Archive for the ‘Weekly Review’ tag
The “3S” Approach: The Lost Art of the GTD Weekly Review
Happy first birthday Refocuser! Check out the “best of” page for some fun posts after reading this.
So much has been written about the Weekly Review as a part of David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD) system that it feels sort of ridiculous to even entertain writing about it. I pride myself in making this blog different – not just another GTD/life hacks wannabe poser blog thing – but at the same time, a lot of the best practices in productivity fit under the GTD umbrella. So there will be times I feel compelled to write about GTD in all its glory. This is one of those times.
If you’re new to GTD, this post really isn’t the best place to start as it’s only covering a small piece of what GTD is all about. You should dive in and read the official book. If you’re the type of person who can’t stay on top of the most important things in your life, you won’t be sorry.
First a few words about GTD. GTD isn’t a panacea by any means. It’s just a framework for “thinking about thinking”. It’s updated software for your brain that will help you make sense of all the inputs and outputs in your life. It’s also a set of habits that for some people can be hard to get into, because they require a change in behavior. But hey, it’s ultimately just “advanced common sense” as David Allen puts it, so there’s really no excuse for not giving it a shot if you feel you need it.
The funny thing about GTD is that people tend to get so fixated on the “how” and not on the “why” of the system. Whether you use post-it notes, Microsoft Outlook, a Moleskine notebook, or your pet hamster to track your work isn’t the important thing – the system is adaptable and should be used in the way that works best for you. In other words, the implementation details aren’t what matter, but the way the system is used at the macro level does.
In a lot of ways this reminds me of Bruce Lee’s unique approach to fighting, Jeet Kune Do. Stay with me for a second; other than just being three-letter acronyms, JKD is actually quite similar to GTD. One of Lee’s most famous quotes about JKD is:
I don’t believe in different ways of fighting now, I mean, unless human beings have 3 arms and 3 legs – then we will have a different way of fighting. But basically we all have two arms and two legs so that is why I believe there should be only one way of fighting and that is no way.
In other words, there’s a reason why the best fighters in the world learn to throw a jab and execute a choke the same way. While there are subtle differences in their own personal styles, and certain techniques that work best for some people, they’re still fighting using the same basic systems. Chokes may be executed a little differently from person to person, but there’s a “right” way to choke that everyone starts with.
GTD is the same way. There are differences in people’s approach to GTD, but the foundational physics of the system are the same. Show me a super-productive person and I can point out how that person is implementing GTD – even if they don’t know it. It may not look exactly like the next person’s GTD (just like fighting) but the core pieces are almost always there. And if they aren’t, well, there are likely improvements to be made!
