Getting Things Done - GTD
Gaining Perspective Through Actions
AUTHOR: Francisco Sáez
"Nothing is more revealing than movement." ~ Martha Graham.
Gaining Perspective:
1. Gaining Perspective
2. Gaining Perspective Through Actions
3. Gaining Perspective at Project Level
4. Gaining Perspective from the Areas of Focus
5. Gaining Perspective Through Goals
6. Gaining Perspective at a Higher Level: Vision
7. Gaining Perspective at the Highest Altitude: Purpose and Principles
In the following articles we will be describing in detail each one of the perspective horizons so that you can see exactly what they consist of and what you need to take into account to create the map that will help you focus correctly on the priority issues at any given moment.
The lowest level or “runway”, as David Allen calls it, corresponds to the next actions, i.e. all the physical and visible actions that you can carry out at a given time. These can be the next actions you need to take to advance your projects or single, one-step actions you need to take to cover your areas of responsibility.
When you make a commitment to perform a next action, you can do it at the same time, delegate it to someone else to do it, or save a reminder in a list system where you can retrieve it at the appropriate time.
Typical ways to save reminders about actions to be performed are:
- The calendar, for actions to be performed on specific days and at specific times.
- Context lists, each containing the actions you can perform when you are in a given context (phone calls, things to do at home, errands to run, topics to discuss with your collaborators, etc.). In certain applications, such as FacileThings, this can be a single list of next actions that allows you to filter which actions can be performed in each context.
- The list of actions waiting to be taken, so that you can remember and follow up on the items you have already delegated.
Normally you will be working at runway level whenever you need to decide what you are going to do next, i.e. every day and most of the time.
Each day you will take a look at your calendar to see what mandatory commitments are coming up and, when you have time at your disposal, you will take a look at the context lists to see what your options are.
The priorities at the runway level
There is a very big difference between having a full inventory of pending actions and having a nearly full inventory of pending actions. The more complete your inventory is, the better you will feel about what you decide to do and what you decide not to do for the time being.
If a part of your brain knows that not everything that should be in that inventory is there, you will never be completely convinced that you are making the best choice at every moment.
The problem is that most people already feel pretty good when they achieve a partial inventory of commitments, so they don’t make the effort to complete the process that produces that total inventory (capturing, clarifying and organizing).
Although it is the most mundane, the lowest level of perspective (the execution of actions) is the most difficult horizon to master because it is the most complex in terms of volume, variety and possibilities.
This is where control and perspective come together. If your highest and most strategic thoughts are not translated into physical actions, they are useless.
It is not easy to set up a system that allows you to deal with a whole inventory of commitments in a continuous and consistent manner. It takes time, learning and creating certain habits. The good news is that, if you’ve made it this far, you’ve probably already mastered the five stages that allow you to manage your daily workflow.
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