As I was planning my new list project, as well as several other university projects, I realized that I was being completely unproductive and messy by having so many different lists saying so many different things, and none of them are in the same place. Meaning every time I have to think of what I need to do, to write a new list, I have to start from scratch. That wastes a lot of brainpower.

So what I did was reintroduce GTD to my life. I also jumped on the Things app for Mac, which I promptly used to organize my lists. I was writing a 3 page list when I realized I really needed to figure something out. I suggest you have a look at GTD if you are interested in increasing your productivity and organization..

I also had a bit of frenzy with re-doing some of the icons within my mac. I have so many folders with the plain old folder icon and it just makes it so much easier to have defining icons. Heres a tutorial on how to do it on  Mac OS X. Here are a couple icons that I swapped within my mac.

(click the icons for where I got the icons)

This is not an appeal re. Apple’s Mac – although I admit that I am an unabashed Apple man.  It is a simple observation about our lives.  We are overwhelmed with too much stuff.

Anne's taking her stuff back to move it to a Mac

You’ve seen the new Mac commercials.  In one, a woman has her box of stuff, and she is taking the launch of the new Windows version as her opportunity to switch to Mac.  So – she is making the switch, and moving all of her stuff to Mac.

It’s the stuff that grabbed me.  My life is filled with stuff.  There’s stuff in the trunk of my car.  There’s stuff all over my office.  There’s stuff in my closet.  And in my bedroom.  And in my storage space.  And even more stuff in my garage.  Some of this stuff I have not looked at in years.  Some of this stuff I definitely do not need.  And sometimes, there is stuff I do need – but I can’t find it.

At the Take Your Brain to Lunch gathering this week, the second book I presented was David Allen’s Getting Things Done.  I know that I mention his GTD approach frequently on this blog.  (Check out this post:  The Getting Things Done President, and the need to just sit and think…).  And with good reason — this is one of my great challenges.  I have spent a lifetime battling the attack of the killer stuff.  Allen has created quite a following because he points to genuine solutions to the time management/life management challenges of our era.

We don’t get enough done.  We don’t get enough done because we don’t remember, we don’t retrieve our notes to ourselves in a timely manner, we try to remember too much, and we simply let too much fall though the cracks.  His premise is simple – work on only one thing at a time, with great and unflinching focus, and have the next “next action” immediately retrievable in your reminder/to do/next action prompt system.

But it all goes back to “stuff.” And the real stuff problem is not all that stuff stacked and hidden in the nooks and crannies of our physical world.  It is the stuff cluttering our minds, uncategorized, forgotten, and we are unable at key times to remember or retrieve the stuff in our minds, the stuff we need to get done.

Here is Allen’s definition of stuff:
Stuff:  anything you have allowed into your psychological or physical world that doesn’t belong where it is, but for which you haven‘t yet determined the desired outcome and the next action step.  As long as it is still “stuff,” it’s not controllable.  It is “an amorphous blob of undoability!”
The vast majority of people have been trying to get organized by rearranging incomplete lists of unclear things; they haven’t yet realized how much and what they need to organize in order to get the real payoff.

Getting Things Done challenges us to really get our stuff off of our mind, and put it in a spot that enables us to know exactly how to retrieve it.

Here’s his two step process:
Step one: Capture everything that you need to get done, now later, someday, big, little, in-between – into a logical and trusted system outside of your head and off your mind!
Step two: Discipline yourself to make front-end decisions about all the “inputs” you let into your life so that you will always have a plan for “next actions” that you can implement or renegotiate at any moment.

In fact, Allen says that until we implement such a system to handle our stuff, we really won’t get things done as we could and should.

In verschiedenen Blog’s habe ich gelesen, dass Thing auf dem Mac das beste Organisationstool sei. Darum stellte ich mir die Frage, woher oder wodurch Things inspiriert wurde. Ich wurde fündig. Things ist eine Organisationslösung, die versucht, der Theorie von David Allen gerecht zu werden und auf allen Ebenen bestmögliche Unterstützung bietet.

Einer der ersten Tipps, die ich auch sogleich als eine der wertvollsten Tipps ansehe, ist , dass man alles, für dessen Erledigung weniger als zwei Minuten braucht, direkt erledigt. Und von denen gibt es jede Menge versteckt an einem Arbeitsplatz. Telefonisch einen Raum reservieren, eine kurze E-Mail beantworten, eine Bestellung tätigen. Es gäbe hier eine Menge weiterer Beispiele.

Probiert es mal aus, alles was unter zwei Minuten erledigt werden kann, direkt zu erledigen.

