Getting Things Done

THE ART OF GETTING THINGS DONE I PART ONE

informally and naturally, they relieve a great deal of stress and

obtain better results.

The Natural Planning Model

You're already familiar with the most brilliant and creative plan-

ner in the world: your brain. You yourself are actually a planning

machine. You're planning when you get dressed, eat

lunch, go to the store, or simply talk. Although the

process may seem somewhat random, a quite com-

plex series of steps in fact has to occur before your

brain can make anything happen physically. Your

mind goes through five steps to accomplish virtually

any task:

1 |Defining purpose and principles

2 |Outcome visioning

3 |Brainstorming

4 |Organizing

5 |Identifying next actions

A Simple Example: Planning Dinner Out

The last time you went out to dinner, what initially caused you to

think about doing it? It could have been any number of things—

the desire to satisfy hunger, socialize with friends, celebrate a spe-

cial occasion, sign a business deal, or develop a romance. As soon

as any of these turned into a real inclination that you wanted to

move on, you started planning. Your intention was your purpose,

and it automatically triggered your internal planning process.

Your principles created the boundaries of your plan. You probably

didn't consciously think about your principles regarding going out

to dinner, but you thought within them: standards of food and

service, affordability, convenience, and comfort all may have

The most
experienced planner
in the world is your
brain.