A common stumbling point on the road to adopting David Allen’s Getting-Things-Done methodology is that we get too wrapped up in the mechanics of the system and fail to think about what we are doing. We stay bogged down in the trenches (at the airport runway level, as Allen puts it) for far too long, and don’t spend enough time at higher elevations looking down at the big picture of what we are up to and where we are headed.

One particular sticking point is when it comes to processing the thoughts that are captured with our “collection tool.” GTD teaches us to gather our random thoughts during the day using whatever works for us as a collection tool — a notepad and pen, sticky notes, 3×5 cards, an electronic text editor, the “Inbox” area of a GTD-specific software tool. It doesn’t matter what collection tool we choose, or how it works, as long as it accomplishes the goal of allowing us to efficiently get our random thoughts down in writing as they occur, and then quickly get us back to the task at hand, trusting that those thoughts have been captured and will be dealt with appropriately when the time comes.

So far, so good. The problem is that when the time comes (i.e. the daily planning session), we have this tendency to merely move the thoughts — as captured — directly to our (context-segregated) to-do lists without applying due analysis. Those of us who use a GTD-specific software tool are especially susceptible to this. It’s all too easy to click-and-drag an item from the inbox to a particular project or area of responsibility without any kind of a reality-check.

Let’s look as a concrete example… Let’s say that one day, my work is interrupted by a phone call from my sister asking if I can babysit my 6-year-old nephew for a few hours on the following Sunday. Answering yes, I write the appointment on my calendar. I also ponder for a few seconds about what I am going to do with little Johnny during that time. Turning to my capture tool, I write down something like, “Buy coloring books and crayons” or whatever is the the first thought that comes to mind that conveys the idea that I’ll need to provide something to keep Johnny occupied. Two seconds later, I am back to doing whatever I was working on when the call came in. My head is 100% back in the game, trusting that preparations for Johnny will be handled when the time comes.

Here’s the thing… at planning time, I could look at my capture tool, see the notation for “Buy coloring books and crayons” and drag it directly to the Errands list with little thought. But there’s a missed opportunity here. Just because “Buy coloring books and crayons” is already worded as a to-do task, doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do. That was just the first thing that came to mind when sister interrupted my work with her phone call. It would be more appropriate to first translate the captured thought into something more meaningful — a goal statement, or an objective. So, “Buy coloring books and crayons” becomes “be prepared to keep Johnny occupied.” Such a goal statement can then be critiqued and analyzed. In this case, is it enough to just keep Johnny occupied? How about keeping him entertained? Or better yet, how about teaching him something?

Another way to analyze this is to apply the 5-why’s technique. That is, to keep asking myself “Why?” four or five times, until I get at the root of what’s really needed.

1. Why am I buying coloring books? To keep Johnny occupied.
2. Why does Johnny need to be kept occupied? So he won’t get bored.
3. Why worry about Johnny being bored? We’ll be stuck together for 3 hours. He’ll get cranky.
4. So, what’s the best use of those 3 hours? Do something to really bond with nephew.
5. What do uncle and nephew have in common to bond over? This uncle likes woodworking and the boy likes nature. — So, build a birdhouse together.

Therefore, the items that actually get planned are “Sketch out birdhouse blueprints,” “Gather birdhouse materials,” and “Buy birdseed.”

To summarize…

• Don’t analyze at capture time. Just get the thoughts down in writing and quickly return to the work at hand.
• Don’t take what’s been captured for granted.
• Translate a specific task that is captured into a more meaningful objective or goal statement. The ultimate action to take may very well be the same task that was captured, in which case, so be it. But often, something better will emerge.
• Use the 5-Why’s technique to uncover a latent objective/goal, if it’s not obvious.