progress consistsis to maintain order while making change, and to make change while maintaining order.

Alfred North Whitehead

To make life meaningful, we must be able to start and finish our tasks.

After all, the components of success are done correctly choice and its effective implementation.

Today, methods and tools are available that help self-organization and teach how to increase labor productivity. But there is still no fundamental understanding of the dynamics of these processes as a whole. The question arises: is there even a way to gain this understanding?

I dare to hope that you will find such a method in this book. I created it as a guide to optimizing any process - from solving a business problem to organizing a non-standard vacation, or courting the lady of your heart.

The same principles and methods apply to any task, and things will go smoothly if you understand the essence and purpose of the work, create plans and monitor their implementation.

When mechanism Everyday life is not thought out, opportunities for self-realization are reduced.

And if you care about family, health and wealth; if you want to realize your creative potential and satisfy your need for relaxation, it is necessary to treat all issues as a business.

In 2001, I published my first book, “How to Get Things in Order. The Art of Stress-Free Productivity,” which was distributed in thirty languages ​​around the world. My system has gained a wide following, including executives, professors, software engineers, and even the clergy.

It turned out that any person, thanks to systematic approach is able to bring the methods I propose to perfection in all aspects of life. Already at the beginning of their acquaintance with GTD, people note their success in focusing their efforts. Nevertheless, experience has shown how great the gap is between understanding and implementation of what is understood.

The multi-layered structure of GTD is like an onion: many layers must be peeled back to get to its deeper essence. Even its loyal supporters have not yet realized its true potential, which goes far beyond the limits of a simple system of self-organization.

Over the years, I have tried to convince GTD users of the following: the more strictly and consistently they adhere to its postulates, the more successful will be the transfer of this experience to other areas of their activity.

Gradually I began to understand what exactly I had to say with my new book.

The book seemed to me like practical guide on “guaranteed access to all opportunities” in work and personal life.

Understanding that All things are directed by you personally in the right direction, creates a feeling of security and stability. GTD helps to achieve control over the situation and provides vision of prospects in various spheres of human activity.

Specific approaches may vary depending on which is optimal for the this moment. For example, at the beginning of the day they clear the incoming document drive of unnecessary papers, and after lunch they organize a brainstorming session on an important project.

It is impossible to be in all places at the same time and concentrate on everything that requires your control in all areas of life. Before any team begins to act, it must decide on its primary goals, values ​​and priorities.

Any family, before starting to plan a vacation, must first complete some important and urgent matters. It is always useful to know what is best to do when a particular problem arises and from what point of view to consider the circumstances offered by life.

All eleven The GTD models I present in this book can be applied to all areas of life. Moreover, each has its own practical value. But don’t forget about the balance between the reasonable and the useful.

Once you understand the principle of increasing productivity by reducing stress and learn how to properly translate information into the external environment, you will immediately discover countless ways to benefit from this new state.

Understanding the principles behind GTD techniques will help you understand how they work, and this new degree of freedom will open up a whole arsenal of previously unknown ways to best organize your living space.

A few words for those who are already familiar with the GTD system

When talking about GTD, I divide people into three groups:

1. Those who believes as if he had mastered this system (which is far from reality).

2. Those who have mastered part of the system, but do not use it in full and understand this.

3. Those who have mastered GTD and apply it at the “advanced user” level.

To the representatives of the first group I want to say this. Try to understand what you can get by using everyone methodology resources. Controlling aspects of daily life and managing the flow of information is so important to some people that they don't even try to dig deeper.

They do not think that after the step they have climbed, the next step awaits them - to understanding thinking. And it leads from compiling lists to solving the issues appearing on these lists. But it is precisely this work that occupies a central place in the whole process.

For the second group, I want to encourage the possibilities of expanded use of GTD.

In the readers of the third group, I really want to strengthen faith in success and offer them new methods for in-depth understanding of previously acquired knowledge. Your group is still small, but it has real methods of increasing productivity and has even richer opportunities for improving them.

A few words for those who are not yet familiar with the GTD system

The book “Getting Things in Order” can be a useful additional resource that allows you to gradually master the system for increasing productivity. I focus readers' attention on the key GTDs and explain why they have an impact. different people different impacts, what positive results can be achieved thanks to new possibilities of their application, what negative consequences can arise if these principles are ignored.

How to use this book

The notes can then come in handy at the most unexpected moment for anything, because in the process of reading various thoughts may pop up in your mind - don’t lose the opportunity to find gold dust in them later!

Recording devices should always be at hand. They may not be useful, but having a pen will make you feel confident: this is a tool for setting benefits always and everywhere.

