Why is that important (as a concept)?

Well, would you rather have your boss just dump a whole bunch of papers on your desk, and say “do these”, or would you prefer a boss who only hands you papers when you need them, or when you don’t have anything else that you’re working (or at least, not anything that’s a higher priority)?

Would you rather have a boss who says “Here’s an entire project, get it done” or a boss who says “Here’s the first task of a project that I need you to get done. Come back to me when you are finished with this small, completable task, and I’ll tell you what to do next”?

In both cases, I’m hoping you opted for the latter. Making that decision one of the essential parts of GTD. By defining specific Next Actions and creating appropriate calendar reminders, you are essentially “managing” your future self in a way that is a Best Practices way of managing someone who works for you.

Other Stuff Like This

• Things to Keep In Mind for a Manic Monday
• Make Productivity A Game with RescueTime
• Mindsweeping with Remember The Milk
• How To: Save Time On Haircuts
• Buzzed Multitasking is Drunk Multitasking
• Post To And Read Your TO READ List From Anywhere With Email