Chapter 8 of "Getting Things Done" by David Allen - Book Summary/Review

This post summarizes chapter 8 called Reviewing: Keeping Your System Functional

The purpose of this whole method of workflow management is not to let your brain become relaxed, but rather to enable it to move toward more elegant and productive activity. In order to earn that freedom, however, your brain must engage on some consistent basis with all your commitments and activities. You must be assured that you're doing what you need to be doing, and that it is okay to not do what you are currently not doing. That's why it is so crucial to regularly review and update your personal organisation system.

As a general rule, you should spend as much time reviewing your system as is necessary for you to feel comfortable about what you are doing. In the daily grind of work life, this will probably be an accumulation of two seconds here, and three seconds there. You will probably want to review in the following order:

1. Your most frequent review will be your daily calendar, particularly those time-specific appointments that have to occur at a particular point in time.
2. Check your calendar for all day-specific commitments that need to be completed by the end of the day.
3. If 1. and 2. are taken care of, check your next action list to pick a new item, which needs to be completed "as soon as you get to it". It is also okay to glance over this list from time to time, to reassure you that no item has aged so much that it now has become an urgent priority.

The real trick to ensuring the trustworthiness of the whole organisation system lies in regularly refreshing your psyche and your system from a more elevated perspective. The Weekly Review is the magic key to the sustainability of this process; it is whatever you need to do to get your head empty and your system up-to-date at least once a week until you can honestly say "I absolutely know right now everything I'm not doing but could be doing if I decided to."

Practically, your weekly review could e.g. include the following items:

• Process all notes, loose papers and record any attached action items on your 'next actions' list
• Reduce your email inbox down to empty. Flag relevant items for follow-up and/or record any associated action items on your 'next actions' list
• Check this week's calendar for any items you might have missed
• Check next week's calendar to get an overview over what's ahead and address any issues, e.g. commitments you've made that are no longer possible.
• Review all your next action list to keep them current
• Review all 'follow-up', 'FU' or 'Waiting For' items and follow-up with people as necessary
• If you have sufficient time, review your someday/maybe list. It is ok to skip this item and only review it every 1-2 months.

From experience, it is important to schedule a regular time once a week for this (e.g. an early Friday afternoon is ideal for many people). When the reminder pops up, make sure that it includes the checklist of all the items you need to review.

At regular larger intervals (e.g. every 3-6 months), you might also like to review your higher-level life direction, asking you questions, such as "What is my life purpose?", "What are my current high-level focus areas?", "Am I really living a life that is aligned to my core values?". Set a regular reminder in your calendar and ideally do this review with one or more trusted friends.

Based on: David Allen (2001), Getting Things Done, Penguin Books, p.181-190.