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This
Month's Featured MasterMind: David Allen Helps You Get
Things Done
 David
Allen is the author of the best selling, Getting
Things Done: the Art of Stress-Free Productivity,
and founder of the David Allen Company, a consulting,
coaching and training company. He is also a frequent
speaker on the topics of time and stress management,
individual and team productivity and high performance
work practices.
In the past twenty years, Allen has helped improve
productivity for more than half a million professionals
in hundreds of organizations worldwide, including
Fortune 500 companies and governmental agencies.
MCNews: Getting more done, with less
stress, is probably at the top of many New Year's resolution
lists. What's different about your approach?
Allen: A lot of people, even with great intentions,
are less than successful when they try to get themselves
organized. The main reason for the high failure rate
is that most people have not had a model for productivity
they could trust. The approach I've written about
tells you what to do with everything. You see how it
actually works and that makes it a lot easier to see
the payoff. You realize there will be a valuable outcome
at the end of the process, rather than it being just
another blind path.
MCNews: People do seem really stressed these days
with too much to do and not enough time to do it. Has
our world gotten that much more complicated, or is something
else going on here?
Allen: There is something else going on: the
frequency of having your world disrupted. You will
change careers more times than your parents changed
jobs. When your parents were thrown into new situations,
they had an overwhelming sense of ambiguity and stress
until they adapted. Then, they got to cruise for another
twelve point six years.
You, on the other hand, have about two weeks to adapt
to changes, and then you've got to do it again. The
issues are the same, but the constant upheaval and need
to recalibrate are new. The stress of change is ongoing
right now. Some of that is due to more technology and
globalization. One thing is certain: we are constantly
in crisis mode.
But in a strange way, people relax more in crisis because
it gets them focused and relieves the pressure of future
crises. If you blow a tire on the freeway, you roll
up your sleeves and focus on that crisis. You aren't
thinking about that staff problem you haven't figured
out, or the kids at camp, or whether you need a new
investment advisor.
The real stress comes when you take away the immediate
crisis and the next level of stress that's been sublimated
bubbles to the surface. It's the sublimated stress that
burns people out.
MCNews: What do you mean by sublimated stress?
Allen: Think about what happens when you need
to complete some task. If you can't finish it right
when you think of it and you don't park it in some trusted
place outside your head, it creates an infinite amount
of stress for you.
The reason is that the place in our heads where
we file stuff has no sense of past or future. So,
as soon as you file two things in your head without
an objective system to track them, some part of you
thinks you should be doing both of them at the same
time. That builds subliminal stress, which is what drains
our energy.
MCNews: So, the first step to stress-free productivity
is to get the "stuff" out of our heads?
Allen: Yes. Of the five stages for managing
the flow of work, the first and primary is to make sure
you've got all of your potential commitments in a place
where they are easily retrievable. Your head is a major
source of leaks because an item is virtually lost as
soon as you file it in there, just as it's lost if you
put it on a post-it that gets stuck somewhere you won't
look.
All your commitments must be captured and tracked
in some way. At the very least, you need to throw
them into temporary buckets, like your paper in-basket.
But, of course, the buckets--whether it's voicemail,
email, recording devices or your in-basket--have to
be emptied, processed and organized, sooner rather than
later. Otherwise, the stuff crawls right back up into
your head.
MCNews: What's the next step once you have emptied
the commitments from your head and elsewhere?
Allen: Well, once you have collected it all,
either on a list, on scraps of paper or have recorded
everything somewhere, you need to go through each
item one at a time and make the processing decisions
about it. Is it actionable, yes or no? If it's actionable,
you decide what the next action should be. Then, you
decide if you should do it, delegate it or defer it.
That is the thinking that needs to be done about every
potential item of work that we generate ourselves or
that we collect from other people.
You know intuitively that there is something important
about distributing your cognition and getting stuff
out of your head so you can be more objective. But most
people only note enough to remind them about the work
at hand; they don't finish defining what that work is.
Quite simply, the way you get things done is you
define what done means, and you define what doing looks
like. Because, guess what? Most people have not
made those two decisions about most everything that
demands their attention.
