Читать книгу Getting Things Done - Rus Slater - Страница 13

This piece of advice may seem obvious: we are looking at the subject of ‘Getting Things Done’ so of course we are going to plan for output (i.e. the end result) rather than the activity, aren’t we? And yet, in the real world we often plan things the other way round – for activity rather than output.

Part of this mixed up focus comes from our schooling or our parents and the way we were treated as children. “Oh yes, he practises his piano for an hour every day” is an example of the measurement of activity rather than output. Similarly, “We set half an hour of homework each day”, or “You will spend three years at university”.

All these approaches measure activity rather than output. Indeed, the output is expected to happen almost by chance. “If you spend an hour hitting piano keys each day you are bound to play a good tune eventually.” This encourages the child to become a ‘clock-watcher’: “When I’ve been hitting piano keys for an hour I can go and play.” The child then concentrates on the minute hand rather than focusing on the piano playing.

This behaviour tends to be carried on in our work life; we measure things by how long we are doing something rather than aiming to achieve a specific outcome in the available time. Of course, this is reinforced by the fact that we are often paid a salary of X per year, or Y per month, or Z per hour. Evidentally, it’s payment for the passage of time, not output!

So when you are setting yourself goals (or deciding what to do today) aim for the Outcome not the Activity.

With many tasks you will need to break them down into smaller outcomes in order to make them more visible.

This will help you to focus on getting things done, which will add a sense of urgency, allow you to measure your success and generally improve your morale as well.

It is very satisfying to see that you have achieved something, rather than just spending time doing something.