collected bits on
raw, unbridled technolust,
the human-digital membrane,
and getting sh-t done.
since 1996: bill westerman
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GETTING SH-T DONE
PERSONAL ORGANIZATION WITHOUT THE HASSLE
“A wonderful, slightly irreverent, lightweight system for those not interested in joining the GTD cult.” - Education Week
Aching to scribble
For years I fought the good fight, shoehorning my life into a clusterflock of digital devices, trying to align the vagaries of an analog world into the rigid architectures of a box full of computers, PDAs, and mobile phones. But it was futile, because I ached to scribble in the margins, draw fat circles around things, hack out arrows to connect thoughts.
Heck yea, I had tried out the Hipster PDA (verdict: too hipster), read up on the Moleskines (verdict: too much pressure to be the next Hemingway and Picasso), and even thought about Getting Things Done, but I just wasn’t up to the task.
But man, it was all just so ... involved.
And then, one sunny day in early 2005, a chance stop at a random old-school stationary store changed my life forever. Right there on the shelves, I found nirvana - no longer was I going to be hamstrung by electronica, as I was going full-tilt analog, with a thick black Miquelrius and a bold new pen.
The birth of Getting Sh-t Done
For the next few months, I slowly evolved a method for personal organization, using just paper and pen. It was brutally simple, didn’t require much forethought or planning, and kept me focused on the tasks at hand rather than on the task of organizing. And it worked.
But it took a chance encounter with Dave Gray and a few other folks several months later in a San Francisco restaurant to realize that I actually had a system here.
So with a bit of goading from the crew, I wrote it up and gave it a name: “Getting Sh-t Done”, or GSD. It’s quick, it’s dirty, and it doesn’t require a lot of preparation, special materials, or rigorous thinking.
GSD in four easy steps
Step 1 : Create the Master list
The core of the whole system is dead simple. I start off by banging out a stream-of-consciousness list of everything that I can think of that I have to do, putting an empty box next to each of them - and not spending any time prioritizing or organizing.
But the key is to make sure that each item is a task that I can actually do. Not “figure out dishwasher repair”, but “make list of five dishwasher repair people and phone numbers”. Otherwise, they’ll just linger there on the list, mocking me, and never actually get done.
Step 2 : Create the Daily list
Early each morning, I sit down with my notebook (laptop asleep, phone off, newspaper closed) and open it to the next blank page. I write the day and date at the top, and pull forward the Post-It tab that I use to mark the current page.
Next, I dump a list of the things that are top of mind, in no particular order. That’s important, because it lets me get everything out without worrying about structure. I combine work and personal items, although you may not want to.
Then, I go back to previous days and look for unfinished items. For each one I find, I draw a diagonal line through its box (indicating it’s been moved forward), and rewrite it on today’s page. The goal is to move all open items onto the current page, and eventually have every box on prior pages filled with a check (it’s done), a diagonal line, or an X (I’m punting and will never do it). Once I’ve moved everything forward from a prior page, I put a check mark in the upper-right hand corner of that page to show it’s closed out.
Finally, I review my Master list for items that need to be addressed. Usually, a lot of them have already come through in the brain dump, but it helps me remember and stay focused on longer-term goals.
Step 3 : Work the Daily list
Next, I look at my entire Daily list, pick the top 3 or 4 most important items, and put little dots in their checkboxes. Then I get to work, cranking through my list and getting sh-t done, dropping check marks as I complete my items.
Once I’ve completed my priority items, I go back and put dots next to the next most important items, and work on those ... on so on.
The key, however, is to make sure that you’re only working on things that are on the list. If something new comes up, add it to the list, and then re-prioritize.
Step 4 : Reboot
This system works pretty well for me, but sometimes the entire context shifts, and it’s time to rethink the whole thing. When this happens, I start over, returning to Step 1 and revisiting the Master list, deleting things that are no longer important, and braindumping new tasks.
Tips and tricks
Prioritization
From time to time, even the dots don’t work, especially when I’m up against some sort of timeframe. That’s when I draw out a time ladder.
I start with the current time, map out the hours through the end of the day, and then map activities against the timeline in rough 30- or 60-minute blocks. This usually works for about two hours, then the whole thing goes to hell and I just wing it.
Out and about
I’ve found a great little trick for whenever I’m out and about and don’t have my notebook with me. Whenever I think of something, I pull out my mobile and tap out a quick e-mail to myself, and then when I’m back at my desk I manually transfer items from my inbox to my notebook.
Scheduling
Several peeps have written to ask about how I do my calendar and address book. Actually, it’s nothing special - I just use the iCal and Address Book that comes with my Mac.
And that’s it!
So that’s it, GSD in a nutshell - one place for all your to-dos and notes, a quick and dirty way of managing them, and no need to buy special software or spend your Sunday fighting with a cumbersome prioritization scheme.
If you’re looking for a Miquelrius notebook of your own, I have found them periodically at my local Barnes & Noble. I prefer the 6-inch x 8-inch 300-page version with a black cover and smaller grid rule. However, I haven’t been able to find that one recently, so I’ve been using the 6x8 300 page with a slightly larger rule and an elastic band for the cover. The paper quality is much lower, but overall it’s still a reasonably good book.
Want more GSD? Check out the rest of utilware.com
More information on GSD and related topics
The Getting Sh-t Done page on Facebook
Mike Rohde’s “Creating a Custom Moleskine Planner”
Isahrai M. Azaria ‘s “To Do Gone Wild”
All Contents Copyright (c) 1996-2009 Bill Westerman. All Rights Reserved.
The notebook that started it all:
a Miquelrius grid-ruled 300-page notebook from Spain
A daily list, with dots for
priority items, and check marks
for completed items
A time ladder, for trying to keep on top of things on a very busy day
Where I use GSD every day: Create with Context, a strategic research and design firm