One of the more successful disciplines I’ve used in combination with Getting Things Done (GTD) is establishing a meta pattern to the day, week, or month. My thanks to Gary and Ann Ralston at Ralston Consulting for their help with this approach.
While GTD provides tools for capturing and organizing the tasks and projects, Shape Of The Day (SOTD or SOTW or SOTM), can provide the framework and discipline to help keep you oriented. It’s just what is says it is: a pattern for you to organize how you are going to spend your time and see where you are at any given moment..
As with any other plan, it doesn’t have to be a rigid do-or-die solution. Hence the word “Shape.” I find that if I have a shape that I can review I can keep on track more easily. In thinking about what’s important to me and that I can keep that in front of me continuously, I can erase the fear that I’m going to forget something important or not make time for these tasks and projects early and often enough to avoid that panicked push as a deadline suddenly looms near.
What’s important to me now is:
- Personal writing projects. You heard it here first: I’m writing a novel. I’m devoting two hours each morning to this.
- Client work. Got to buy groceries and pay the mortgage!
- Keeping connected. Frankly, I don’t like to be connected 24×7, but being available at regular intervals instead seems to work. If you need me, I’m usually available within an hour or so. So at specified times, at least 3 times during the day and once during the evening, I make a dedicated effort at returning calls, emails, and catching up on tweets, posts, etc.. I admit I will check in more frequently when I’m actually away from my desk, using my iPhone.
- This blog. This blogging project is important to me, not just in what I have to say and in the conversations with readers (that’s a hint for you to leave a comment or write to me!), but for the discipline, writing, and rewriting – thanks again to my editor Penny for the real work she’s doing and holding me to a high quality standard.
For example, here’s my SOTD, freshly revised:
- Personal writing projects
- Review, email, networking
- Client work
- Workout and lunch
- Review, email, networking
- Client work
- Write and edit for First Today, Then Tomorrow
- Review, email, networking
I try to include times of undistracted focus, which I admit isn’t always easy. That means for times other than “Review, email, networking” I literally turn off my email, twitter, and IM and go “full screen” on my designated work. On a good day, I start just after 7 A.M. and end sometime after 4 P.M., then spend 45 minutes to an hour in the evening with another review session and touch up and editing work, if there’s any to do.
I strongly suggest you spend a small amount of time, once a week, to review your “shapes” and revise them as necessary. That will mean a project and task review as well, which, if you’re following GTD, you’ll already have captured! Both of these methods will help you direct your focus on what you need or want to accomplish, and away from the fear and anxiety of an uncertain and overwhelming cloud of todos.
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