To-do or NOT to-do, that is the question!

I am a dedicated GTD (Getting Things Done) person. Recently I have started to work with something I call GMD (Getting More Done). See earlier blogs on GTD and setting the right goals.

Recently I have been working with helping people creating and maintaining relevant and achievable to-do lists. It has become more and more apparent to me that people need a NOT to-do list as much as a to-do list. I went back and re-read the part of the NOT to-do in Jim Collins book From Good to Great.

If you don’t have discipline and sense for organization in you, you will have to concentrate hard on the distractions and temptation on doing too much, too often and never finishing what you start with. Actually, “finishing what you start with” is one of my main questions when hiring people. Jim Collins refers to the hedgehog effect, in case you would like to read the book.

Here are some ideas/advises on the subject:

1. Set your goals, not more than 3
2. Evaluate your goals, are they measurable, do they challenge you to become more successful etc. lookup SMART goals on google, Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely.
3. Don’t spend too much time on strategy, start working and adapt along the way.
4. Don’t give up, when you think it is not possible to reach your goal. Look at the problem from different angles. There are many techniques for this and I will right about them in future blogs. One good book about the techniques is: The Thinker’s Toolkit by Morgan D. Jones.