Getting Things Done: The Power of Outcome Focusing
This is the thirteenth entry in a fourteen part series discussing the time management classic Getting Things Done by David Allen. New entries in this series will appear on Tuesday afternoons and Friday mornings through July 16.
It is easy to set big, audacious goals for ourselves like “spend more time with our kids” or “get our finances in the right order.” The big problem, though, is that such goals often seem enormous and vague. What can you really do to make these things happen?
Allen touches on this on page 250:
“Create a way to regularly spend more time with my daughter” is as specific a project as any, and equally demanding of a next action to be determined. Having the vague, gnawing sense that you “should” do something about your relationship with your daughter, and not actually doing anything, can be a killer. I often work with clients who are willing to acknowledge the real things in their lives at this level as “incompletes” – to write them down, define real projects about them, and ensure that next actions are decided on – until the finish line is crossed. That is real productivity, perhaps in its most awesome manifestation.
The solution to such a big, vague project is to focus on a very small handful of things.
First, what’s the outcome you want from this? Do you want a better relationship with your children? Do you want to have a grip on the money that’s going in and out of your accounts? You need to spend some time imagining what you want at the end of any idea for life change that you have. The more specific you are, the better.
Next, what’s the next step you can personally take to get there? If you want a better relationship with your children, the first step is to push away from your desk and spend some time with them – and then start doing that regularly. If you want to get a grip on your finances, the first thing you need to do is select a software package to help you figure this out. You need an action step that you can actually do that will start moving this initiative forward.
That really covers it. Just execute that next step, then ask yourself “what comes next?” again and again until you’re there.
What if you have no idea what you want? Allen addresses that on page 251:
As an experte in whole-brain learning and good friend of mine, Steven Snyder, put ...
Related Articles
