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This is the second in a series of articles designed to look at how to ease into the GTD system, using some simple tools and the essence of the GTD method. Last week, we discussed Getting Control Of Your Inputs. This week, we look at “processing requests,” the art of being asked to do something and quickly determining what to do with it. Processing is the engine that drives the GTD system. A GTD master can look at an incoming request and in seconds know if it should be put on a to do list, handed off to someone, or done right away. In this article we will talk about how to process requests from your inputs, and extend the system that we set up in the last article.

Processing Is Power

The core of the GTD method is to take requests that you receive and quickly decide a course of action for them. The actions that can be taken fall into one of the following categories:

• Do It Now–Some things are worth doing the second the request comes in. If the request is simple enough and can be done quickly, then you should do it and get rid of it. It is one less thing that has to go onto your list.
• Give It To Someone Else– Many of the requests that we get are handed down the chain of command. Sometimes a request that is given to you is for work that someone else needs to do and give to you. Those kinds of requests should get passed to the appropriate person as soon as they come in.
• Put It On Your List– Things that you are not going to do right away go onto your To Do list. This way they are indexed in a central location, so when you have the time to work on something you know what you need to work on.
• Throw It Away — Sometimes requests you get are not work for you, but rather a request for you to be in the loop as an FYI or for CYA purposes. If you can, get rid of the request. It is only noise that will clutter your system.

As you are clearing your inputs, you want to look at the requests there with these four actions in mind. Over time you want to train yourself to think in these terms, so that it becomes second nature for you to process your requests quickly and efficiently.

In the following sections I am going to expand on these four types of actions and describe their use with the simple, single notebook GTD system that we set up last week.

Do It Now

The GTD method uses what is called the “two minute rule.” If an action can be completed in less than two minutes, you should just do it right now. Two minutes is an average of the amount of time it would take you to index your to do item to evaluate it at a later time. If you can do the task faster than that, you are wasting time by indexing it.

You may not have a good grasp of how much you can do in two minutes. Take a timer and set it for two minutes and surf the web. You will be surprised how much you will accomplish in those two minutes. With that idea in your head, now look at the requests that have been sent to you. If you can do it in under two minutes, do it.

Email is an area where the two minute rule…well, rules. Email requests can often be done quickly, if you know the answers to the incoming request. Typical emails include things like: confirming a meeting, replying to a simple technical question, or sending the link of to that new software package. Avoid the two minute rule for voice mail. Calling someone back is rarely done in under two minutes. If you have a quick response, consider something like text messages.

Give It To Someone Else

The GTD method refers to this as “delegate.” One trap many people fall into, is thinking that because someone has asked us to do something, we should be the ones who do it. This trap wastes a lot of time. First, we may not be the resident expert in the activity. Someone else may be able to accomplish the activity faster and more accurately than if we did it ourselves. Second, you may already be too busy working on other things to handle the request, and by handing off to someone else, the activity gets done in a timely manner without crashing your existing priorities.

Delegation is easier if you are the boss, and people have to do what you say. If you are not anyone’s boss, then delegation becomes a bit tricker. Focus on the roles and responsibilities of your job and your colleagues’. Often you will find someone better suited to do the activity needed, even if you possess the skills to do it. In my office, I am capable of creating and assigning database roles to users, but I am not the Database Administrator. So when a request comes to me to add a role to someone’s account, I pass that request to the DB Admin.

When you delegate a request, you need to decide if you want to track this request or not. Part of your decision to track your delegated request has to do with who made the original request. If your boss made the request, then you will likely want to know the status of it after you hand it off. If you want to track it, take a page in your notebook and write the request down, who you delegated it to, and when it should be done. If you don’t care to keep track of it, then once you delegate it, forget about it. The ball is in someone else’s court.

Put It On Your List

If the request is something that you don’t have time to do, and you cannot give it to someone else, then you need to index this request in your notebook. Write it down on one of your pages along with a due date, so that you will know when it needs to be done.

In the traditional GTD method, these requests fall into the following categories:

• Next Actions — These are single steps that need to be done to accomplish something in the immediate future.
• Projects — These are tasks that require multiple next actions and/or a calendar to accomplish.
• Tickler – These are next actions that don’t need an immediate response, but shouldn’t be forgotten.
• Someday – These are ideas that you are not going to be working on anytime soon, but don’t want to forget.

Up to this point, we have not differentiated anything that we have written in the notebook into these categories. But as you grow your GTD system you need to keep these four categories in mind. To evolve the notebook system that was discussed in Part 1, you can do the following:

• Next Actions — Use the front of your notebook to record the current list of next actions on which you are working. Cross them out as you get them done, and from time to time, refresh the page.
• Projects — In another section of your notebook, create a page for each of your projects. Make a list of all the next actions that need to be done to finish this project. Take the first next action item off of the page for each project, and put it on the next actions list in the front of the notebook.
• Tickler — Use some pages towards the back of the book to write down the things you don’t want to work on now, but don’t want to forget. Include a date with it. Daily, scan your tickler list, and see if any of them need to be addressed that day. If they do, put it on the Next Actions list.
• Someday – Take the last page of the notebook and create a list of things that you want to work on some time in the future. Keep the entries simple and every few months scan the list and see if there is anything that you want to move to one of the other lists.

Throw It Away

If you do not need to do something on the request, and do not need to know when it is going to be done, then discard the request. The ability to separate the wheat from the chaff when it comes to requests is a key skill in the GTD method. It is most important for email. Often in business, and especially with email, there is a need to CC: everyone imaginable on a work request. That flood of email is what chokes inboxes and paralyzes the mind. The faster you can separate out the noise from the genuine requests, the more productive you will be.

You’re Now Processing!

As you master the skill of processing you will become more adept at knowing what needs to be done and what steps to take to get it done. You are working on the tasks you need to work on because you have handed off anything that you can to someone else, and you have finished everything that took less than two minutes to accomplish.

You will develop an eye for evaluating requests to get to the meat of the request and make quick decisions on what needs to be done with them. This coupled to your skill to keep your inputs clear will turn you into a task machine. You will receive tasks and act, delegate, or index them in rapid succession. You will have greater control over your time, and you will know what needs to be done to advance your projects towards completion.

Making It More GTD

The GTD method expands on the concept of processing by providing deeper explanations for the concepts of Next Action and Projects. As you grow your GTD system, it’s important to fully understand what is meant by Next Action and how it differs from a Project. It is that distinction that takes people from being organized to being productive.

Next week we will talk about ways to file things and expand our simple GTD system as we get into what to file, when to file, and what should you keep.