Holas

Getting Things Done: The Science behind Stress-Free Productivity
Francis Heylighen and Clément Vidal
ECCO - Evolution, Complexity and Cognition research group Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Free University of Brussels) Krijgskundestraat 33, 1160 Brussels, Belgium Phone +32-2-640 67 37 Fax +32-2-6440744 http://pcp.vub.ac.be/HEYL.html, http://clement.vidal.philosophons.com

Abstract: Allen (2001)proposed the “Getting Things Done” (GTD) method for personal productivity enhancement, and reduction of the stress caused by information overload. This paper argues that recent insights in psychology and cognitive science support and extend GTD’s recommendations. We first summarize GTD with the help of a flowchart. We then review the theories of situated, embodied and distributed cognition thatpurport to explain how the brain processes information and plans actions in the real world. The conclusion is that the brain heavily relies on the environment, to function as an external memory, a trigger for actions, and a source of affordances, disturbances and feedback. We then show how these principles are practically implemented in GTD, with its focus on organizing tasks into “actionable”external memories, and on opportunistic, situation-dependent execution. Finally, we propose an extension of GTD to support collaborative work, inspired by the concept of stigmergy. Keywords: personal productivity, personal information management, time management, task management, praxeology, situated and embodied cognition, stigmergy, information overload.

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1. Introduction
Our present societyis characterized by quickly growing complexity and change: opportunities, constraints, and objectives are in a constant flux. Managing the situation requires gathering and processing an incessant stream of potentially relevant information. As such, most of our day-today activities fall under the heading of knowledge work (Drucker, 1973). But how can we efficiently organize such heavilyinformation-dependent work? While there is a large and established literature on how to organize traditional physical activities, such as industrial processes, the literature on knowledge management is as yet much less well developed, and mostly concerns the static storage and reuse of existing knowledge rather than the processing of incoming information. The extensive literature on information processing,on the other hand, mostly concerns computer systems rather than human information processing. Some aspects of human information processing, such as decision-making, project planning and problem solving, have been well investigated. However, the corresponding theories are not really helpful to cope with the information explosion, since they generally assume a given range of possibilities from whichthe best possible one is to be chosen. However, in a situation where new information may arrive by the minute, both the relevant options and the criteria for deciding between them are constantly changing. This makes formal optimization methods basically useless in day-to-day knowledge work. As Simon (1997) pointed out long ago, rationality is bounded: we never have the full information needed tomake optimal choices. But Simon’s alternative strategy of “satisficing” is flawed too: a choice that is satisfactory now, may not appear so good anymore when new information comes in. In practice, people follow a strategy of “bettering”: choosing what seems best from the available options now, but being ready to switch to something better when new information arrives. This opportunistic mode ofdecision-making is pervasive in today’s fast-paced and uncertain world. However, its lack of a clear focus makes it likely that people would not really know what to aim for, what to do, and what not to do. Moreover, the constant bombardment with new information means that previous plans, decisions and relevant data are often forgotten or neglected. The last two decades have seen an explosion of...