
The One-Hour Version of Getting Things Done
Learn the essentials of productivity in just one hour. Discover how to work smarter and harder using the Eisenhower matrix and other effective strategies.
By Abe Yang
In this guide, we'll learn how to effectively manage tasks and projects using a streamlined version of the Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology. This one-hour session is designed to help you prioritize and take actionable steps towards completing your tasks. We'll start by understanding the difference between urgent and important tasks using the Eisenhower matrix. Then, we'll develop a game plan for each quadrant, ensuring you focus on what truly matters. By the end of this guide, you'll have practical strategies to work smarter and harder, maximizing your productivity.
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If needed, they can refer back to the Eisenhower matrix for guidance. Here, the goal is to weed out unimportant tasks. For example, in a video project, one brother overly focused on the title slides instead of completing the entire project. This illustrates the danger of not focusing on the right things.

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Whether it's a full-fledged paper or a short bulleted list, what exactly do they mean by "done" or "finished"? It's important to clarify this.

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Most people think it's time-bound, which is technically correct.
I call it a time box.

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It's a bit nerdy, but I break it down like this: generally, we put very little effort into things, which makes them take a long time. However, if we put in more effort, it takes less time. We often experience this during "dead week." We have a whole week to study, but the day before or the day of the exam, we suddenly put in high effort and realize we can study much faster than we thought. The problem is that we often let external forces dictate how we do things. The trick is to take control over the amount of effort we put in.

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One task should equal one thing, with only one completion.
For example, an "outro" to our TC video should be a subproject. I go through how to break that down.

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(I doubt we'll have time to cover this in class.)

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