Ich freu mich auf euer Feedback

Most non-profit organizations think about an “audit” as a necessary evil, with CPAs combing through the finances, offering opinions as to the state of the organization, and making recommendations about improvements needed. Afterward however, their work is appreciated in subtle ways. The Board has greater confidence in the overall organizational management, funders have a better understanding of how the organization works and the degree to which it is positioned for success, and deficiencies (and inefficiencies) are addressed and improved.

A Development Audit works the same way and offers many of the same benefits. The Development Audit looks at all gifts received by an organization and analyzes individual, corporate, and foundation activity and results over the most recent 5-year period. The audit considers all essential development systems (communications, recruitment, solicitation [including grants], renewal and retention, stewardship, and member events and benefits), involvement (staff, Board, other volunteer, direct mail and personal), and results (funds raised, grants secured, renewal rates, and upgrade results). The end product is a written report delivered initially in draft form and presented formally for the Board. The report includes both long-term and short-term recommendations.

A Land Trust might want to consider a Development Audit if it:

• Is not satisfied with the results of its current fundraising programs
• Would like to increase Board participation in its fundraising programs
• Wants to establish a baseline by which to measure its future fundraising performance
• Wants an independent review of how to make the fundraising programs more effective
• Needs to diversify its funding streams
• Is engaged in a strategic planning process
• Is preparing to embark on a major capital or endowment campaign

There are several important benefits to Development Audits beginning with helping your Board members better understand fundraising systems and their role in raising money. The Development Audit provides a baseline document from which to measure improving results over time. It can recommend small changes that save time and money without compromising results. And the Audit can help refocus organizational volunteer and staff time on the most productive efforts, such as major donor development.

[OK, here’s the pitch. If you want to skip ahead to the next paragraph, here’s your chance.] When I do a development audit, I look for ideas that can help raise more money immediately. I recommend proven strategies and practices that can promote long-term growth and encourage Board involvement in fundraising. Several of my clients have increased their fundraising results many times that of my fee in the first few months.

But is hiring a consultant absolutely necessary? No. The consultant brings objectivity, years of professional experience, and current information from other organizations. But of these benefits, it is the objectivity that is the most critical. Find someone in your local community with fundraising experience and walk them through everything you are doing to raise money. Or trade the audit service with a sister organization where you conduct the audit for them and they return the favor.

However you get it done, your current donors are your most important asset, and the time you spend reflecting on how they experience your organization is time well spent. The Development Audit provides an important structure for that reflection.

As always, your comments, responses, and questions are welcomed here and by email at fundraisinghelp@sbcglobal.net

Cheers,

-da

Jag har tidigare skrivit om de stora tidsvinster man kan göra genom att lära sig skriva snabbare. David Allen säger bl.a att om man inte skriver minst 60 ord i minuten finns anledning att träna upp hastigheten. Nedan finns en länk till en mycket bra site som erbjuder möjlighet att testa din skrivhastighet och dessutom flera olika möjligheter att förbättra den (genom spel och övningar).
Testa här

En utmärkt artikel från Lifehacker. Om du inte orkar eller har tid att läsa David Allens bok hittar du en kortversion
här

It’s been a while since I posted here and there is a very good reason for it.

The main reason is that I have been very busy. After a quiet September, October came at me like a tidal wave. This left me with very little time to write anything useful. In addition to work work, I have also moved house (a very stressful time) and did all that while working incredibly long hours.

But mustn’t grumble eh?

Anyway, the main reason for the post is to give you guys a heads up on the GTD system I have been changing to. GTD stands for “Getting Things Done” and is written by David Allen

I am currently changing my system from Franklin Covey to the GTD system, and so far everything is running smoothly.

As soon as I have changed my system over completely, I shall be writing a full review. But for now I just wanted to point you guys in the right direction.

N’avez-vous jamais entendu parlé de la méthode GTD (Getting Things Done) ? Non ? Et bien sachez que cette méthode est une révolution dans le management des taches. L’investigateur de cette méthode, David Allen, propose sa méthode depuis plusieurs années aux Etats-Unis. Son livre “Prêt pour l’action, 52 stratégies pour devenir vraiment efficace !”, est un best seller international. Vous pouvez le trouver, sur les principaux sites de vente en ligne ou dans votre librairie du coin.

En quoi consiste cette méthode ? A s’organiser bien sûr mais surtout à se vider l’esprit ! Encore une méthode, une de plus, me direz vous. Oui mais celle-ci offre l’avantage d’être utilisable par tous sans avoir à se prendre (pas trop) la tête. Le fait d’écrire ce que vous devez réaliser, libère votre cerveau de retenir tout un tas de choses. Vous êtes plus productif.

