When people think about productivity, they usually think about working harder.
They also think about working smart, using the right tools and techniques to get the job done. But they still think that productivity is primarily the result of effort and concentration.
But, if you break it down, nothing is more productive than mindfulness. Being fully present and aware in the moment helps us concentrate on whatever task may be at hand.
Today we’ll discuss how productivity should focus on mindfulness, using the Getting Things Done methodology as a foundation.
Flow State
Flow is the state of mind of being fully immersed in the present moment and whatever you may be working on.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi developed flow theory after he noticed a number of artists becoming fully immersed with their work, to the point of forgetting about their need for food, water and even sleep.
Giving your full attention to an activity that you’re completely focused on, and totally immersed in, you may experience the flow state of mind yourself. Normal distractions begin to fade away, placing us in an ultra-productive state, ready for deep work and focus.
The Multitasking Myth
Some people swear by multitasking, arguing that is how they get through their workload everyday. From one view, productivity involves working on several tasks in tandem. That way you move several projects along at the same time.
However, the mind doesn’t work in the same way as a Trello board. The mind prefers to focus on one thing at a time. Multi-tasking results in constant distraction and reduces immersion opportunities for any single task.
In the best case scenario, multitasking causes decreased productivity, while the worst case offers severe stress and even burn-out.
Save your energy
I like to think of my own output at work as an experiment. What is the maximum amount of energy I need to expend to get the minimum necessary amount of work?
That minimum is my baseline. Everything beyond that 80/20 limit is a happy addition – free productivity. Pareto’s Law centred on preserving my own mental health and well-being.
Unless we’re truly passionate about our jobs and happy to work overtime for free (and kudos if you are!), there are probably more important things in our lives than work.
In that case, you might use your free time to build new energy that you can later bring into your work!
Remember we’re working smart, and nothing’s smarter than doing less to accomplish (virtually) the same result.
Getting things done – mindfully
David Allen literally wrote the book on Getting Things Done. Though the book has more practical implications to productivity, it also touches on the idea of mindfulness. It is afterall dubbed the “art of stress-free productivity”.
The System
David Allen uses the concept of an “extended mind” in his best-seller, Getting Things Done, to describe a system that organises your workflow.
It’s all written out on paper, so you don’t need to juggle everything else on your plate while you should be absorbed in a task.
Allen’s system aims to give you confidence that whatever you’re working on in the current moment is the right thing to be doing. That way you can get things done without questioning yourself and getting in your own way.
Writing everything down helps you understand what’s on your mind and makes it easier to identify your priorities and organise them into a schedule. We can use a system like an organise Google Sheet or the Bullet Journal to manage our on-going priorities.
A clear system facilitates flow and helps you remember details, while staying on top of your workload and priorities.
The Two Minute Rule
On the other side of the system is the two minute rule. The idea is that, instead of planning a next action that takes less than two minutes to complete, we can complete it right away.
As the total processing time of a task might be around two minutes, we might as well help ourselves by getting the “quick win” complete right away. We can then return to the system once this quick win has been complete.
Different “stuff” on your mind
“Stuff” comes in various forms and knowing how to deal with the various types of things taking up our mental energy makes it simpler to process them.
For instance, we have
- Urgent tasks
- Tasks we need to work on
- Important projects
- Things we need others to do
- Calendar events
- Reference material
- Mental rubbish
Each type requires its own mode of processing and management to help bring our minds to ease.
Rather than juggling things in our minds, we can feel peace by knowing that our system does all the heavy lifting. We can just refer back to it whenever necessary.
Processing Stuff
The Getting Things Done (GTD) Methodology hinges on processing everything out of your mind into your system.
Tasks & Projects
Urgent tasks are generally the first things you need to get off your plate. Most people don’t like having to tend to urgent tasks, as the goal is to finish something on time – often to the minimum standard, just to “deliver”.
These tasks normally end up at the top of your current to do list.