You have to sit down and ask, okay what am I trying
to do about this staff situation or about this client
presentation? You've got to define what you are trying
to accomplish, and then you have to decide what, exactly,
is the very next physical thing that needs to happen.
Until you decide what to do next, your brain will keep
bothering you about it.
You must decide what doing looks like, whether that
next step is yours to take or somebody else's. Until
you actually get it down to that level, your brain keeps
running this loop: got to decide, got to decide, hey,
I got to decide, bother, bother. Most people have just
lived in that mode constantly since they have been conscious,
so they don't even know there is another way. The key
is making the operational decisions about what doing
would look on each item.
The whole point of making decisions and defining your
work as best as you can is that the work keeps coming
at you. You need to look at the predefined work against
the ad hoc stuff to make a professional triage call
and not get snared in the busy trap, just dealing with
the latest and loudest because you can't think about
the rest.
MCNews: Many people use to-do lists, and would probably
say they work okay. What do you think about the effectiveness
of the traditional to-do list?
Allen: It depends on what you mean by a to-do
list. My lists are ultimately to-do lists because they
define what doing is. But, what most people call a to-do
list is incomplete and unclear, which is highly unattractive.
Everything on your list is either attracting or repelling
you psychologically. There is no neutral response:
it's either, oh boy, when can I mark that off or, get
out of my face. If there are still a lot of decisions
you need to make about items on your list, your brain
glances at the list and says, I don't have the energy
to do all that thinking, go away.
You don't usually see specific actions on to-do lists
because most people haven't forced themselves to sit
down and finish their thinking about what has their
attention. They collect items in their in-basket or
think they have made a list, but there is another level
of thinking that is required to move forward.
Another problem with to-do lists is that people try
to do all five phases of the workflow process at once.
They get their back up against the wall and feel stressed.
So they try to collect everything they need to do, process,
organize, review and make priority decisions about the
whole thing all at once. You can blow a fuse trying
to do that.
It does relieve pressure temporarily to know you need
to do "something" about an item, but that
approach does not get your energy positively engaged
to be productive. So, back to your question on to-do
lists: no, they don't usually work the way most people
use them. Daily to-do lists haven't worked since
the telephone was invented.
MCNews: There is no shortage of tools and techniques,
like planners and PDA's to help people get a handle
on the stress in their lives. Do you think such tools
work?
Allen: They don't work any better than a knife
works. It's all in how you use it, right? Tools are
static. They don't get you organized, make decisions
for you, or teach you how to think. They can facilitate
thinking a little bit because your mind, to some degree,
works in a function-follows-form fashion. In other words,
give yourself a blank page and your brain wants to fill
it up because it can't stand a vacuum. So, as long as
you create the right forms, tools can facilitate thinking.
The point is that tools are critical, but before a
tool can really work for you, there needs to be an understanding
of how we think. What's different about my approach
is that it is based on our thinking algorithm, not just
a set of organizing tools.
MCNews: How much time does it take to do the kind
of thinking you are talking about?
Allen: The executive thinking needed to process
input from your in-basket, email, notes, etc., takes
from thirty minutes to one and a half hours a day for
the typical professional. You could be working off your
list, dealing with the phone calls you didn't expect
or processing your email. Those are three very different
activities, and you can't do them at the same time.
People get upset when they are not getting their to-do
lists done, but the truth is that most people are relatively
unconscious about all of the things that are coming
at them and how sophisticated their lives are.
Most people just haven't trained themselves to sit
down and do the kind of thinking on the front end that
would allow them to manage their commitments in a complete
way. It doesn't get rid of your problems, but it
does elevate them to a level where they can be managed.
MCNews: When you start to work with someone, what
is the most common improvement you see right away?
Allen: Getting it all out of the head and into
a trusted bucket, and then making the operational, executive
decisions. Most people are doing that to some degree,
but there is a light-year difference between getting
it all and getting a lot. It can feel worse to get a
lot, because you don't know where the end is--you can't
see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Then, whatever system you are using is not giving you
the payoff, which is to relieve the brain from the lower
level tasks of remembering and reminding. The certificate
or degree you get from doing it completely is that your
brain graduates to a higher level where you get to make
intuitive choices from your options. Used properly,
an external system manages lower level tasking much
better than your brain can anyway.