La lecture de ce livre ne m’a pas vraiment appris grand chose. Mais sa méthodologie dans le traitement des tâches m’a intéressé. Je l’ai appliqué sur ma messagerie Outlook 2007 du travail.

Vous savez, entre les demandes de réunion, les lectures de fichier, les tâches courantes ou dans le cadre d’un projet d’entreprise, il y a toujours des choses à faire et un tas d’information à traiter. Et bien, imaginez que toutes ces choses arrivent dans une boîte et selon ce que vous devez en faire, vous les répertorier par contextes (@Actions, @Délégation, @Projets, @Ordinateur, @Maison, @Courses, @Appels etc…). Ainsi, suivant l’endroit où vous êtes (votre bureau, à la maison, en déplacement), votre liste vous permet de connaître les tâches que vous pouvez effectuer.

L’autre approche de cette méthode est de se focaliser sur la prochaine action. Pour avancer à coup sûr sur un projet ou réaliser un objectif, on se focalise sur la tâche à faire, puis sur la suivante et ainsi de suite. Ceci vous amène à décomposer votre tache en sous -taches (un mini projet en soi). Toutes les taches. Exemple facile : vous devez organiser une réunion. C’est simple en évidence. Mais quelle sera votre première action ? Trouver une salle, ou donner un ordre du jour de la réunion, définir une date de réunion, décider des participants etc… Une fois toutes les taches écrites, il vous reste à les traiter notamment en fonction du contexte dans lequel vous vous trouverez. Si je suis en présence de mon téléphone, je peux appeler les participants. Si je suis devant mon ordinateur, je peux lancer ma convocation etc… Le contexte vous permet de filtrer vos actions selon l’endroit où vous vous trouvez et/ou les moyens dont vous disposez.

Et c’est là qu’intervient un autre point crucial de la méthode. Si l’action à faire prend moins de deux minutes, faites-la tout de suite. Si elle prend plus de 2 minutes, posez vous la question si elle peut être déléguée ou si elle est à archiver, à traiter plus tard ou à archiver…

Un logigramme vaut mieux qu’un long discours :

Tous mes mails sont ainsi  transformés soit en taches pour moi (@Actions), pour un collègue (@Délégation), soit en création d’un projet (ensemble de tâches), soit en rendez-vous, soit en attente de quelqu’un ou d’une information, soit en liste de choses à faire un jour/peut être. (C’est à dire, une liste de choses qui m’intéressent de faire mais qui ne sont pas encore prioritaires ou qui nécessitent plus d’incubation, de réflexion, ou tout simplement le bon moment (achat d’une maison par exemple)).

Mais attention, ne tombons pas dans l’extrême. Pour être productif, vous devez être actif dans la réalisation des tâches et pas dans l’écriture et le suivi des tâches. Et c’est là que vous devez vous discipliner ! Définissez un créneau horaire pendant lequel vous revoyez vos listes de taches et où vous les enrichissez et complétez. Tous les moyens sont bons pour écrire vos idées, ou que vous soyez. Un bloc note, votre ordinateur, votre téléphone portable. Quel que soit le moyen, vous devez tout traiter.

Vous ne devez pas laisser une information non traitée. Vous devez la traiter en action, ou la supprimer si elle ne sert à rien, ou l’archiver pour la consulter (c’est ce qu’on appelle une référence).

Désormais, je gère, suis mes taches, tout est noté, tracé, suivi. C’est beaucoup plus clair et effectivement ça me libère la tête puisque je note tout.

Remarque : la méthode de David Allen, ajoute aussi un niveau d’énergie nécessaire pour réaliser un tache. Si vous êtes fatigué, vous ne vous pencherez certainement pas sur le dernier bilan financier à réaliser… Pour ma part, je ne vais pas jusque là, ou du moins pas encore.

Si vous êtes intéressés par cette méthode, les blogs et sites ne manquent pas. Voici quelques liens :

• GTDTimes ;
• GTDWay ;
• le site officiel de David Allen ;

La prochaine fois, je vous monterai l’addon d’Outlook 2007 ClearContext, que j’utilise pour faire du GTD dans ma messagerie.

Et vous, êtes-vous GTD ?

På David Allens hemsida finns en väldigt bra samling av gratis GTD “resurser”.
Du hittar länken här

October and November are budgeting months for many of us: the annual exercise of trying to match our sense of mission urgency and programmatic ambition with available resources.

