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October 5, 2001

Getting things done

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As a high-tech worker, you are well aware you always have more work than you can possibly ever complete. Without some sort of plan to attack this work you can often find yourself floundering around from one emergency to the next. What you need is an attack plan that allows you to be the most productive without burning yourself out.

Getting things done

There are a myriad of books available that propose methods of making you more productive in your work. Each one usually has a few good tidbits than can help, but most lack an overall approach to the concept of productivity. The other day at my local library, I happened across a book that seemed a cut above the others. Written by David Allen, Getting Things Done, (http://www.davidco.com/) is a book that seeks to attack the problem of productivity from beginning to end. Not only does it give you methods of getting organized, it also gives you methods for maintaining that organization, leading you to higher productivity. I highly recommend this book and think you all might find some interesting insights between its covers.

Getting high-tech work done

One of the first tasks in Allen's book is getting a complete list of what needs to be done in your life and I highly agree. Too many of us run around with to-do lists scribbled on notepads or scraps of paper. These lists are too easily lost (sometimes on purpose) or discarded. It doesn’t matter how you gather this master list of work, but it should be in one place, in one notebook, in one computer file, in your handheld organizer so that you can refer to it regularly and not misplace it.

One of the first things you will learn from a list such as this is what "problem" projects you have been avoiding. We all have these projects. It is usually something totally tedious or difficult to schedule, like server upgrades that can only be done at night or updating software on 100 different computers.

You also may find, though, that completing one problem project might negate the effects of one or more other projects. Maybe switching to a different piece of software might eliminate the need to upgrade memory in all your computers. Maybe installing a network connection to an outlying building would remove the need for complicated database merge procedures. The fact is, if you don't have all your work written down, in one place, it can be difficult to see where you can best focus your attention.

The next step

As you build your list you will also find that there are some tasks that are really many tasks masquerading as one. Allen calls any such tasks a project, and they are treated in a special way. Instead of trying to attack the project as a whole, you first decide what the next required physical action is to move the project along. This action, and only this action, is what goes on your daily 'To-Do" list. This helps prevent you from getting overwhelmed with the entire scope of the project on a daily basis. All the projects go into a Projects list and are then reviewed each week to insure that each one has a clear "next action" on your daily to-do list. This method allows you to take small, bite-size chunks of a project instead of trying to swallow the whole thing.

For example, say that you need to install 10 new PC's while moving the older PC's to new workers. While your project list might include all the moves that need to take place, your to-do list contains only "Install new PC for Dan." Once that is complete, you choose the next action required for that project, "Move Dan's old PC to Michelle." You then just continue to work through the entire project one step at a time, reviewing each week to insure that you have the next action in your to-do list.

Weekly review

A weekly review of your project list and action items is critical. You need to make sure that each and every project in your project list has a "next action" to be included on your to-do list. You could also institute this system on a department or company level. Instead of endless staff meetings hashing out entire projects and trying to figure out the next step, each person presents the next action that needs to be accomplished for each of their projects.

Of course, this column is a major simplification of David Allen's book, but I hope that this small introduction will interest you enough to head to your local library or bookstore and pick it up. You might also find some other books that can speak to your way of working. It just might change the direction of your high-tech career.

 

about this column.

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Douglas E. Welch is a freelance writer and computer consultant in Van Nuys, California. Readers can discuss career issues with other readers by joining the Career Opportunities Discussion on Douglas' web page at: http://www.welchwrite.com/dewelch/ce/

He can reached via email at douglas@welchwrite.com

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