Does your workload feel out of control? Do you worry about forgetting to do important things? Do deadlines sneak up on you? Do you fight fires most of the time? Do you start your day knocking out “a few small tasks”, then wonder where the day went? Do you find yourself working outside your company’s core hours in order to get something done?

Maybe you’ve heard of Getting Things Done, David Allen’s system for managing and tracking work. Maybe you’re like some of my clients, who’ve bought the book but not yet got around to reading it.

Maybe this will help.

I have distilled the core of Getting Things Done down to a short document that you can read and put into action today, tomorrow at the latest. Click here for the tutorial that takes only 5 minutes to read. Don’t want to take 5 minutes right now? I understand; you’re slammed. Here’s something you can do right now: institute the Two-Minute Rule for incoming work. If you do this, then you’ll never again wonder where the day went after trying to start ahead of the curve on incoming work. Here’s how it works:

Every time someone asks you to do something, or you think of something to do, ask yourself, Can I do this in two minutes? If you answer “Yes”, then do it now; and if you answer “No”, then do not do it yet!

That’s it. If you don’t want to take 5 minutes to read this document to start taking control of your work, then start using the Two-Minute Rule now. What do you have to lose?

Reactions

Got started with Getting Started With Get Things Done by @jbrains . My brain is clear and ready to enjoy a day in beautiful Vilnius! #buildstuffLT

— Simo Nurmi, November 18, 2017 (originally posted on X)

“I have read this article of yours a couple of years ago (and it changed my life completely).”—M.S.