Getting Things Done-Evaluation

After completing Getting Things Done, there are probably two things that stayed with me more than anything else.  The first was the process of project planning.  Since I am involved with lots of projects, it helped to see in black and white the process I already follow and to also have someone else say "it works!" One of the things Allen says about project planning is that if you get bogged down in project planning, its because you have failed to follow the steps in the correct order.  You can't brainstorm, for example, until you have claried the goal or the objective.  Once you have clearly identified your goal, then you can go about making it happen by brainstorming and then identifiying the next action to take.  Allen says we don't organize projects, we organize the next action. 

Another highlight of this book for me personally was the "two minute" idea.  If, while you are processing "open loops," or unfinished "stuff," you come across things that can be done in two minutes of less...DO THEM.  Do not place them on a list or put them in the "in basket."  Simply do them then.  For those of us who like lists, we would probably go ahead and put them on our list and then do them in that two minutes just so we can mark through them!

Getting Things Done in Ministry

As part of our assignment in reading our books, we were to discover how we could use what we'd read.
For me, part of what that would mean would be applying it to my professional life-my ministry.  These are my observations about that:

1.  My first thought is that those in music ministry wear many hats.  We are administrators, counselors, teachers, "crack-fillers," planners, writers and, yes, musicians.  One of my children's choir kids asked me once why the minister of music and I had offices and desks.  I think her exact words were, "What do you need with a desk?"  Well, because there's usually lots of planning and budgeting and purchasing and mailouts and meetings that you don't see that happen before all the rehearsals and programs and trips that you do see.  And there's an office where those things take place.  In other words, there's a practical, "office" side of music ministry required to make the other things happen.  And it takes good organization to make sure all that runs smoothly.  After all, there's a church budget and procedures that sometimes guide what we do and  things have to be processed in an orderly way.  All those great events and choir tours start with good planning and that requires good organization.

2.  My second thought is that although the details of ministry are able to be organized, "ministry"-everyday, hands-on ministry--cannot always be put in convenient, labeled places.  I knew a pastor once who was SO organized (thanks to a book he'd read that "changed his life") that no matter what the crisis or situation, you got fifteen minutes of his time, no more.  He loved the fact that he stayed on schedule.  Truth is, more than one person left his office-their pastor's office-with issues just as unresolved as they were fifteen minutes before.  Ministry is prone to disorganization in some ways.  People show up in our office with situations and need someone to listen.  Emergencies occur.  Shocking things happen when you least expect them.  It's great to be organized as long as the main things remain the main things.  In other words, my profession  is about people, not lists.  As organized as I try to be--and I appreciate being organization--marking everything off my "to do" list will always come in second place to taking care of the people in my church.

Elegant? Seriously?

I am in the process of reading the last half of  Getting Things .  What the author is describing now is how
to process all the "stuff" (unfinished things) that were placed in the IN box to be processed.  There are several options here-filing as reference material, handling immediately if the action would take less than two minutes and delegating the action, just to name a few.  But one thing that has kind of surprised me is the use of the word "elegant" to describe part of this process.  I am all about being organized.  I have to be to do everything I do in a week.  But I don't think I would describe even the finest organizational system as "elegant."

Finally Getting Things Done

Having completed the first half of Getting Things Done, I've "walked through" the process of organization with  David Allen .  At this point in the reading-halfway through the book- he has come to the point in the process where everything that needs to be organized is gathered together and labeled the "in" stuff.  As he described collecting papers, items from the desktop and even things from the shelves, I could picture a desk that would at first only have a basket on it.  Pretty soon, this basket would be overflowing with papers.  Not only that, but beside it on the desk and even on the floor beside the desk would be items waiting to be processed, put there because either the basket was full or else because they were too large for the basket.  At the completion of my reading, I could easily picture a desk with papers and other items not only covering the entire desktop, but the floor around it as well.  I could well imagine this kind of organizational activity would take a big chunk of time but would be well worth it in the long run!  OK, everything is gathered now.  In the next section  I'll find out what's next.

Getting Things Done with the Natural Planning Model

I like things that demonstrate good common sense!  One of the things that has made me glad I chose this book to read is that, in addition to having practical application, it uses common sense!  Allen's system of organization is not complicated and does not even involve a lot of high-tech devices.  Much to my delight, he simplifies the process of organization so that anybody can become more organized using his suggestions.  A perfect example is  the filing system he recommends-a simple A-Z filing system for reference materials.  I have been surprised that just as easily as he recommends devices for keeping notes, he is just as quick to suggest simply writing things down on paper.  I think that probably would make this a very user-friendly system to some who might shy away from technology.
The prominent idea in the pages I am currently reading is the "Natural Planning Model."  This process of project planning involves five steps: 
1.  Defining purpose and principles
2. Outcome visioning
3. Brainstorming
4. Organizing
5. Identifying next actions

Allen says defining the purpose of a project can be done by simply asking the question "why?"
He calls this using advanced common sense!  Next comes envisioning the outcome,  followed by brainstorming to see what activites might lead to the desired outcome. Finally, putting these steps in order, followed by identifying what is to be done next.  Allen uses the term "unnatural project planning" to describe the process that begins anywhere but with the purpose of the project.

First Comments on Getting Things Done

Having been given a choice of three books to read for our assignment, I chose to read Getting Things Done, primarily because the title caught my attention.   I like getting things done! Also, being a very pragmatic person, I like information I can use and it seemed this book would provide that.  Last but not least,  I have lots to do and I thought this book would offer a new idea on how to make that happen.  At this point, I have not been disappointed in my expectations.  This is a very practical book.  The author,  David Allen, clearly describes organizational tools that have application for both personal and work-related projects.  His definition of a project is anything that requires several steps to complete.  Because I consider myself to be a good organizer, I have not yet discovered a lot of new information that would drastically change the way I currently organize, and I am about fifty pages into the book.  However, I was impressed by one of the first point Allen makes, and that is that to be organized, you have to put things-lists, ideas, plans-somewhere and get them off your mind!  He suggests to either write them down or record them in some kind of device and then clear your mind of them until it's time to either review what needs to be done or else do the next thing that will lead to the accomplishment of the task.  I liked that!

Getting Started

OK, I have created a blog, which turned out to be a pretty easy thing to do.  As soon as I finish the reading assignment, I'll be ready to post something.