If your organization is like most, this year presents some special challenges – and opportunities – because it’s smaller now than it used to be. Members – especially those at the lowest levels – have left, foundation support has dried up, travel budgets have been slashed, new equipment purchases have been put on hold, and hardest of all, staff have been let go.

Will 2010 be better? There are certainly encouraging signs out there. Have we hit bottom? Is the Great Recession over? Maybe, maybe not. But at least one economist I heard on the radio the other day suggested that we not expect the economy to simply return to where we left off. This isn’t a “market correction”. It’s more like a complete reboot.

We have a great opportunity to reboot our organizations now as well. As money starts to flow again, rather than scrambling to replace all we “lost” in the last 15 months, we should reset our organizational baselines to THIS current reality and plan to grow thoughtfully and deliberately into organizations that are more sustainable, more resilient, and, to borrow a phrase I like a lot from Kelli Bishof, more potent than before.

I suggest you start by returning to your organization’s mission, vision, and strategy – not a full strategic planning exercise necessarily, but refreshing in your mind “why we’re here and what we’re doing”. Before you take the next few steps up the ladder, make sure the ladder is still leaning against the most important wall. Is the current strategy still valid? Are your priorities straight? Are your annual goals realistic?

Then take a moment and reflect on your pre-recession wish list. Are there items that you can take care of now that will be more difficult to do later? Such as:

• Building an endowment
• Setting aside operating reserve funds
• Replacing an antiquated server
• Investing in membership recruitment to reduce dependency on a single large grant
• Building or re-building your website
• Launching a more formal planned giving program
• Identifying a priority project or geographic area to focus outreach and effort

I suggest presenting a balanced budget to the full Board for approval that is based on ZERO growth in 2010. Anything you raise in excess of this amount can be made available for one of these important-but-not-necessarily-urgent wish list items.

What’s on your important-but-not-necessarily-urgent list that you have been putting off? As always, your comments, responses, and questions are welcomed here and by email at fundraisinghelp@sbcglobal.net

Cheers,

-da

Business 2.0 har en lång och intressant intervju med, GTDs (Getting Things Done) skapare, David Allen. Den är visserligen två år gammal men väldigt bra! För att läsa den klicka här

Here’s a question:  do you have a checklist?  It sounds so simple, but it is so profound in its simplicity.  We forget what to do.  And because we forget what to do, we don’t get it (all) done.  We need a checklist.

The idea is vigorously championed by Atul Gawande, Surgeon, Rhodes Scholar, Macarthur fellow, (the Genius Grant) medical writer extraordinaire, and Harvard Professor.  In his article in the New Yorker, The Checklist, Gawande describes in detail the many places and procedures that have gone from dismal failures to amazing successes just by following a checklist.  Here’s a paragraph describing the cardiac unit at a hospital surrounded by the Alps, where people come in “from cardiac arrest after hypothermia and suffocation:

Speed was the chief difficulty. Success required having an array of equipment and people at the ready—helicopter-rescue personnel, trauma surgeons, an experienced cardiac anesthesiologist and surgeon, bioengineering support staff, operating and critical-care nurses, intensivists. Too often, someone or something was missing. So he and a couple of colleagues made and distributed a checklist.”

The checklist meant that people literally were able to live – people with similar injuries that killed the many that came before.  And the reason was clear – the emergency workers were too busy to remember everything they needed to do.  They needed a usable, tangible reminder:  a checklist.

Recently at the New Yorker Festival, Gawande (he writes for the New Yorker) spoke of this, and reminded everyone that the hero of the year, Chesley Sullenberger, is a true believer and a faithful follower of the checklist approach.  (Read the post Captain of the Checklist).  Here’s the key excerpt:

To illustrate, (Gawande) discussed the way in which the media had rapidly mythologized the pilot Chesley Sullenberger, the pilot who landed a commercial plane in the Hudson River. “There became questions of who exactly was the hero here,” Gawande said. “Sully kept saying, ‘I want to correct the record. This was a crew effort.’ ”
In saving the plane, Sullenberger and his co-pilot showed daring, but they also methodically went down a list to ascertain their options, and chose the next step until they landed safely. “They adhered to their rigid discipline—they went through their series of checks.”

Did you catch that brilliant simplicity?

• went down a list
• chose the next step

I think that all of the time management insight on the planet boils down to this three step process:

1)  plan the next thing well (so that you always know the next thing to do)
2)  put it on the list
3)  and then do the next thing on the list.

Then — repeat the process…