Getting Things Done

PRACTICING STRESS-FREE PRODUCTIVITY | PART TWO

sense of control. You'll also know that you have an inventory

available to you (and to others) whenever it seems advisable to

evaluate workload(s).

One List, or Subdivided?

Most people find that one list is the best way to go because

it serves as a master inventory rather than as a daily prioritiz-

ing guideline. The organizing system merely provides placeholders

for all your open loops and options so your mind can more

easily make the necessary intuitive, moment-to-moment strategic

decisions.

Frankly, it doesn't matter how many different lists of projects

you have, so long as you look at the contents of all of them as

often as you need to, since for the most part you'll do that in one

fell swoop during your Weekly Review.

Some Common Ways to Subsort Projects

There are some situations in which it makes good sense to sub-

sort a "Projects" list. Let's look at these one by one.

Personal/Professional Many people feel more comfortable see-
ing their lists divided up between personal and professional

• projects. If you're among them, be advised that your "Personal"
  list will need to be reviewed as judiciously as your "Professional"
  one, and not just saved for weekends. Many actions on personal
  things will need to be handled on weekdays, exactly like every-
  thing else. And often some of the greatest pressures on profes-
  sionals stem from the personal aspects of their lives that they are
  letting slip.

Delegated Projects If you're a senior manager or executive, you

probably have several projects that you are directly responsible for

but have handed off to people who report to you. While you

could, of course, put them on your "Waiting For" list, it might

make better sense to create a "Projects—Delegated" list to

track