Act as if you are sure to find something useful for yourself in any situation, and this will become an “automatically self-fulfilling prophecy” for you.

You will learn about models that can be used in consulting, because in the process of creating this book, I talked with a lot of smart, accomplished, creative people who admitted their interest in the GTD system and believed that they could do a hundred times more if only knew how to apply this technique in full.

Idea of ​​success

Any participant in the Olympic Games knows that a visualized dream of victory greatly increases performance. I suggest that you stop reading for a while right now and “visually dream” about what you would really like to get as a result of studying the material in the book.

Why did you buy this book?

What attracted you to her?

What do you hope to gain from reading it?

Let me help you.

Think:

What would happen if you had the ability to easily regain control of a situation whenever you lost it?

Do you like feeling confident?

What new risks would you be willing to take knowing that you have these tools?

What kind of success could come to you?

I guarantee that if you are willing to experiment, all it takes is a little focus and a few simple techniques to reach this level and even exceed your expected results.

We'll work through the different levels of your activity as you read, but you'll have to be patient so you don't lose sight of your end goal. You must constantly remember it.

(V: Just as “Word” provides support in working with texts, “Outpost” should in every possible way support working with plans! This is for working with Buchatsky Jr.!}

A book about trusting your answers

This book is not an encyclopedia of recipes. Don’t expect categorical answers from her to questions like: what should I do to change my job? Should I buy the company? Or - do we need to buy a puppy?

This book teaches you to understand the tools and apply methods that will help you develop confidence in your abilities, and therefore trust your decisions. This is my main task.

The book “How to Get Things in Order” gave readers a specific vector of development. A A new book will give you confidence in your abilities. What's really worth fighting for is consistency. It is saving in the whirlpool of endless changes.

Understanding the problem provides a foothold, ensures freedom from stress and optimal solutions.

2. GTD phenomenon

Just as the chaos of a thunderstorm brings the rain that gives life, so in society times of success are preceded by times of disorder. Success comes to those who can withstand chaos.

I Ching. Book of Changes

GTD- this is not a system of ethical assessment and not a movement for an absolutely transparent organization, which is supposedly more important than the unstructured creative process itself.

David Allen page 199

Analyzing the reasons for the popularity of GTD, I can identify four factors:

Its concepts work, and the mechanism of this work is transparently clear.

They can be easily implemented by anyone using ordinary tools that are always at hand.

The range of problems that GTD solves continues to grow rapidly on a global scale.

The proposed holistic model touched on something that resonates with the human soul on many levels, something deep and intuitively inherent in savvy people.

These Concepts Work

The GTD model was researched, tested and perfected under normal conditions with the participation of the most ordinary of people. I tried to get to the bottom of the already existing fragments of self-organization methods that actually work, and fold them correctly into the system.

I wondered: why, having formed a list of things to do at one glance that I had previously simply kept in my head, do I begin to experience completely different feelings when thinking about the tasks at hand? And why did the tasks then become clear and transparent? After all, essentially nothing has changed.

And the conclusion suggested itself: for now the task remained with me only in my head, I'm constantly I was afraid to forget her, thereby driving himself into a state of stress. If I immediately recorded it on some external medium, the thought released me from its annoying embrace.

Can these principles be applied by anyone?

And will they always provide results?

I scrupulously followed all the procedures, trying to obtain an adequate set of key principles that would all make up the GTD system.

It turned out that they are effective precisely because they are based on project implementation mechanism and our work on projects.

Sorting your “routine” into your “inbox” is a natural way to develop the right approach to new things. Reviewing the status of unfinished items on the list means that you now have full control over the scope of work and, among other things, manage the related projects.

And assessing the significance of your area of ​​focus or area of ​​responsibility helps you feel that you are in complete control of the situation on all projects and allows you to achieve peace of mind, make wider use of your life experience.

The scope of application of GTD or its elements seems limitless.

GTD and IT - harmony high technology

I noticed how quickly the number of GTD supporters began to grow in the blogosphere, high technology and IT segment. Why was she received here with such enthusiasm?

I'm like all the lazy people there are on the planet. Almost all of my computer-obsessed friends also fall into this category.

and programmers - everything, and always - stubbornly are working hard trying to invent something that would free them from stubborn labor.

After all, the point of computing is to make people's work easier. And for GTD, the motto “Maximum results with a given resource” is its essence! Naturally, people associated with the world of computers are drawn to such ideas.

Computer programs operate in their field in all modes only when complete absence of errors. And this is achieved by creating a systemic set of rules. Similarly, GTD system prescriptions are characterized by the absence of failures.

