« May 2007 | Main | July 2007 »

June 25, 2007

Getting Things Going

Someone asked me recently in a seminar, "I have this big list of things to do, but how do I get myself to actually DO it?" Wouldn't it be nice if this were all about just organizing stuff? There does come a time when you want to do it. Here are a few tips for getting things moving, especially for the ones that have seemed stuck:

1. Define what done looks like. A clear outcome does wonders for getting motivated to get going.

2. Define what doing looks like. Pick a clear next action that you physically, visibly see yourself doing.

3. Pick an easier next action. Often things can get stuck when the next action is too big. Pick a smaller step to get the ball rolling.

4. Ask yourself if you have all the information you need to take the next action you chose. If not, the action you chose might not be the very next action. Back yourself up until you get to the very next step. That will help.

5. Does this still need to be done? Have you reviewed this lately against some of your other priority levels lately? Just because you capture something on a list doesn't mean you end up doing it. Priorities, interests, standards and resources shift and so will the things on your list. It's OK to renegotiate the agreement.

6. Can it be delegated? Can someone else do this for you?

7. Can any of the things on next actions move to Someday/Maybe? Does it all need to be done now?

8. Carve out time for yourself on your calendar to take action. Sometimes seeing it as a "hard landscape" meeting with yourself to work on something helps.

The beginning is the half of every action.- Greek Proverb

What's worked for you to get things moving?

Posted by Kelly at 08:27 AM | Comments (3)

June 05, 2007

Handling Waiting For items in Yahoo!

Hey there Yahoo! mail fans. Some of you might have discovered this, but there's an easy way to use the GTD Waiting For concept in Yahoo! mail.

1. Create an email folder called Waiting For

2. Go to Options>Mail Options>Filters

3. Name the filter something like Waiting For

4. Add a new filter with these characteristics:
- your email address in the From header field
- a unique keyword in Body contains field, such as *wf

5. Select Move message to the: Waiting For folder

Try it out by sending a test message to yourself and typing *wf in the body of the email somewhere, such as under your signature file. It should send a copy of the email to your Waiting for folder.

What this rule does is eliminate the step of having to CC: yourself or dig through your Sent file to find emails that you are waiting for a response. Very handy for delegated items.

Here's the equivalent of that for Gmail and Outlook.

For Lotus Notes users, you've got it even easier. If you create a Waiting For email folder (use a dash before the folder name to make it show up right under the Inbox), you can use the "Send and File" button in Notes email to file emails into Waiting For as soon as you send it.

I figure any quick tips like this to help speed the admin of workflow are worth checking out. The less time I can spend on organizing the more time I can spend actually doing.

Posted by Kelly at 02:49 PM | Comments (2)