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March 31, 2004
Good key to defining "projects"
An executive I coached a couple of weeks ago reminded me of a great way to help understand what we mean by a "project". As we approached the end of our two-day session, and I was assisting him in creating the all-important "Projects" list (the key control piece for the weekly review and stess-free productivity) he, like many people, had a bit of trouble getting his mind around what I call a "project". For some reason our working definition as "any outcome you're committed to finish within the next twelve months that will take more than one action step to get there", didn't do it for him. However, as we began to go through his action folders and I was asking him, "So, what's that action about? Toward what end?" he began to grok it. Then, he said, "Oh, it's like what I usually have on my 3-month action plans...." and he gave me some specifics - hire senior person, get marketing plan in place, etc. Right. Good way to frame it. So if any of you've not kept your Projects list updated, or haven't even yet created one, maybe that will help... (and most people have between 30 and 100 such "projects"). More on the value of Projects and their definition in my article on the Web site....
Posted by David at March 31, 2004 07:41 AM
Comments
How far down do "you" go. Perhaps it's just because I'm an INTJ but just about everything I have to do has more than one step. An errand to buy file folders has multiple steps, or is it just one, to jog my memory?
Posted by: Joel at April 1, 2004 01:31 AM
hello
i think the 'project as next action step' really works with your outlook setup. I was used to the longterm project view ie. each project has associated tasks _but_ when using the GTD approach of 'next action item' within Outlook the 'whole thing' really works, Credit to Dave Allen for simplification!
Posted by: john at April 1, 2004 02:32 AM
Joel, my working definition of "next action" is anything that I have a 99% chance of finishing at one sitting, or in one kind of activity. E.g. "Buy file folders" is an errand, whereas, "Set up/enhance filing system" is a "project." "Fix the light switch" is an action if I have all the parts already. "Fix the light switch" is a "project" if I don't.
Posted by: David Allen at April 3, 2004 11:34 AM
I'm just wondering where the article you mention is (value of Projects and their definition). The link didn't lead me to it.
thanks.
Posted by: Gregor McNish at August 31, 2004 07:54 AM