One techie (and GTD convert) explained these processes to me from his bell tower: “David, you just identified subroutines that always run, regardless of the subject area of ​​​​a particular program.”

GTD is a system-independent concept, meaning it can be used effectively by any personal tool or software as long as it is designed for organization. It allows you to finally take advantage of some programs that were previously used extremely rarely.

Among thousands of users of popular enterprise desktop software such as Microsoft Outlook or Lotus Notes, features such as Tasks or To-Do were largely unused.

By discovering that these features could be configured for use within GTD, users gained access to new capabilities in the software they already owned. In addition, there was a basis for generating and organizing ideas, which gave impetus to the emergence of hundreds of new application programs, which were now based on the principles of GTD.

Difference between GTD and other models and systems

When we talk about “personal self-organization,” we mean gaining control over our mental state and the situation in the world around us.

This goal cannot be achieved through “just ordinary activities.”

To solve such a problem, you need to record and evaluate the significance (for the future) of everything incomprehensible in the world, and then remove everything that is not relevant to you.

You should have a process for regularly reviewing cases once they have been fully organized. GTD teaches you to start any business by making a list of all to-dos and problems, with which your head is filled. Only after this can the significance of the list items be assessed.

Using only priority problems, it is impossible to decompose goals into types and sublevels. But each of the sublevels needs non-priority, but specific forces and means.

The systems I've researched seem to suggest the same thing. Their authors assume that you can always start (from scratch) with a holistic view of your perspective; that you “immediately formulate” the tasks, determine the forces and means, and ensure the balance of your affairs.

Good luck! Have you ever seen a single person whose life was so simple? Practical situations are much more complex than such an idealized mise-en-scène.

We stubbornly try to manage our world, we try to control the situation, but we are constantly under pressure from new information and blows of fate. We grow and change our own ideas about our own prospects.

If all the above factors are not taken into account, nothing will come of it. And with the GTD system everything will work out!

Criteria for successful development = removing obstacles

The effectiveness of GTD is easier to understand if you try to look at the situation as a whole from the point of view of removing any obstacle to activity.

For many years I've wondered why the readers who are most interested in GTD are the ones who don't really need it. Why? The answer is simple: it is this group of people who have a deep understanding of the negative consequences of system interference.

If a person is already doing well and has lost interest in improving his performance, then he is deeply indifferent to such systems. The popularity of GTD is due to the shortage of people who, in life or work, would own at least some kind of system capable of removing obstacles.

GTD just became a tool for managing situations. It allows you to maintain stability in the face of a variety of forms of growth, change and fluctuation.

Versatility and ease of implementation of the system

To put GTD into practice (almost immediately), you do not need to purchase a software product or master new skills. Simple common sense is enough. The only requirement is to have some kind of tool for recording information and a safe place where you can keep your to-do lists correctly.

I haven't found any particular category of people who are more suited to GTD than others. It is used by corporate presidents, artists and project managers, entire families and clergy, students and retirees.

We have provided GTD training to Fortune 50 corporations, family businesses, and government agencies. We introduced this system to representatives of healthcare and energy, transport and aerospace industries, science and education, and almost all areas of business.

She was received equally in Germany, Saudi Arabia, Estonia, Canada and Brazil. We also found no differences in perceptions of techniques depending on personality type, learning style, or gender.

Growing problems and understanding of the need to solve them

If GTD only helped solve unique problems, or was a panacea for unimportant problems, it would be foolish to expect its popularity.

People are increasingly experiencing stress, a feeling of loss of control over the situation. There is a growing awareness around the world of the need to restore peace of mind.

What do we all want? We want more freedom And less work. We want to be prepared for the unexpected. We all desperately want to know how to manage - no, not information - things! And understand how all our affairs affect each other.

When the amount of fluctuations goes off scale

I am often asked: “What is new about your method in terms of the factors that cause stress?” My answer is always simple: “There is nothing new in GTD methods. The novelty lies solely in the increased frequency of task updates without stress.”

Change always brings stress. The new is inevitably associated with a reconfiguration of relationships and a change in self-image. So it was, and so it will be.

Today, in just three days, so many global changes are happening, so many new projects are emerging and as many reassessments are taking place as happened during the year when our parents were young.

They tolerated stress more calmly. We live in conditions constant stress: New technologies allow all kinds of information to settle in your mailbox, and a voice message can explode your inner world and destroy your priorities at any moment.

Not information, but overload

Popular self-improvement systems are focused on solving two problems: time management (time management) and information management. Their solution is to simply reload your projects into the system of choice.

Usually a calendar plan and an hourly schedule are used, pacing, space, sorting, selection of tools and technologies are taken into account. But neither time nor information in themselves can become a source of stress?

