ProdPod: Episode Three – Charlie Gilkey’s Special Theory of Productivity, Part One

WELCOME TO OUR THIRD EPISODE OF PRODPOD, THE PODCAST OF PRODUCTIVITY TIPS IN TWO MINUTES OR LESS. I’M RAY SIDNEY-SMITH AND I’M YOUR PRODUCTIVITY GUIDE, THE CURRENT ORGANIZER OF GETTING THINGS DONE DC MEETUP & THE FOUNDING ORGANIZER OF THE NEWLY ESTABLISHED GETTING THINGS DONE NYC MEETUP. YOU CAN FIND ME TWEETING ON TWITTER AT G T D D C AND AT G T D N Y C USING THE HASHTAG PRODPOD.
THIS EPISODE’S TIP: THE SPECIAL THEORY OF PRODUCTIVITY, PART ONE. CHARLIE GILKEY IS THE BLOGGER-ENTREPRENEUR BEHIND PRODUCTIVE FLOURISHING DOT COM I MENTIONED IN THE LAST EPISODE AND HE HAS DEVELOPED TWO PRODUCTIVITY THEORIES AND I’M GOING TO COVER THE SECOND THEORY NOW WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF TIME AND TASK MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AS A WHOLE.
THE SPECIAL THEORY OF PRODUCTIVITY ACCORDING TO GILKEY IS THAT PRODUCTIVITY SYSTEMS MANIFEST A LOOP OF THREE DISTINCT AND INTERCONNECTED ACTIVITIES: PLANNING, EXECUTION AND EVALUATION. HIS PREMISE IS THAT THESE ARE SIMPLE FUNCTIONS YET MANY ARE MISSING AT LEAST ONE OF THEM; THE TAKEAWAY HERE IS TO MAKE SURE YOUR SYSTEMS HAS THEM AND IF THEY DON’T, NO NEED TO THROW THE BABY OUT WITH THE BATHWATER BUT MAKE SURE THAT YOU MAKE THE MISSING ACTIVITY (USUALLY EVALUATION) A PRIORITY EQUAL TO THE OTHERS.
GILKEY ALSO MAKES REFERENCES TO PRINCIPLES OF TIME MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS, WHICH BASICALLY ARE CROSS-SECTIONS THAT YOU CAN RANK OF EACH OF THE THREE FUNCTIONS (PLANNING, EXECUTION AND EVALUATION). THE PRINCIPLES ARE SIMPLICITY, USEFULNESS, AESTHETICALLY-PLEASING, CONNECTEDNESS AND COHESIVENESS. I’LL SUMMARIZE THOSE IN THE NEXT EPISODE.