"What's The Next Action"
Simple and yet profound. For all projects big and small, in all meetings, ask,
"What's the next action?"
Obvious isn't it. We all do it. Actually we don't. And we don't record what the next action is.
Funnily enough David Allen isn't telling you do to the next action, just record what is the Next Action.
Blimey if I did that, and then followed up on the next action for each of 50+ project at work and home, it would be a miracle!!
And get this, p231 of Getting Things Done,
If you're like most people, you've probably got some storage area at home - maybe a garage that you told yourself a while back (maybe even six years ago!) you ought to clean and organize. If so, there's a part of you that likely thinks you should've been cleaning your garage twenty-four hours a day for the past six years! No wonder people are so tired! And have you heard that little voice inside your own mental committee every time you walk by your garage? "Why are we walking by the garage?! Aren't we supposed to be cleaning it?" Because you can't stand the whining, nagging part of yourself, you never even go in the garage anymore if you can help it.
Now how many parts of our lives have we shut down because there's a 24 hour nagging voice telling us what we should have done?
I've worked from home at times, and felt so guilty about the things I
should be doing, I've not allowed myself to go out for weeks and months
on end. Now I go into the city every day and say to myself, "Shit
Tony, why didn't I have more fun and do more things when I was working
from home?!" And now I know why!!
Comments