You can't control time: that's a hyperbole. You can only direct the actions and focus of your attention. Time only helps to understand under what restrictions, that is ( Where And When) you need to allocate specific resources ( strength And facilities).

If you manage things effectively, the time factor is neutralized. There is no feeling of resource scarcity or imbalance.

The real problem in these conditions is overload. Nature helps us relax due to its organic nature and changeability.

The information that comes to us from nature is obvious and leaves positive memories. Information received by email is often confusing and even harmful.

You need to open the folder, read the email, understand and evaluate it, and then systematically integrate the received messages. At the same time, the load is as if you were faced with a hundred bears during the day.

As practice shows, you can cope with such stress in a proven way, applying to each of the positions effective techniques And consciously sorting incoming information into appropriate folders.

This is exactly what GTD teaches. And she works in hard system mode.

The ability to “put things in order” is easy to develop

A factor in the widespread use of GTD has been the increased requirements for self-efficiency. The world is increasingly demanding the ability to quickly put things in order and achieve your goals. Enthusiasm and innovation are critical factors. And if a company or individual cannot fulfill the plan, then any, even the most wonderful ideas, are useless.

But I argue that anyone can learn to achieve goals, although there is still a widespread belief that some people are naturally more productive, while others are inherently incapable of it (this bias is typical of successful sales managers!)

And in the field of creativity and innovation, it was believed that a person from birth was endowed or deprived of the talent for discovery and creativity. But this is not so.

If you strictly follow the regulations, then at the end of the day any person will receive a bunch of creative and innovative ideas and solutions.

There is a simple but specific process for putting your affairs in order. Its regulations form the basis of the GTD system. And this process needs to be studied.

We all share something intuitively fundamental.

In GTD, in the course of its explanation, subtle moments appear that are rooted in the peculiarities of the psyche - intellect and aesthetics. I doubted that I would be able to properly explain this process.

We strive to interact with the world impartially, but without using linear formal logic and the principles of an inductive approach. (Of course, we are capable of this kind of thinking, but the manifestations of the surrounding reality do not fit into the framework of these rational categories.)

It seems that there is something deep in the soul (impulse), which without consistent argumentation So inspires and leads.

But for most people this impulse does not always offer a coherent and sensible substantive plan, but only a successful local fragment of the plan - some secluded option. Evaluating your experience, you will find in it the presence of this predetermination, which did not seem obvious to you, and therefore you did not even try to use it.

After all, a huge number of things you did were unexpected. However, you quickly drew the necessary conclusions and acted. In other words, you have always been engaged in developing your specific attitude towards events: your internal conceptual project and what you encountered in the environment have always been interconnected.

The most productive way to proceed is to alternate: first, look for options to improve your usual lifestyle, then choose tools and techniques for analyzing and implementing these new ideas. GTD is equally effective for organizing information from both external and internal sources.

To launch these “self-acting” mechanisms, you do not need to specially prepare or think about anything in advance. We spend our entire lives perceiving, evaluating, sorting, unconsciously planning and executing.

The basic GTD formula makes this entire process conscious and allows you to productively bring your vision to life.

It's a system that helps you discover what you already have.

We are loaded with a lot of things. We don't even have enough time to highlight the most important ones. Will GTD help us stop being a hostage to “routine” and chaos? Without a doubt, I say.

By reviewing your backlog of tasks, you highlight the most important ones at the moment. The only condition is that you must be full of creative energy, recognize the situation and remove obstacles.

You will need tools that will help you understand and articulate your abilities and opportunities in this world as fully as possible. The good thing about GTD is that it doesn’t force its goals on anyone. It just provides features that help you regain control of the situation in the simplest way possible.

The GTD system has its own style.

GTD, of course, is not too simple and it has a certain level of complexity. It is important that in specific situation from it you will receive a “road map” that opens up prospects. Please remember that GTD is not so much a system as it is a systems approach.

GTD provides the same approach to everything, p. than you may encounter in life. For her, everything is simultaneously important, but at the same time not essential: how are you doing with fulfilling your destiny? Great. Do you need to feed your cat? Amazing. And if certain questions do not trouble your heart, do not waste energy thinking about them.

I would say GTD is delicate. It is often used in sensitive situations: confusing problems deprive us of peace and sleep, occupy our attention; in such cases, the GTD system turns into a kind of anchor, which allows you to evaluate problems and “ground” disturbing thoughts for a more accurate understanding of the essence of the problems.

So what exactly is a GTD system?

For those who are not yet familiar with the GTD system, I would like to briefly list some of its key principles.

