Chapter 3 of "Getting Things Done" by David Allen - Book Summary/Review

Today, we are looking at chapter 3 called "Getting Projects Creatively Under Way: The Five Phases of Project Planning". It is the last high-level chapter before the book dives into the nitty-gritty practical implementation of these very useful productivity principles.

The key ingredients of relaxed control are (1) clearly defined outcomes (projects) and the next actions required to move them toward closure, and (2) reminders placed in a trusted system that is reviewed regularly.

As general rule, you can be pretty creative with nothing more than an envelope and a pencil. And there is a a productive way to think about projects, situations, and topics that creates maximum value with minimal expenditure of time and effort. It happens to be the way we naturally think and plan, but not necessarily the way we normally plan. This natural planning cycle consists of the following five steps:

1. Defining purpose and principles: It never hurts to ask the "why" question. Almost anything you're currently doing can be enhanced by more scrutiny at the top level of focus. This is nothing more than common sense, but common sense that is not commonly practiced. Asking why regularly has enormous benefits, such as defining success, aligning resources, motivating, clarifying focus, and expanding options.
2. Outcome visioning: When you focus on something it will instantly create ideas and thought patterns you wouldn't have had otherwise. Even your physiology will respond to an image in your head as if it were reality. Something automatic and extraordinary happens in your mind and body when you create and focus on a clear picture of what you want. What will this project look like when it'd done? How will you and other people feel about it?
3. Brainstorming: Get as many ideas out of your head written down. Don't judge, challenge, evaluate, or criticize. Go for quantity, not quality. Put analysis and organization in the background. 
4. Organizing: If you've done a thorough job of emptying your head of all the things that came up in the brainstorming phase, you will notice a natural organization is emerging. The key steps here are: (a) identify the significant pieces, (b) sort by one or more components, sequences, or priorities, (c) detail to the required degree. 
5. Identifying next actions: The final stage is about clearly defining the next possible action step for all open loops and allocating physical resources to get the job done. This step is absolutely crucial: creating a list of what your real projects are and consistently managing your next action for each one will constitute 90% of what is generally thought of as project planning.

How much of this planning model do you really need to flesh out, and to what degree of detail? The simple answer is, as much as you need to get the project off your mind. In David's experience 80% of projects are quite simple (e.g. set-up a new printer at home): You will still be doing the full planning model on all of them, but only in your head, and just enough to figure out next actions and keep them going until they are complete. another 15% or so of project might require at least some external form of brainstorming, maybe a mind-map or a few notes in a Word file. That might be enough for planning meeting agendas or your next holiday. A final 5% of projects might require the deliberate and formal application of all five stages.

Based on: David Allen (2001), Getting Things Done, Penguin Books, p.54-81.