Personal contact
Meet the other part in person if the topic

• is very important
• will probably generate a longer discussion
• is top secret
• involves talking about money
• involves many people (organize a meeting in this case)

Phone call
Dial the other part’s number if the topic

• is time-critical
• is an idea or concept that’s better explained personally (rather than written)
• doens’t need deep thinking from the other part
• is a question which can be answered by “yes” or “no”

Direct messaging / Instant messaging
Depends on your organization’s guidelines.

eMail
Send an eMail to the other part if the topic

• is not time-critical
• can be written and understood shortly
• is precise, defined
• is a question which can be answered by “yes” or “no”, if the recipient is not available on the phone
• can be structured into smaller chunks if it’s longer

Sticky note
Paste a sticky note if the topic

• contains no sensitive information
• is not time-critical
• is not important

1. Learn to say “no”
   It may sound egoistic, but you probably won’t hurt anybody by simply refusing to do other people’s work from time to time. “No” doesn’t necessarily mean work denial tentative or pure procrastination. You are the only one who knows if you’ll be able to type this report due on Monday when your boss asks you to begin at 17 o’clock on Friday. Don’t let the pressure force you to agree on every request. You may find other diplomatic ways to better schedule or modify what has to be done, still satisfiying all the involved parties. Practice saying “no” regularly to get better at it.
2. Delegate
   Feeling irreplaceable? Try delegating some of your tasks to someone else. You may find out that:
   - you’re winning time to get other stuff done,
   - you’re gaining influence in relevant topics because of your ability to focus on the important things,
   - you’re not really missing the task you’ve gotten rid of,
   - your colleague is doing pretty well at it, and maybe even enjoying it,
   - all of the above.
3. Schedule
   To get work done, you’ll have to know how to manage your time. Plan your deadlines, keep buffers, batch tasks, etc. You can use any system that works for you.
4. Secure the zone
   Allow yourself to work in surroundings that help you being productive. Get a separate room if your colleagues are too noisy at the moment, get headphones if music makes you work faster. Know what is good for you and try to apply it as often as possible.
5. Take a break
   Don’t fool yourself! You may work great under pressure… but how long? You are more likely to get your stuff done when you’re well rested. Enough sleep, some breaks during the work day, and weekends without torturing your brain with work-related topics are ingredients you’ll need.

Now, what are your tips to get your own work done?

Starting
Let’s say you’d like to start GTD.
What you’ll need:

• David Allen’s book “Getting Things Done”
• the notes you wrote about your projects and ideas while reading
• some days of vacation (the more, the better)
• undisturbed spare time for yourself during those days (in bunches of hours at best)
• distractions and rewards for your work
• a store with some office supplies, just in case

Assuming that you’ll have some days off around Christmas and New Year’s Eve and you’re not completely overwhelmed by parties and/or family gatherings, you may find out that there is some time left for yourself and your aim.
If you live in the north hemisphere of the globe, the weather is probably on your side too: It’s cold, rainy, snowy and dark, so you’re not tempted to go outside.
I suggest you start reading the book bitwise before your vacation begins; don’t hesitate to take notes, as ideas will come to your mind.

Make sure you have got rid of eventual errands before beginning, and ensure your home and your homemates are in a peaceful state.

Working
You probably already have some topics you’d like to work on, e.g. “Reorganize my workroom for a better workflow” or “Categorize and sort my papers, which have been thrown on a pile during the whole year”.
Avoid getting lost in the GTD revolution and begin with only one topic at a time. Start with a small or medium one; you’ll get practice without being crushed by the weight of the tasks.
It may take longer than expected to free your home office from the great chaos ruling there and it takes a lot of energy (yours!) to restructure something which has been left growing by itself for a while. Don’t forget to rest! Write down your ideas for the other topics on separate lists to clear your mind, but stick to the one you chose to work on.

Try to schedule your tasks in compact bunches. Your plan for a day could look like that:

• Have breakfast
• “Sort papers alphabetically A-K”, 2 hours
• “Go to store to get [insert list of office supplies here]“, 1 hour
• Have lunch
• “Sort papers alphabetically L-Z”, 2 hours
• Free time, shower, etc.
• Christmas dinner at parents

As soon as a task seems to become overwhelming, it’s time to part it in smaller ones. It is better to get the half of the bewildered shelf completely under control than to try to tame the whole shelf and end up with piles of stuff scattered around the place.

Rewarding
OK, now you’ve spent some hours getting things done… You’ve worked hard and your folder with the invoices for the year 2009 is full and ordered by date, but the rest of the room hasn’t changed that much. You may even wish you didn’t start cleaning at all, to avoid facing the irreversible truth: it’s a mess. Are you feeling guilty?
Well, guilt won’t help you fill the folder for 2008, right? A small improvement is better than none, and now you know how you want to handle your files. You can feel more confident about how to do it next time, maybe even tomorrow.
Reward yourself, you’ve done great work! Enjoy whatever you’re doing that evening, you have the right to. (By the way, GTD is a nice topic for small talk.)

Repeating
Plan, work, reward and repeat. Depending on you and other factors coming from the outside, you will be able to create habits in a certain amout of time. Don’t give up! Keep on living those habits after your vacation. Take even smaller chunks of work at once if necessary, but don’t throw your process away. Remember that you’re improving your life quality by doing GTD. Good luck!

Outlook
How did you start GTD? Was it easy? What are your thoughts, tips and tricks on starting GTD?