GTD is adjustable a system based on common sense. With its help, having a list of regularly monitored tasks, you can focus on your external and inner world, make the right choice at the right moment. GTD is a low-labor, step-by-step and effective method achieving high productivity without stress.

Among its main features:

Recording information that piques your interest;

Setting goals and developing plans on issues that matter to you;

Ranking reminders and information into relevant categories that suit your needs;

Monitoring the state of affairs simultaneously across six horizons of the tasks facing you (purpose, vision, goals, areas of focus, projects and plans events).

Following GTD instills confidence in your strength, allows you to reduce overload and release a powerful flow of creative energy. With its help, you can learn to flexibly manage any details and nuances of your life.

The system allows you to strictly adhere to the principles of productivity, while providing freedom in choosing methods. The mentoring experience, during which we developed the most advanced labor management technologies, helped refine the GTD system.

Three models of GTD system

The GTD system is a simple compilation of three models. I discovered them myself and tested them in the process of communicating with people who daily needed to clarify their life situations and choose the direction of further action.

Here short description these three models. Later I will explain how they work and how to work with them.

Workflow management

The workflow management model consists of five stages*:

Collection/identification;

Sorting;

Arrangement;

Review of the state of affairs;

Execution.

* A more detailed diagram is presented in Appendix IV.

It is a technique developed as a way to collect/identify, analyze, organize and manage lists of “routines”. That is, what we must systematize and conquer.

The technique involves recording raw input material, making decisions, organizing results into categories, assessing the system as a whole and its individual parts, as well as choosing the right one. option actions. She, so to speak, " works with options»

This GTD component is the simplest tool capable of immediately increase productivity.

Natural planning

Typically, the workflow model involves planning and managing projects, but does not consider them as independent goals. Sorting information (in email, in the inbox, or meeting minutes) involves identifying and initiating projects as ideas arise and developing an action plan to implement those projects.

Often you have to work towards achieving goals that require careful thought. These include, for example, your wedding, a new website, writing a book or a long-awaited vacation.

To plan and implement such projects, I have formulated a simple five-phase model.

At the dawn of the management consulting era, the topic of “Project Planning” was of secondary interest to my clients.

They typically asked the same question: “Which model or software is best for project planning?” It seemed to them that the developments available in this area were either too simple or too complex.

I told them about the usual approach to planning, where we think about things without really trying to organize them. It is gratifying to note that in most cases we are still not very clearly aware of how we do all this.

Even just leaving the house to work in the garden, we are somehow engaged in some kind of planning, taking the tools with us. In my opinion, it is generally impossible to live a day without planning your actions.

Regardless of whether the project is large or small, our minds naturally go through a five-step process in the process of turning ideas into reality, which looks like this*;

Purpose and principles;

Vision;

Brainstorm;

Arrangement;

Planning follow-up activities.

Whether we have a plan, whether we are aware of our purpose, the direction of thoughts and behavior patterns are determined by our value system. Then we develop vision, that is, our idea of ​​what kind of reality would satisfy us.

See Annexes II and 111.

The discrepancy between reality and the standard plunges us into stress, and we begin to generate ideas on how to achieve the realization of our vision (brainstorming). Next, we begin to sort the received ideas by components, sequence and priority - our personal action plan is formed.

This planning model is natural. It can be used as effective method focusing forces and means without any unproductive tension and allows you to form a “vertical” section of thinking necessary for various kinds of projects, situations and topics.

What remains is setting priorities.

Focus horizons

Management is just the distribution of limited resources (forces and means), implying mastery of the art of choice, or the art of prioritization.

I've always felt that the way time management models dictate the process of prioritization is no good. It is not developed, it does not take into account the factors that really influence our actions.

We all naturally prioritize, but we can optimize this process even more. For this purpose, I identified six focusing horizons and explored their influence on our choices.

I discovered the horizons of focusing to some extent by accident. I was once asked to organize a coaching session for a top executive on Wall Street. The main problem for this person was “too many meetings.” His assistant fought off employees eager to make an appointment with the boss. The schedule was packed months in advance.

When I arrived at his office, he closed the door and immediately asked pleadingly: “What should I do with this chart?” I decided to start by clarifying the perspective and on the board hanging at his desk, I wrote down my version of such important points as:

Purpose and principles;

Vision;

Areas of responsibility;

Projects;

Event plans.

Each of these levels had its own content. And before I could complete the list, my counterpart exclaimed: “I got it!” - “What did you understand?” - I asked. “No, I’m not talking about meetings. I’m talking about my children!”