Until you empty your brain completely and organize
and process everything that was in there, it's almost
not worth doing at all. Maybe I'm getting old and cranky,
but I think if you are not willing to get it all down,
don't do any of it. Otherwise, you are just giving yourself
something else to do that you aren't going to feel good
about.
MCNews: What challenges are there in implementing
your approach?
Allen: The good and bad news about my approach
is that it's a transformational way to think about your
life, and once you do the hard work, suddenly you
start to see the fog lift. But, implementing my method
is far outside most people's comfort zone. They start
the process, feel fabulous and then they back off because
they can only handle so much fabulous feeling.
People's addiction to stress is the biggest barrier
to truly getting organized. You start to feel good
and excited, but you can handle only so much of that
before some part of you unconsciously slacks off and
lets the world fall apart again to get you back to the
level of stress to which you are addicted.
And, here's the pain: this is not light-weight information;
once you do get organized, there are a whole lot of
people who are going to start upsetting you who never
upset you before. Once you raise your standards, you
start noticing behavior you never noticed before: people
not asking what the next action is, or nodding and saying
they got it without writing anything down. And, you're
thinking, well that went into a black hole.
MCNews: Are you working on another book?
Allen: Two books, actually. The first should
be out by the end of 2003. The book is based on the
underlying principles and dynamics that lie behind the
best practices of personal productivity--everything
that we could all do more of, and be more aware of (other
than work harder!) that makes things function better
in life and work. The next book is related to a seminar
I do called "Leveraging Focus in Vision,"
and is about the magic that happens when you start to
image things and how that affects perception and performance.
MCNews: We will be watching for them. Thanks for
being so generous with your time.
Find out more about David Allen, his services and his
e-newsletter at www.davidco.com.
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Unleash
the Potential of Booklets to Promote Your Practice,
by Paulette Ensign
As the saying goes, "good things
come in small packages."
Paulette Ensign has sold over 500,000
copies of her booklet, 110 Ideas for Organizing
Your Business Life. That is not a typo. In this
article, Paulette shows you how to package your intellectual
capital into bite-size publications that your clients
will read, rather than filing away.
She is the Founder and CEO of Tips Products
International. Contact her
at Paulette@tipsbooklets.com or visit www.tipsbooklets.com.
MCNews
Travel Advisory
Beginning January 1, 2003, new security rules
will make flying from US airports a little tougher,
and slower, for everyone. Security procedures
at over 400 commercial airports in the US are
being enhanced to include screening checked
luggage for explosives. The Transportation Security
Administration (TSA), formed after the September
11 World Trade Center bombing, is supervising
the task of screening approximately 1.5 billion
pieces of luggage checked annually at US airports.
Here's a link to some tips for making the new
procedures a little easier on you.
Over the last year or so, there's been confusion over
what you can and cannot bring onto a commercial airplane.
To help you, we combed through the TSA security rules
and pulled together a handy pocket summary you can carry
anywhere.
--------------------Clip
and Save - Airport Security Procedures---------------
Things You Can Take in Carry-On Luggage
Nail Clippers and Nail Files
Corkscrews
Knitting and Crochet Needles
Tweezers
Cigar Cutters
Safety Razors
Scissors - plastic or metal with blunt tips
Things You Can't Take On Board, but You Can Put
in Checked Luggage
Ice Picks
Meat Cleavers
Swords
Cattle Prods
Brass Knuckles
Billy Clubs
Stun Guns
Things You Can't Take on Board or in Checked Luggage--you'll
have to get these items at the hotel gift shop
Blasting Caps
Hand Grenades
Plastic Explosives
Gasoline
Dynamite
Tear Gas
Source: Transportation Security Administration
-----------------Clip and
Save - Airport Security Procedures------------------ top
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Print-on-Demand Publishing Works for You, by Otto
Barz
If you've written a book, or are planning
to, Otto Barz, president of
YBK Publishers,wants
to talk. In today's market you have an alternative to
the traditional book publishing route called Print-on-Demand
(POD). Otto's article reveals the highlights of POD.
