Getting things done the dirty way

June 4th, 2007 • Related • Filed Under

Gettings things done: the dirty dishes method

I have recently been reading more and more about productivity and getting
things done (GTD). I belive this is out of necessity as I have a lot
on my plate just now and balancing them all can be tricky. There are
a lot of things that I have come across that work for me and other things which
do not. I will be writing more about this in the future.

I have come across a trick which consistently works for me and that is breaking
the job down.

The dirty dishes method

Take any task and simplify it into different components. I will take
an everyday task as an example here; washing the dishes. It seems easy
enough but a lot of people are averse to washing the dishes and leave them
until they pile up and then you might need some mounaineering equipment to
get to the top of the pile. Obviously most people have a dishwasher but
the same rules apply.

Our brain looks at the pile of dishes and might think ‘that’s
far too much to do, I’ll do it later’. It thinks this way
as the dishes are usually disorganised and placed in piles that make it look
as if there are lots of dishes. Our brain immediately says ‘hey
this is going to take ages to get through this lot’ and it immediaitely
switches off to the task. Picture in your minds eye that pile of disorganised
dishes. Now picture those same dishes organised into piles of dinner
plates, tea plates, bowls, pans, cutlery. It looks so much more neater
and it looks less challenging.

So the next thing we do is organise them into piles. This way the job
doesn’t look so big.

Now to get started. To do this just tell yourself you will do the dinner
plates first and then you can do the tea plates later.

Once you’ve started the dinner plates you will automatically keep going
to the tea plates and you will have gathered momentum and continue until you
finish.

Breaking the job down

Do this with every single task in your life and you can get a hell of a lot
more done.

Some of the task I have done recently are:

Sorting out the mountain of paperwork I have at work. Using the breaking
up method, I look at what is most important, I then sort out the paperwork
into piles of priority, so I might have 10 -20 piles. I then work through each
pile in turn and devote 30 minutes of uninterrupted time per day to do it.

Other tasks include: visting clients, doing notes, decorating a house, daily
chores, going to the gym. We can literally do it in every area of our
lives.

To summarise the dirty dishes method:

Identify the task to achieve
Organise the task into smaller pieces
Take each piece in turn and work on it
Build momentum by continuing with the other pieces
Task completed

Let me know if this method works for you or if you try another
method.

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There Are 9 Responses So Far. »

Comment by Robyn McMaster on 4 June 2007:

Steve, my mom taught me to put all the glasses in hot, sudsy water first. Her rationale was that if I did not the glasses would come out spotted and dirty. Next the silver went in for the same reason. And, pots and pans were to be last — and those dirtiest of all at the tail end on the chore.

This process involves the left side of the brain - our great organizer.

I’ve not veered from the method except when modern technology entered the picture and I bought a dishwahser and learned a whole new process.

I talked to Mom while doing dishes - had some deep conversations. The dishwasher took the personal element away in a sense.

Thought you’d enjoy this perspective, Steven. Haven’t thought about it in years.

Comment by Steven Aitchison on 4 June 2007:

Hi Robyn

Thats a great point. I have some great conversations with my sons when doing the dishes together and they seem to open up a bit more when doing the dishes, my wife has said this on many occasions.

Comment by Marc on 4 June 2007:

Breaking down large projects into multiple sub-tasks is the key to completing any project correctly… Only then will you be able to accurately evaluate the problems at hand.

Comment by Steven Aitchison on 4 June 2007:

hi Marc, you’re right however a lot of people look at the whole project and get dismayed sometimes by the enormity of it. You’re right though it’s great to break the project down, whatever it is.

Comment by gadgotra on 6 June 2007:

Great advice for dish washing!

Pingback by One Snarky Chica with Issues » Blog Archive » Issues link roundup for 6/3 - 6/9 on 10 June 2007:

[...] Getting things done: The Dirty Dishes Method at Steve Aitchison’s Change Your Thoughts blog An excellent GTD article that focuses on breaking down tasks in order to accomplish them. This method really does work, especially if the task is something that you don’t really want to do. [...]

Pingback by Questions That Will Save Your Career: Question 7 | So You Want To Teach? on 13 June 2007:

[...] In my desk drawer, I try to maintain no more than three pens, two pencils, a highlighter, and a pad of paper. Use a filing system and use your free time (conference period, lunch period, etc.) to file. I’m not going to rehash David Allen’s entire GTD system (although I do plan on finally reading the book this summer), but I will point you to some great sites that refer to it. And a variation. It will definitely create a much more peaceful work environment for you. [...]

Pingback by How Do You Keep Your Sanity? | So You Want To Teach? on 13 June 2007:

[...] Eliminate clutter I have previously mentioned my clean desk. Get rid of superfluous crap. The way to do it is to throw stuff away. If it hurts you to throw away all of those Christmas gifts you’ve received from students, take a picture of them and then chunk them. You don’t need desk decorations. I have one inbox and one outbox. They are on top of a filing cabinet; not on my desk. The only things that live on my desk are my computer and my phone. I am trying to find a computer cart so I can clear it.In my desk drawer, I try to maintain no more than three pens, two pencils, a highlighter, and a pad of paper. Use a filing system and use your free time (conference period, lunch period, etc.) to file. I’m not going to rehash David Allen’s entire GTD system (although I do plan on finally reading the book this summer), but I will point you to some great sites that refer to it. And a variation. It will definitely create a much more peaceful work environment for you. [...]

Pingback by How Do I Keep My Sanity? | So You Want To Teach? on 18 July 2007:

[...] Eliminate clutter I have previously mentioned my clean desk. Get rid of superfluous crap. The way to do it is to throw stuff away. If it hurts you to throw away all of those Christmas gifts you’ve received from students, take a picture of them and then chunk them. You don’t need desk decorations. I have one inbox and one outbox. They are on top of a filing cabinet; not on my desk. The only things that live on my desk are my computer and my phone. I am trying to find a computer cart so I can clear it.In my desk drawer, I try to maintain no more than three pens, two pencils, a highlighter, and a pad of paper. Use a filing system and use your free time (conference period, lunch period, etc.) to file. I’m not going to rehash David Allen’s entire GTD system (although I do plan on finally reading the book this summer), but I will point you to some great sites that refer to it. And a variation. It will definitely create a much more peaceful work environment for you. [...]