Getting Things Done:
Nonprofit reps learn from task management program
Between work, family, friends and charitable obligations, those who work at nonprofits have a lot to keep up with.
Other kinds of workers also feel the pressure — according to the American Psychological Association, 79% of U.S. adult workers reported work-related burnout in 2021, including 26% who reported a lack of energy at work, 36% who reported cognitive weariness, 32% who said they were emotionally exhausted and 44% who said they were physically fatigued from work.
Enter Mark Day, a public relations and land manager for LANXESS. Day is certified through Crucial Learning, an education company focused on workplace solutions, to teach other LANXESS employees about goal management through the “Getting Things Done” curriculum, based on a book by David Allen on personal productivity.
And recently, he was authorized by Crucial Learning to spread the knowledge to 25 local nonprofit representatives thanks to a grant from the company for the GTD course materials.
“The Chamber, they have a once-a-month nonprofit coffee meeting time, so I went to the Chamber for about an hour and spoke to them, gave a brief overview of Getting Things Done and asked if that would be an opportunity they’d like to take,” Day explained.
The Chamber said yes, and in February, Day hosted the first GTD class for 14 nonprofit representatives. He’ll host a second this summer, and as of Monday had 11 slots remaining.
Day said the GTD class is pretty self-explanatory; it helps those who are overwhelmed by their varying responsibilities get things done.
“The class is based off the book ‘Getting Things Done’
by David Allen, and basically, the whole concept of the book is stressfree productivity, so it’s about being able to capture everything that’s on your mind — whether that’s you need to buy cat food on the way home from work or you need to plan a vacation that’s going to happen six months from now, or as big as maybe a goal you have that’s 10 years down the road,” Day said.
Capturing one’s different responsibilities — finding a way to remember them — is the first step of getting things done, Day said. After that comes clarifying, where one plans a course of action to execute their responsibility or goal.
“So, we might write down things like ‘mom.’ Well what does that mean? Maybe you need to buy your mom a birthday present. So when you clarify, you’re defining what the very next action you need to do is,” Day explained. “So instead of writing down ‘mom,’ you might write, ‘buy mom a present at Sports Alley’ or whatever.”
Next is organizing, where one determines their priorities and what the most efficient way to complete their goal or responsibility is.
“We talk about how to arrange that task. We have one-offs, like buying cat food or mom’s gift, but sometimes we have projects, something that requires more than one action. So how do we organize those? (In the GTD course), we talk about organizing those tasks in the best way possible so we can get those done in the most efficient and timely way,” Day said.
Reflection comes last — setting aside time for oneself to evaluate how they are managing their responsibilities and goals.
“We talk about engaging and reflecting — that means every week, you sit down and review your projects, your tasks and you make sure the things you’re working on are the most important things. And sometimes it’s not all about that you’re doing the more important thing but that you’re confident the things you’re not doing don’t need your attention,” Day said.
Day found the GTD curriculum more than a decade ago, when he dropped the ball on a task assigned to him by his pastor, he said.
“Our pastor asked me in February to order some trophies for Wildcat Appreciation Day. I ordered them, paid for them, and then Wildcat Appreciation Day came up in May and he looked at me before church and he said, ‘Mark, bring the trophies whenever.’ Then that feeling in my stomach hit,” Day said. “Luckily we live in a small town so it worked out, but that Monday morning, I went to my office and researched task management and came across this book, ordered it and read it.”
And while balls still can be dropped by those who have taken the GTD course, Day said, but he’s devised a system for himself that helps him manage his life effectively.
“I think, practically, the biggest thing I’m able to apply is capturing everything that’s on my mind and doing it all the time. So if I’m at WalMart, I’m walking down the aisle and I remember that Laura (his wife) told me I need to blow off the roof and gutters, I’ll stop and email myself. That’s my capture tool,” Day said. “A lot of us have several capture tools — we have our emails, we have our phones, text messaging, Facebook Messenger, different chat services we use, all these different capture tools where information is held, but the problem is that it’s difficult to check all 13 of those on a consistent basis, so I’ve narrowed it down to just about one capture tool.”
For office workers or others who suffer from “email overload,” simplifying the way one manages tasks can be a game-changer, Day said.
“It’s really to help you get out of the reactionary mode, where you respond to emails, respond to texts, messages, et cetera, and actually get stuff done. We’re always going to have people wanting stuff from us… I’m teaching you how to engage with all those things that come into your life, what to do with it, how to organize it,” he said.
Day said he’s taught the GTD class to 150-plus LANXESS employees, from the local plants to some working in other states and even in Europe. The nonprofit workers who took the class with him last month responded positively, evidenced by emailed feedback he received, including from one participant who called the class “life-changing.”
Janie Ward, member services director at HealthWorks, took the course last month and said she’s already been able to start utilizing some of the things she learned there.
“I was using too many forms of capture tools — I was writing things down in too many places, and even though I had a planner, I was using too many things along with my planner to try and keep up with my information,” Ward said. “And I also learned that not everything has to be done right this minute. It’s helped with planning things out — like, I can plan for on this day, I’m going to work on this, on this day, I’m going to work on that. That’s helped a lot, helping me get organized.”
Ward said in the weeks since she took the class, she’s discovered a podcast from Crucial Learning about task management and Getting Things Done that’s helped her learn more tips and tricks on task management. Since she took the class, she’s consolidated her organizational tools into one, Microsoft Outlook, which she uses to manage her email, to-do list and calendar, she said.
“It has helped a lot, because everything is in one place now rather than me chasing all these sticky notes, my planner,” she said. “You won’t regret it if you take the class.”
Day noted the Getting Things Done model can be applied for anyone, regardless of their technological know-how.
“I think the biggest thing with the methodology of Getting Things Done is that I’m not telling you to adopt a new system, to buy a new tool or use a specific online platform. You take the system you’re already using and we incorporate Getting Things Done into it. So if you’re a paper person and don’t want to go digital, that’s 100% okay, you don’t have to go digital,” he said.
He continued, “For me here at LANXESS, I might have 50 projects with multiple next actions, but it’s not just for those people with 50 projects; it could be for the individual who wants to be more organized at home or who wants to not forget his mom’s birthday.”
A date hasn’t been set for the next GTD class for nonprofit workers, but Day said those interested in taking it can email him at mark.day@lanxess. com to register.