Get Everything Done

I wanted to share my experiences with DIT to date. I am a person who used GTD for a number of years and was actually quite productive. Most of you have seen my posts here; I am a professor in the USA at a major research university and am in the basic sciences – I am a microbiologist. I have a large research program and have several NIH and industrial grants. My weeks of work are hardly less than 60+ hours per week.
The reason I switched to DIT and to try this out was simply overwhelm from my context lists in GTD and the sense that they never shrank – the more I accomplished, the more next actions would take their place. I felt like a hamster in a wheel – running ever faster, and with the sense of not getting anywhere. Oh sure, I have been very productive and I realize that, but that day-to-day sense of getting my work done was missing.
So far, it has been a rough transition in some respects. I have been able to complete my will-do list a good part of the time, but for many days, things move over to the next day, and there is an even longer list. The sense of overwhelm I had from GTD is still there somewhat. Oh sure, I know the simple answer in terms of an audit – I have too many commitments and I simply have too much work to do. No system will correct that – it has to come from me. Nonetheless, here are some statements and observations that I would like other GTD converts and Mark to comment on for me.
1. While I like structure, sometimes I feel that DIT is too confining. Mark states that we should write down everything we do that is not on our closed, will-do list so we can see how much random factors are in our day. We should strive to reduce or eliminate as much of these as possible so we can focus on our planned work. But in my environment, it is common for colleagues to stop by and want to discuss research ideas that just came into their minds – a “brilliant idea” and I need to discuss it while it is still on my mind. I actually enjoy and love this type of interaction. It is not something I can put on my will-do list every day and therefore is a random factor. When I was using GTD, these interactions did not bother me because the context lists were like bookmarks, and I could easily pickup where I was once the science discussion had ended. With DIT, I almost feel put-out by these interactions because they are taking time away from my will-do list and I must get that list done for the day! I do not like this feeling that my colleagues and graduate students are random factors and their arrival gives me a feeling of irritation. Mark and others, how do I handle this in DIT?
2. The other part of the structure issue in my own way I think and work. So I have my will-do list that I have decided on the day before, and I have confirmed first thing in the morning. As I am working, sometimes I do the same thing – ideas come into my mind – and I want to immediately write them down on a pad of paper – outline, explore, go see a colleague, etc. That was not on my will-do list, and I actually now feel guilty about doing so. Mark, you talk a lot about creativity in your book, but how do I maintain this freedom of creativity that is random, and never a next action on my will-do list?

As I said, I like structure and I agree that having structure makes on more productive overall. I think DIT is a wonderful system, but I am still struggling with some of the issues I described. I would appreciate advice and comments from all. Mark, I of course really want to hear from you!

Best regards,
-David

Hi Mark,

Thanks for your reply. I have comments based on your reply. First of all, yes I do believe as I stated that my interactions with my fellow faculty members and scientists are immediate -- if not, it stifles creativity and I also said I enjoy these interactions. Of course I could diminish these by putting a do not disturb sign on my door, or inform my colleagues and graduate students that I am unavailable in the mornings, and I may try to do this. I am struggling with how much structure I want, and how much free, random creativity sessions I want.

As for your second response, creativity cannot simply be written down in the task diary as "think about this tomorrow". Scientists have to move on creative ideas when they happen. I am sure Einstein did not come up with brilliant ideas and then said, it is not on my will-do list for the day, therefore I will make a note to think about this tomorrow. My wife would tell you that there are times when she finds me at 3:00 in the morning at my desk in my home office outlining a creative project because I woke up with what I thought was a brilliant solution to a major research problem. Mark, I am not at all trying to be sarcastic, but in my profession, too much structure may actually inhibit creativity. Yet, your system is brilliant for most things. So I will continue to work on these issues.

Thanks for your advice -- it is greatly appreciated!

-David

Hi Mark,

I am beginning to see how brilliant you are in this arena! Nice points, Mark! Yes, I know Einstein's publication record once he was a famous professor. I may not be as famous, of course, but I do publish!

I will try to incubate my ideas more as you have suggested. Mark, I cannot begin to tell you how much I appreciate your guidance and advice. Thanks!

Best regards,
-David

Hi Mark and David

This is a very interesting thread and one that I relate to fully, being an artist as well as self-employed in another arena (garden maintenance). I also have to juggle time spent thinking creatively with an organised structure that's necessary to get more mundane tasks done.

One thought that occurred to me that might be relevant - David, had you thought of keeping a timer with you set to say 15 minutes or 30 minutes, etc. (you choose how long seems appropriate) then when inspiration strikes you hit the start button on the timer and it will go off once that length of time has passed. This way you can loosely monitor how much time you are spending on unplanned thinking and stop if you have reached a point where you can stop or, rehit the start button and continue for another 15, 30 minutes or whatever. I have found this very useful when I don't want too much structure but I need to keep a lid on how much time I'm spending on something quite freeform and unplanned.

I've noticed Mark suggesting the use of a timer in other contexts and I thought this might be another use for it.

If counting down to an alarm is too cramping on your style of thinking, you could always use it the other way. Set at zero, you press start when an idea occurs and stop when you finally return to work and it should then give you an idea of how long you've taken on your unplanned thinking instead (my timer goes up to 99 minutes so you can easily monitor at least 1½ hours before it resets itself).

Hi Hannah,

I love timers for many reasons. I like your suggestion after trying it for a couple of reasons: It places a strict boundary on my "creative time" which focuses my energy. Using brainstorming maps or scatter maps, I get the gist of the idea and it's relations for review at a later time (tomorrow!). I know from previous time logs that I could take an idea and spend more time than I should.

And second, it tests my discipline to "get back to work." I love thinking, planning, writing, but "action" on those can completely disappear.

Just a thought,

Bob

Hi Hannah and Bob,

This is a good idea -- I will try this and see how it works. Thanks for the suggestion! While DIT is simple and elegant....it actually is more of a challenge to establish oneself into this mindset...particularly for one who has used GTD so much in the past. But I certainly like the buffer on things coming in and being able to plan my day better. I really do like the structure.

Best regards,
-David

I'm pretty much a rookie at this, so please make allowances. It seems as though having discussions with colleagues and students is a definite part of your workload. So, you can put a task(s) on your Will Do list for this activity. This just means an adjustment to how many other tasks you can put on the list. Since the tasks on the Will Do list can be done in any order, you can still handle them as they come up; but time for them has been planned and you don't have to view them any longer as interruptions.
The same would be true for thinking time. Make it a task on your Will Do list.

This is an excellent idea. Since I maintain my will-do list in Outlook 2007, it is easy to create a reoccurring task that appears every day. So I am going to experiment with one for interactions with colleagues and one for graduate students. The thinking time is one I actually block off on my calendar -- a time box for thinking. I do this for writing as well.

Thanks for the advice. Mark, what do you think?

-David

Hi Mark,

I think if I have this as actions already on my will-do list, it will psychologically be very helpful to me as I will no longer see these interruptions of my work as random factors that need to be controlled (actually, I have come a long way on this by making it clear to my staff and students that I am not 100% available at all times and scheduled meetings with me would be best -- so far, it is a dramatic improvement). I cannot have a day when at least one colleague stops by for a chat on some study issue. This way, when it happens, I can check that off of my will-do list.

What do you think, Mark?

-David

David,
The implicit assumption you are making here is that you will always allow just one interruption (student or staff) per day. If that's true then you must be able to say NO to further interruptions (basically treat it as items that go UNDER the line) or you must take something off the closed list to accommodate for more interruptions. Another way to look at it would be to dedicate certain amount of time to these interruptions rather than look at the number of interruptions.

Just my 2 cents.