As an emerging leader, I am always on the lookout for things that improve my productivity so that I can do all the things I want to do and be an effective team member and leader.  David Allen’s book “Getting Things Done” is not a new book, but I’ve never read it until recently. Some of the techniques are a bit outdated, e.g. using a PDA (personal digital assistant), however, the overall theories are still valid and I find myself excited to incorporate them and share with everyone!

The major take-home message I want to incorporate into my life is this flow-chart (See below). The premise is that many of us have so many projects, tasks and/or commitments ongoing daily and the reason why they don’t get done is that we hold them in our head or have inconsistent methods of dealing with them. David recommends that instead of holding all the information and tasks in our head, we should document it onto paper, with clear steps/tasks to take for each project. He suggests that this will result in decreased stress and a better plan of how to execute and actually complete the many tasks that most of us have in our daily lives.

FYI, a few definitions to make reading this chart easier. 

Actionable = Can I follow-through with this task at this moment

Project = Any commitment that takes more than one step to complete

There are many other great tips and tricks in this book, so I highly recommend everyone to at least skim through this:)

Hope this helps everyone maximize their productivity and get things done!