Other tasks will also be planned into our to-do lists. All tasks need to have next actions along with a desired outcome, which helps us know what we need to do and how we know when we’re finished.
Someday / Maybe is a tickler list full of tasks that are not priorities. They might seem fun, which is why they made the list. However, they are not important and should only be considered when all urgent and priority actions are complete from your side.
Projects are like tasks that require multiple steps, normally over a longer time frame. They must be planned out to understand the actions and timeline of each initiative.
The next action for a project is normally “plan the project”, as this will likely take more than two minutes. Once you have a project plan, you will add your next actions from your plan into your task list.
Delegated Tasks & Events
Things we need from others normally end up on a Waiting For list, a tickler list that we can visit daily or weekly to help us stay on top of delegated tasks and projects.
Some things, such as meetings and appointments, are time sensitive. We need to plan events into our calendars with reminders to make sure we manage specific things at specific times.
Reference Material & Mental Junk
Sometimes we need to remember a specific piece of information. We archive Reference material in an organised folder system, where we should able to find it later within thirty seconds. It’s worth improving our organising skills for this purpose.
Some things we just can’t do anything about. Mental junk often includes worries, things with no next actions. If there’s nothing you can do about it, just get rid of the item! There’s nothing to do with it.
Review our post on the Stoic Dichotomy of Control for a better understanding of what might be considered mental junk.
The GTD Process
1. Capture
It all starts by capturing the “stuff” on your mind. This involves starting a list or writing things down on individual post-it notes. We capture things like tasks, goals, projects.
2. Clarify
Next you’ll clarify what must be done with each item, so you have an idea of the next actions for each item, along with a desired outcome.
Not every item is a task, but it probably has an action associated with it, whether filing new information or even throwing it out.
3. Organise
Once you’ve clarified your items, you can begin organising by grouping actions into different lists. You can complete things quicker when you perform similar actions in bulk.
For example, if you need to make 5 phone calls, you may be able to knock them out with less energy in one afternoon than if you spread them out over the course of the week.
4. Plan
Once you have organised lists, you can then begin planning actions into your schedule, with urgent and priority actions at the top of the list.
At the start of each day, you can plan your day into 1 hour chunks making space for priority tasks and calendar events, along with lunch and regular breaks.
For re-occurring tasks, we can make efficient use of our time by planning simple automations. We are also more likely to reach our goals with systems.
5. Execute
Lastly, if all goes according to plan, you should be able to execute on your most important tasks, crossing them off your list as you go along.
That’s it. That’s how you get things done.
Weekly & Monthly Reviews
We don’t just run through the GTD process once and expect everything to turn out hunky-dory forever. Regular reviews help us stay on top of our systems and notice what might be missing.
We review our systems weekly and monthly to make sure we’re on top of our workload. Nothing falls through the cracks when we take a proactive approach to tasks and projects.
The weekly review is whatever you need to do on a weekly basis to clear your mind and feel “on top” of your workload for the weeks ahead.
Regular reviews might involve:
- Running through progress of your task list
- Reviewing the status of your projects
- Checking in with people you’ve delegated tasks
- Planning any upcoming priorities
These reviews are how you stay proactive with your system, so nothing falls through the cracks.
Bringing the GTD system together
The Getting Things Done methodology is a comprehensive productivity systems that we can implement right away.
Start by following the five steps in the process, capturing everything on your mind and clarifying next actions for each, no matter what kind of “stuff” it is. Once clarified, we move into separate batches for organising, planning and executing. Remember the Two Minute Rule to get small tasks out of the way quickly.
The idea of an external mind offers a mindful approach to productivity. Once we’ve organised our workloads into an external system, our minds are free to experience flow. Only then, can we be aware of the current moment and fully immersed in the task at hand.
Finally, through our weekly and monthly reviews, we take a proactive approach to our system. We manage our priorities and ensure everything moves along smoothly.
Learn mindful productivity with Getting Things Done and Mind & Practice today.