To-Do Lists Don't Work

  > Our group uses a JIRA[2] instance that I've customized 
  > the heck out of to make an effective "This is what needs 
  > done, grab this if you have any spare time" system. The 
  > motto is "No ticky, no worky" - anybody doing anything 
  > work related generates a ticket for it.

Understand that the system you've created implies that someone else has decided that the work is worth doing, someone else has broken the work down into manageable tasks, and someone else has prioritized it. This may work great for employees who need a lot of direction, but starts to break down as tasks become larger and more complex, and the goal is to leverage the knowledge and experience of the person doing the task.

Markovitz is really advocating an approach that works better for employees who are essentially given whole projects to manage, and are empowered to steer the direction of the project overall:

  > You might think, “There’s no way I could tell my boss
  > that I can’t do this by mid-February.” But I’d argue that 
  > you have to say no. The CFO says no when the president 
  > wants to move into a new building or hire new people, and 
  > the company can’t afford it — that’s part of her fiduciary 
  > responsibility. You have the same kind of responsibility — 
  > to set expectations about what can be accomplished with 
  > the amount of production time you have available.

(edit: Both approaches have their place, given the work and the team. It's important to understand both approaches, however. I see a lot of frustration from employees who want more say in the overall project direction when they're in a "just do what you're told" kind of job. Similarly, some employees really love the ability to focus on the tasks assigned, and not having to worry about whether they make sense from a business perspective.)

very cool.

I found to-do list works well. They track things so I don't have to keep them in mind, freeing me to concentrate on the task at hand.

Most of the ideas are quite old- possibly enough to be considered 'public domain.' From Daytimers systems to 'getting organized' self-help books, these things have been around since at least the 1970s.

I'm glad this is being shared, because I struggled for years with GTD and couldn't find an alternative anywhere. When I started putting tasks in my calendar my productivity skyrocketed. I know when things will get done and it forces me to make tough choices. I have to decide what will get done, how much time will it take and when, but also what WON'T get done and forces me to say "no". We only have limited amount of time - the calendar makes it so clear.

This approach takes much practice to learn how much time everything takes, self-discipline and flexibility when it takes more than planned. The end result is much better control of personal time. Instead of just writing a next action for each project and being anxious whenever I get a new project request from a client whether I will have enough time to finish it by deadline; now, I can estimate project and tell from my schedule when each project will be finished.

To-do list has place in my system as either list of small tasks that I will do in one block of scheduled time. Also, I use list as someday lists, for example next books I will read. I still use some principles from GTD, but I no longer have never-ending to-do lists that paralyse me. Calendar forces me to create a realistic schedule.

This is not for everyone, and based by the popularity of GTD, I guess only minority of people can live in their calendar and schedule almost every activity. For those who are interested, I suggest starting with reading Peter Bregman: 18 minutes and Julie Morgenstern: Time management.