After that, he began to seriously analyze his own, convinced that our meeting would help him understand the reasons for his severe overload. It dawned on him that endless meetings had stolen a lot of time from him, which he could have usefully spent communicating with his growing sons.

As a rule, when solving various problems, we, sometimes without even realizing what is happening, work without distinguishing them or separating them, with all six at once levels.

We all have a purpose, values ​​and vision. Turning an idea into reality, we must simultaneously control several key areas of our work and life, and at the same time adhere to certain standards and principles.

We all have projects that, when completed, will fulfill certain promises to ourselves. We all take some actions based on assigned tasks, using in our work a certain number of focusing horizons out of the five known ones.

At the same time, the choice of actions taken directly affects performance at the highest horizon of focus.

This is the essence of prioritization: the closer an action you take brings you closer to fulfilling your purpose, the higher its value to you.

Focus horizons are not the only thing to consider when deciding what to do at, say, three fifteen minutes tomorrow afternoon. When answering this question, you must take into account practical things such as time, inspiration and location. The proposed six-level framework provides a reliable tool with which we can think about any situation systematically*.

How to combine these models

I recently realized that all of my methods deal with several key aspects of controlling the development of a situation and perspective, regardless of the subject, place and circumstances. I have reduced the number of GTD techniques to two main parts, which, in essence, are ways of understanding processes.

*Cm. Appendix VII.

People cannot grasp the concept of "loss of horizontal orientation" as easily as the concept of "loss of control." The concept of “loss of vertical orientation” is not as easy for them as “loss of perspective.”

The art of managing the workflow of “collecting/identifying, sorting, organizing, reviewing the status and execution of cases” provides control over the situation. The natural planning model and focusing horizons provide a sense of perspective.

Planning horizons provide a planning model for general scenarios. They are an example of hierarchical thinking, which allows you to evaluate the significance of the entire “routine” and correct the situation.

Here are important operator questions that require clear answers:

Why are we even doing anything at this moment?

What is the expected result (WHAT)?

What components and from whom do we need to complete things (FROM WHOM)?

What is the follow-up plan (WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHO, FOR WHOM and at what COST should be done)?

This system is nothing more than the art of focusing

GTD is first and foremost the art of focusing, that is, eliminating all distractions. It is a set of tools that help you focus on the method and timing of actions needed to achieve your goal.

Having lost control of the situation, you will not be able to concentrate on anything and will not be able to answer a single operator question (regarding this event).

If control over the progress of tasks across all horizons of focus is suddenly lost, it becomes important to regain a sense of perspective and restore focus.

Hence the second subtlety of the art of management: developing the correct analysis algorithm, which is used to review the state of affairs and subsequent prognostic adjustments to everything that belongs to the zone of attention at all focusing horizons.

What has been said is embodied in practical activities at every given moment. Regardless of the extent to which you are aware of your actions within the framework of the “five stages and six levels” concept, you should never stop working.

Then the concept will ensure the main thing: that you always stay firmly in the saddle, confidently managing the process of identifying and selecting options for action.

GTD System: Mental Foundation

IN last years I see a strong interest in the concept of “emotional intelligence.” Common sense is interpreted in it as the ability to manage one’s feelings. This has a direct bearing on personal effectiveness and professional results.

Communication, collaboration, teamwork and managed relationships are becoming important factors in professional life, making it useful to focus on the emotional component.

However, I argue that the basis for our theories lies in the field of mental intelligence! We must manage our thinking process, constantly refining it. I do not deny people the ability to think.

We just don’t bother ourselves with this activity and don’t use our potential with due efficiency. The reason for this is simple laziness.

For example, we don’t have a persistent desire to put our mail and phone records in order, and this reduces the effectiveness of our actions as a whole. And in the same way, the result rewards an overly emotional or, conversely, indifferent attitude to the matter.

The role of thought control in such situations cannot be underestimated. The concept of “thinking” in its broadest sense means the process of the emergence of emotions under the influence of thoughts, but not vice versa.

In your consciousness no own consciousness

People seem to me to be more than intelligent creatures. Analyzing the motives of their actions, I, of course, make a distinction between thinking and consciousness.

I can say that thinking is the result of combining intellect with plans. Using consciousness and intuition helps to distinguish concepts and make decisions.

If you have ever changed your mind, you are capable of creative, focused thinking.

Consciousness is a great servant, but a terrible teacher. It is ready to remind you of the problem precisely at the moment when you are no longer able to change anything.

And empty thoughts about problems and their real solution- these are completely different things. People are capable of generating wonderful ideas, although they do not think about their true value.

Unfortunately, it often doesn't come down to managing the content of your ideas. But if you understand how this reactive and mechanical part of our thought processes works, then you hold the key to victory.

