5 Stages of Managing Workflow

1. COLLECT 100% of the incompletes in your life (include personal and professional). As soon as you say "I should" or "I need to" an item belongs here. The tools for this are physical in baskets, e-mail, PDAs, and notebooks. Try to keep the number of collection buckets (tools) to a minimum and empty them regularly. This is an area that I can improve on since I tend to keep a lot of "shoulds" in my head.

2. PROCESS the items that have been collected. What is it? Is it actionable? If no, it goes to trash, a reference file, or a "tickler" file that will be checked at a specific future date. If yes, it goes on a projects list or "next action" list. A next action could be call, draft, talk to, or research. It has to be specific. Decide if you will do, delegate, or defer the next action. I find it interesting that processing is separate from doing. This step seems to be pre-organizing. Maybe a little too complicated.

3.ORGANIZE tasks into a projects list, project support materials files, reference files, calendar, next actions list, and a tickler file. The projects list should include anything that requires more than one step. The calendar contains only date and time specific items, not to-do lists. The tickler file intrigues me. You can defer things and still get them off your mind, because the file will bring them back to attention at a specific later date. This might work for me.

4. REVIEW weekly all your lists and your system. Update, gather, process. Allen believes this is what most people do before going on vacation, but he recommends doing it weekly. This is the most important part of the system.

5. DO. Choose actions to be done at a particular time according to where you are, the time available, your energy level, and priority. Evaluate daily work in terms of predefined work (next actions list), work that shows up (attend to if more important than what you were working on), and defining work (clearing in basket, breaking down new projects).

Allen recommends reviewing work from a pilot's point of view. On the runway are current actions. At 10,000 feet you are looking at current projects, 20,000 feet- areas of responsibility, 30,000 feet- one to two year goals. At 40,000 feeet you have a three to five year vision, and at 50,000+ feet you can see life goals. I like this analogy because it is a vivid representation of perspective. The further away something is, the broader the view.