Fig. 1: GTD Process for Meetings I‘ve written before about David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology. I’m still using the GTD process fifteen months after I started, and it has significantly improved my productivity and organization, freed up my mind from worrying about what I have to do next, helped my prioritization of tasks, and reduced my personal anxiety level. I’m flattered that my graphic of the GTD process has popped up all over the Internet, and my articles on GTD have been among this weblog’s most popular. I continue to use this abbreviated HTML table format to track my GTD ‘to dos’:
Fig. 2: Dave’s GTD Table I had a meeting last week with friend and KM colleague Howard Deane, and at one point we got to talking about meetings and how unproductive they often are. He showed me a simple three-column sheet he uses to ensure he gets what he needs out of each meeting:
Fig. 3: Howard’s Meeting GTD Table Before we can integrate this into the overall GTD process, however, we need to think a bit about how meetings actually transpire (especially if they’re not under our control). I think there are actually three ‘kinds’ of meetings:
There are exceptions and hybrids, of course. Sometimes participants in ‘committee’ meetings are asked to submit items for the agenda, and the result is that some sections of the meeting may be collaborative while others may be hierarchical, with the person suggesting each agenda item ‘managing’ that part of the meeting. Some meetings are information-seeking and persuasion events, where people looking for information can ask presenters to make presentations (these are hierarchical, ‘managed’ by the information-seekers), or where people with ideas can offer (or be ordered) to make a presentation to potential approvers (these, too, are hierarchical, ‘managed’ by the approvers). Some ‘management committees’ are genuinely collaborative; most are hierarchical, with members yielding to the executive who is de facto managing the session. It is important to know which type of meeting it is because one’s personal expectations of what one can get done during, or as a result of, a meeting, depend on whose objectives the meeting is designed to address. There is no point going into a meeting armed with a Meeting GTD table full of needs and objectives if the true purpose of the session is to address the needs and objectives of someone else. Figure 1 at the top of this page suggests an approach that I think could fit well with the overall GTD methodology, and which is suited to all three different types of meetings. Here is how it would work:
I’ve been looking for a way to integrate my Meeting Mindmaps into my GTD process, and also for a way to get more out of small-group conversations by setting my specific purpose and objectives for them in advance. Howard’s table does both very elegantly, and also allows us to apply the principles of Getting Things Done to meetings (where they are often sorely needed). Bravo! What do you think? Are their other situations where the ideas of GTD might be adapted to help us become more productive? How about GTD On the Road? Or GTD when you’re away from your computer? And what about GTD through more effective use of research, information andtechnology? |
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this may help me, but I really think meetings are at best a distraction. I want to apply Sickafus engineering heuristics to them. There’s also Wu’s Rules for Time Management: 1) handle paper only once 2) make daily to-do list 3) DO IT NOW 4) unclutter space and thinking 5) DO IT NOW 6) … I forget the rest.