We are not born with these abilities.

No one is programmed at birth to think: “What do we have in our assets? What do I want to achieve? What's the plan of action? Who will do this? In my life I have met only a few people who acted this way, considering it natural.

More often than not, people do not use their gift of structural thinking in their personal lives. A project manager in a company may have the principles and methods to hold meetings, know how to plan to launch a new product on the market, etc., but may be helpless in applying the same principles to his relationship with his mother or to his personal finances, although in in all cases the same methods can and should be used.

Once a top manager got acquainted with my material and was surprised that I “revealed the heuristic mechanism” for his company’s success, present in her internal culture at the value level.

However, he did not know how to teach these corporate values ​​to his employees. GTD allowed him and his employees to logically understand and identify their own methods of action and bring them to the level where they, as a coherent model, became a logical part of the company's training process for new employees.

Focusing issues are generally key to productivity.

To launch the whole mechanism and maintain its operation, we must take care of our own way of thinking and the ability to productively adapt the results of our thoughts to various areas of activity.

Attention to Attention

How does a person’s consciousness focus on his own attention and the ability to manage it? This is what is increasingly occupying the minds of researchers. But it is surprising that the keen interest in the phenomenon of attention didn't its study is in demand from the point of view scientific organization labor.

The development of technologies such as email, instant messaging and cellular communications has raised the issue of unnecessary costs due to the debilitating increased and fragmented distraction of human attention.

Researchers have repeatedly tried to document the decline in business activity due to distractions to the point of loss of focus. However, economic losses were not measurable.

Nevertheless, based on the obtained statistical data on a decrease in the average concentration time and an increase in the relaxation period, certain conclusions could be drawn.

Companies responded by attacking this with their own developments, under titles such as “No Email on Fridays” or “Quiet Hour.” These actions were intended to reduce losses due to mental noise, and free people for the creative and reflective process.

Most studies of this problem focus on external factors: too much mail, too much (or little) interpersonal communication, too much change, etc. Solutions that focus only on reducing the volume or speed of incoming information become best case scenario temporary measures, and at worst lead to paralysis.

We must be more mobile in the areas of thinking and action (two sides of the same coin).

After all, from birth we are happy owners of consciousness, which gives us the ability to think and grants us an amazing opportunity to solve the most complex matters with the help of simple, correctly compiled, ordered and ranked lists.

Some of the information we receive is actually useful, but much of it is distracting and stressful, reducing our productivity and ability to focus.

One of the biggest benefits of GTD is that it helps you differentiate between creative thought processes and ineffective worrying.

There is no need to master arcane scientific disciplines or achieve “mystical insight” (although both theorists and mystics consider GTD a valid method). Understanding the work of the intellect and correctly fixing its products with appropriate concentration of attention on the object of attention is as simple as, for example, preparing dinner.

However, this only happens when you are doing business and not soaring in the empyrean.

GTD System Logic

Strength is determined by access to open space. I experienced the truth of this statement myself while training in martial arts. And the metaphor “mind like water,” which comes from the philosophy of karate, has become widely used in connection with the use of GTD methods.

Water in all its manifestations corresponds to what it interacts with. And this happens without stress and unnecessary waste of energy.

So we, when nothing distracts us, get more opportunities to control our world. We acquire the ability to abstract ourselves from solving a particular problem if we need to focus on another. Flexibility and focus are true sources of strength.

But something is stopping us...

Dealing with emails from your boss, pondering an important thought, being concerned about unusual silence in the nursery, dealing with a crisis in the department - all these are situations for which we find a solution. It also depends on many factors that make up our objective world at the moment.

But if you indulge in fruitless reflection, instead of carefully thinking things over and undertake For their decision, the state of “consciousness like water” will turn out to be an unattainable ideal, and business will take a colossal amount of energy and strength.

It won’t be fun at all if you take the experiences you get at one meeting with you to another; if you bring home problems to work or put the burden of work issues on the shoulders of the family.

But how does all this work? What is the logic of the process?

Strength = Concentration

Concentrated energy creates momentum and has an impact. You can’t achieve effect in anything without concentration, be it a game, breaking the board with a palm strike, or talking with a teenager about sensitive topics.

Focus = Eliminating distractions

Have you ever lost your sense of concentration? And what happened to your productivity? Who distracted you the most?

But everyone experienced these unpleasant moments, becoming a victim of hundreds of external circumstances that interfered - loud noise, a stranger, a computer failure. Have you ever been distracted from your work while in a quiet room? Just like that: after all, your own random thoughts can just as easily lead you astray as any extraneous factors.

