Getting Things Done

CHAPTER 3 I GETTING PROJECTS CREATIVELY UNDER WAY: THE FIVE PHASES OF PLANNING
duce results. Merely having the ability to be highly productive,
relaxed, and in control doesn't make you that way. If you're like
most people, you can use a coach—someone to walk you step by
step through the experience and provide some guideposts and
handy tricks along the way, until your new operational style is ele-
gantly embedded.
You'll find that in part 2.
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part
2
Practicing
Stress-Free
Productivity

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Getting Started: Setting Up
the Time, Space, and Tools
IN PART 
2 we'll move from a conceptual framework and limited
application of workflow mastery to full-scale implementation and
best practices. Going through this program often gives people a
level of relaxed control they may never have experienced before,
but it usually requires the catalyst of step-by-step procedures to
get there. To that end, I'll provide a logical sequence of things to
do, to make it as easy as possible for you to get on board and glean
the most value from these techniques.
Implementation—Whether Ail-Out or
Casual—Is a Lot About "Tricks"
If you're not sure you're committed to an all-out implementation
of these methods, let me assure you that a lot of the value people
get from this material is good "tricks." Sometimes
just one good trick can make it worthwhile to range
through this information: I've had people tell me, for
example, that the best thing they got from my two-
day seminar was advice on setting up and using a
tickler file. Tricks are for the not-so-smart, not-so-
conscious part of us. To a great degree, the highest-
performing people I know are those who have
installed the best tricks in their lives. I know that's
85
It is easier to act
yourself into a
better way of
feeling than to feel
yourself into a
better way of
action.
—0. H. Mowrer

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PRACTICING STRESS-FREE PRODUCTIVITY I PART TWO
true of me. The smart part of us sets up things for us to do that the
not-so-smart part responds to almost automatically, creating
behavior that produces high-performance results. We trick our-
selves into doing what we ought to be doing.
For instance, if you're a semiregular exerciser like me, you
probably have your own little tricks to get you to exercise. My best
trick is costume—the clothing I put on or take off. If I put on exer-
cise gear, I'll start to feel like exercising; if I don't, I'm very likely
to feel like doing something else.
Let's look at an example of a real productivity trick. You've
probably taken work home that you had to bring back the next
day, right? It was mission-critical that you not forget it the next
morning. So where did you put it the night before? Did you put it
in front of the door, or on your keys, so you'd be sure to take it
with you? For this you got a higher education? What a sophisti-
cated piece of self-management technology you've installed in
your life! But actually that's just what it is. The smart part of you
the night before knows that the not-so-smart part of you first
thing in the morning may barely be conscious. "What's this in
front of the door!? Oh, that's right, I've got to take this with me!"
What a class act. But really, it is. It's a trick I call Put It in
Front of the Door. For our purposes the "door" is going to be the
door of your mind, not your house. But it's the same idea.
If you were to take out your calendar right now and look
closely at every single item for the next fourteen
days, you'd probably come up with at least one "Oh-
that-reminds-me-I-need-to_____________ ." If you
then 
cap-
tured that value-added thought into some place that
would trigger you to act, you'd feel better already,
have a clearer head, and get more positive things
done. It's not rocket science, just a good trick.
If you take out a clean sheet of paper right now,
along with your favorite writing instrument, and for
three minutes focus solely on the most awesome proj-
ect on your mind, I guarantee you'll have at least one
86
You increase
your productivity
and creativity
exponentially when
you think about the
right things at the
right time and have
the tools to capture
your value-added
thinking.

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