Read
the Article
Mr. Barz will co-present on the topic of POD publishing
at the Thursday, January 9, 2003 meeting of
the New York City Chapter of the Institute of
Management Consultants (IMC). His co-presenter
will be Roger Kropf, New York University professor
and author of the book After E-mail.
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A
Reader Asks for Help
"Can you please pose a question to
your readers?
As background, I run a small turnaround and crisis
management firm that advises troubled companies, their
owners and creditors. Too frequently, the marketing
muscle in the firm (me) is asked to run the job. I want
to market more and consult less.
What are some tips on how to avoid clients demanding
the boss' (read my) heavy involvement in every project?"
If you can help, send an email
directly to Tony. I know he'll appreciate it.
Tony Natale
Shepherd Partners, Inc.
shep2010@aol.com
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Special
Report: Discussion List Marketing, by Mark Brownlow
If you have ever considered using internet
discussion lists as a marketing tool, you must read
Mark Brownlow's free sixty-six page special report.
His unique report shows you how to plan, prepare and
publish effective and ethical contributions to email
discussion lists, promoting you and your practice.
Topics include finding and evaluating
lists, preparing and publishing posts, and tracking
the results. The report includes two bonus sections:
a collection of special tips and tricks, and a list
of useful online resources.
Click here to download
the report.
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This
Month in History
On January 18, 1644, perplexed Pilgrims in Boston
reported America's first UFO sighting. Apparently Earth
has been a popular alien vacation destination for a
long time.
Edgar Allan
Poe was born on January 19, 1809. Poe
is best remembered for his poetry and tales of suspense.
He is acknowledged as the father of the detective story,
hence the Edgar Allan Poe Awards (the Edgar's) that
are bestowed each year for achievement in the mystery
field.
January 27 is Thomas
Crapper Day. Mr. Crapper is known for perfecting
the flush toilet. In 1861, he founded Thomas Crapper
& Company in London, and patented a flush toilet
with a separate water tank and a pull chain. During
WWI, American soldiers passing through England saw "T.
Crapper-Chelsea" printed on toilet tanks, and coined
the slang "crapper" to mean toilet.
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Coming Attractions
In February, we’ll feature an in-depth interview
with Andrew Sobel on his new book, Making
Rain: The Secrets of Building Lifelong Client Loyalty,
which is due for publication in January 2003.
Mark Your Calendars
The new year brings a host of learning opportunities
for consultants worldwide:
National Speakers Association - The popular
NSA winter workshops for professional speakers, consultants,
authors and others are scheduled for January and February
2003. For information, click
here.
Consultancy Skills Training - Provides consultancy
and training, in Europe and the US, to organizations
and people who wish to develop their client engagement
performance. For information, United
States, Europe
The Institute of Management Consultants (IMC)
has chapters and events around the world. Check the
samples below for upcoming events.
Institute of Management Consultants - "Shaping
the Future" IMC USA National Conference
will be held on May 4-6, 2003 in Chicago, Illinois.
IMC New York City Chapter - Thursday
January 9, 2003, Otto Barz, president of Publishing
Synthesis, Ltd, and Roger Kropf, New York University
professor and author of the book After
E-mail, will co-present on the topic
of On-Demand Publishing. More information is
available at http://www.imcusa.org
or by contacting Sean Dougherty, vice president,
publicity, at 201-739-2541 or at sdougher@mww.com.
IMC USA Chapter Meetings - IMC chapters across
the US have regularly scheduled events for members and
guests. Find an event in your area by clicking
here .
Canadian Association of Management Consultants
- To find out about educational events scheduled in
Canada, click
here.
Institute of Management Consultancy United Kingdom
- Click
here to review IMC events planned in the UK.
Institute of Management Consultants Hong Kong
- Click
here to review IMC events planned in Hong Kong.
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The End Page
"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning
of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."
- Winston
Churchill
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Management Consulting News ISSN 1539-2481,
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