Deconstructing Getting Things Done: Vertical, Natural Project Planning
Mondays are productivity days at SimpleProductivity blog.
For this month, plus into June, I will be looking at how to deconstruct Getting Things Done to get it to the basics of the tools: how they work, when to use them, and the reasoning behind them. Last week we looked at the second chapter of the book. Today we will look at the third chapter. Chapter 3 talks about project planning, and gives you a more intuitive method: natural project planning.
Horizontal Focus
The workflow in Chapter 2 of Getting Things Done is about actually getting things done.
Let’s face it…most of the time you are going to be doing, rather than planning. After all, the book is Getting Things Done, not Getting Things Planned. Plans without action are worthless.
You should be spending most of your time in what David Allen calls “horizontal focus”, which is simply another way of saying you will be doing.
Vertical Focus
But in order to make sure you are doing the right things, things that will move you toward your goal, you are going to sometimes need to plan. This is what David Allen refers to as “vertical focus.”
It simply means that you are going to be doing some thinking about the whys and whats of the thing you are trying to accomplish.
Why Traditional Project Planning Is A Hindrance
Working in the software industry as a consultant, I get exposed to all sorts of project plans and methodologies. There are people who do nothing during their workdays other than manage projects.
I will also step out on a limb here and say that I have never ever seen a traditionally managed project that came in on time and under budget. (Sorry Martha!) And I attribute that to the fact that traditional project management techniques are not fluid enough or flexible enough to handle things uncovered during the process that causes schedule deviations.
Traditional project management is overkill for almost every project out there. Unless you are managing known quantities involving hundreds of people and mass amounts of money, traditional project management methodologies do not bring a positive cost-benefit.
You should certainly not go through all that planning and structure for your average project.
The Natural Project Planning Model
Most of the things that we do that require more than one step, we plan naturally. We know that if we are going on a car trip, we need to make sure the car is running, it has gas, and has all the legal paperwork taken care of (trust me, you don’t want to be stopped because you forgot to register your car! Major embarassment plus hefty fine!).
David Allen takes most of this chapter to talk about the natural planning method, and how you use it without realizing it. He fully admits this is common sense, but sometimes quantifying things does help!
Purpose
The first step in any projet is figuring out why you are doing something. This gives you the definition of what you are attempting to do, as well as the criteria for success.
One of the things that wasn’t mentioned, is it also gives you a way to measure if you should be doing the project at all. The “why” of the project can help you determine if you are getting benefit from this action, and if you should be doing it at all.
Principles
The principles step of this process is seldom a conscious one. It fits in with what are deeply internalized beliefs are, and we operate within these guidelines (ethics) without thinking about it.
David Allen gives a good way to think about this by saying, “I would give others totally free rein to do this as long as they…”
An obvious example: you need to pay a bill, but the money isn’t in your checking account. What is acceptable? Selling some old movies on EBay? Doing some extra yard work? Robbing a bank?
For most individuals, these guidelines are in place and automatically limit the choices of methods. (Those that don’t are often called sociopaths)
Vision/Outcome
Envisioning your outcome is not a hippy-dippy concept. It has been proven that athletes that envision themselves as successful by going through the scenario in their minds, are far more likely to succeed than those that don’t.
One fly-fisher I know of tells the story that she learned a new casting technique by going over and over it in her mind. So when she got to the stream she was able to execute it perfectly on the first try.
David Allen doesn’t spell it out, but I will: if you are not willing to see yourself successfully completing this project, why do it at all?
Brainstorming
Brainstorming is where we take care of all the little details. Are you going out for dinner? That means a babysitter. What about a movie? Babysitter and movie tickets; movie times and locations.
Most of us do this without thinking. But in some cases, particularly when it is a project we have never done before, we may need to think this out. For this end, David Allen shows you how to do a mind map. This is where you write the main idea in the center, and then start drawing bubbles radiating out as they relate. You let your mind consider each bubble and all the related things. At the end, you have a comprehensive picture of what needs to be done.
Organizing
The last part of the natural project planning is organizing.
Let’s face it. All the work is worthless if you don’t organize it, refer to it and use it!
This is where it goes into your system as described in Chapter 2: your project lists, and your next action lists.
Dealing with Stuckness
The last part of the book gives some direction on what to do when you are stuck.
Do you not know how to get to the end? Move up the model into the vertical aspect, and do some more brainstorming.
Do you need it to move faster? Move into the horizontal area and start working.
I enjoyed this third chapter of Getting Things Done because it really simplifies project management. Most projects don’t need any of the full-blown methodologies out there, and it can be done with a more natural project planning model.
Photo by Peggy2012CREATIVELENZ. Licensed under Creative Commons.
