Structuring my day

[TesTeq]

GTD is not the answer what to do.

Esquire,

I think GTD is a low-level driver to "Get Things Done" which enables us to free some time and our mind for high-level thinking what things should be done. It is not meant to give us the answer what to do.

If you already have enough time you are very lucky - time is the only resource which cannot be reclaimed. So clear your mind and think what is the best way of spending your time.

TesTeq

 

[jmarkey]

Lately I've been reading Julie Morgenstern's books (Time Management from the Inside Out and Making Work Work). She suggests structuring and scheduling the day more than the GTD book does.

I am currently reading Making Work Work. Ms. Morgenstern suggests starting with the most important tasks, averring that "[y]ou'll always be safe if you start with the task closest to the revenue line." To choose which tasks to do first in evaluating conflicting obligations, she suggests asking the following questions:

1. How long will it take?
2. What is the return on investment (ROI)?
3. When is the deadline?

To display her analysis, she made a chart of possible tasks that looked like this:

Task Steps to Revenue Line Time ROI Deadline
Outline book chapter 3 1 3 hrs High Friday

Then she evaluated various tasks in the chart based upon the criteria.

She also suggests using the following four Ds: Delete, Delay, Delegate, Diminish (shortcuts to streamline tasks) and had another column where she specified whether any of the 4 Ds applied.