Getting Things Done

I recently started posting on a government small business web site.  They posed the question "How do you take the big picture and turn that into small actionable tasks?" (paraphrasing).  Here is my answer:

There are multiple tools for taking a big idea and translating it into actionable steps.  The first cardinal rule is "be organized".  Every project becomes bigger than we think it will be, and just like in the book, "Getting Things Done", you must write down everything so that you mind is free to do the hard work of solving problems instead of trying to recall the 50 other things you need to do.  This is my formula:

1)  Write an ethereal vision of what the idea should look like.  Don't put any limitations on this.  This is the big picture translated into concrete words.  Don't be afraid to come back and change it as you learn more about your project because everything in life is a can of worms- they are all bigger than you realize til you get deeper into it.

2)  Write purpose for your project.  This should be single short sentence.  Economy of language is important.  Use as few words as possible so that you are forced to be concise.  DO NOT make it about the money, make it about giving people what they want or need, even if they don't know it yet.  Mine for my website is "To create a source of simple advice for people who need help with LA Real Estate"

3)  Write out concrete results that MUST be accomplished by the project in order for it to be successful.  Insert within the middle of your result a "so that"  This will show you what small steps you need to take to accomplish each project.  Create a list of actions that need to be completed under each result.  Prioritize the results, and therefore the actions beneath them.  Don't be afraid to come back, add more results, change some, or create more actions as you learn more about your project.  Some results from my website include, "Engage my readers so that they contribute and reach out to me." and some of the actions are "inlude social networking tools for users to share with their networks" and "reach out to other forums to let them know we exist".

4)  In no more than 5 words, write out your context in active concise language.  This is what you need to hold on to and project out onto the world as you are completing, scheduling, managing, and prioritizing your results and tasks.  If you are doing this right, people should be able to read it on your face, your body language, your tone, and your words.  My context for my website is "Giving Education And Simple Solutions".

This is how i tie the BIG to the small, and how I stay organized doing it.

Michael S. Gentile
Los Angeles Realtor
http://www.TheLAspecialist.com