A vitally important question for a modern person: how to keep everything under control, direct the situation in the right direction, act as efficiently as possible and at the same time not become exhausted either mentally or physically? The answer was suggested by David Allen, the author of the legendary book “Getting Things Done” (GTD), which saved thousands of grateful readers from under the rubble of current affairs of varying degrees of urgency and complexity.

This book is about why the technique works and how to expand its scope. Eleven proposed models will help configure the GTD system for long, trouble-free operation. And to do this, understand what creates internal discomfort for you; select and prioritize; learn to remain confident in any development of events.

Who is this book for?

For GTD users, both advanced and beginners.

For those who have just decided to finally take own life under control.

"Trick" of the book

Allen has refined his technique to apply to all areas of life, not just the workplace.

From the author

No one is born with the thought “What is the right way to act in in this case? What do I want to achieve? What are the next steps? Who will do this? If this were so, such abilities would have to be programmed by someone outside of us at a very early stage of our development. I know only a few people endowed with such abilities. But even such people are not always aware of their gift in They don't use it fully and don't use it in other important aspects of their lives. An IT project manager knows how to manage to release a new product on schedule, but may be completely helpless in applying the same methods to his relationship with his mother or to his personal relationships. finance.

Although both can and should use the same principles.

The GTD system allows you to realize, understand and identify the methods of your actions, and also bring them to a level where they can be taught to others.

Our reality and our tasks are becoming more and more difficult to formulate and ambiguous as life constantly becomes more complex. To get this whole mechanism going and keep it going, we need to think more about our way of thinking and applying the results of those thoughts to different areas of our lives and work.

Expand description Collapse description

The book will be useful both for those who want to learn how to plan their employment, and for those who are subject to constant fatigue, stress, and anxiety due to “turnover” at work.

Description

Name: How to keep things in order. Principles of a fulfilling life without stress (English: Making Work: Winning Game Work Business Life)

This book is a continuation of the bestseller "". On its pages, the author tried to find application for his GTD method not only at work, but also in a person’s everyday life. The work will be useful both for those who want to learn how to plan their employment, and for those who are subject to constant fatigue, stress, and anxiety due to “turnover” at work.

David Allen himself wrote in the foreword: “Our reality and our tasks are becoming increasingly difficult to formulate and ambiguous as life constantly becomes more complex. To get this whole thing going and keep it going, we need to think more about our way of thinking and applying the results of that thinking to different areas of our lives and work.”

main idea This book is about transforming the GTD formula from a tool for a businessman into a universal mechanism for planning all employment - both at work and at home. This allows you to plan your time, save it, and avoid haste and related inconveniences. Allen's new creation is wider, deeper and therefore bigger.

about the author

David Allen- expert, consultant in matters of time management and personal productivity. At the university he specialized in studying American history. After graduating from college, D. Allen spent quite a long time looking for his place in life. According to his own assurance, he changed at least 35 professions before the age of 35. Today, Allen runs his own management and productivity coaching company, although he rarely conducts public seminars. He is also one of the founders of Actioneer Inc, a company that specializes in the production of office supplies.

“How to Keep Things in Order” is a continuation of the cult world and Russian bestseller “How to Keep Things in Order.” In this book, David Allen has refined his technique to be applied to all areas of life, not just the workplace. How to Keep Things Done explains why Getting Things Done (GTD) works and offers eleven models to help you set up a GTD system for long-term trouble-free operation in any industry.

Publisher: Mann, Ivanov and Ferber, 2010

ISBN 978-5-91657-104-2

Number of pages: 400.

Contents of the book “How to keep things in order. Principles of a fulfilling life without stress":

• 6 Feel the freedom!
• 8 1. Introduction
• 18 2. GTD phenomenon
• 59 3. Starting the system and maintaining its operation
• 72 4. Basic principles of self-organization
• 92 5. Full control: fixation
• 126 6. Full control: significance assessment
• 160 7. Total control: ordering
• 206 8. Full control: verification and analysis
• 216 9. Full control: execution
• 245 10. Full control: application of the system
• 255 11. Gaining Perspective
• 266 12. “Runway”: event plans
• 274 13. Ten Thousand Feet: Projects
• 287 14. Twenty thousand feet: areas of focus and areas of responsibility
• 297 15. Thirty thousand feet: goals and objectives
• 305 16. Forty Thousand Feet: Vision
• 315 17. Fifty Thousand Feet: Purpose and Principles
• 331 18. Perspective: Revisiting Gracie's Gardens
• 337 19. How to keep the system running
• 358 20. Conclusion
• 363 Applications
• 386 about the author