“One either meets, or one works.” — Peter Drucker

My favorite time management technique is called touch it once. This post isn’t specific to finances, but every now and then I like to hit the refresh button and remind myself that when you “get things done” then success usually follows.

This is the difference between dreamers and doers. David Allen developed a system called Getting Things Done (GTD). The American Way magazine had a write up about his book earlier this year. There are two keys to GTD:

1: “Capture all the things that need to get done: whether it be now, later, someday, big, little, or in between into a logical and trusted system outside of your head and off your mind.”

2. “Discipline yourself to make front-end decisions about all of the inputs you let into your life so you will always have a plan for next actions that you can implement or renegotiate at any moment. To learn more, go to David Allen’s website.

Here’s an example: “What is to be done with this? If closing the loop requires two minutes or less (call Bob, skim letter, make dental appointment), do it immediately. If the loop requires more than two minutes (hire assistant, plan London trip), it’s a project for which a successful outcome and next actions must be determined (review resumes, narrow down choices, schedule three interviews for next week). Question: Can I just slip stuff back into the in-box without deciding? Answer: no. Refusing to decide is a major stress builder. Decide, act, move on.”

Last week, Stefan Stern from the Financial Times also gave his two cents on productivity. He writes, “In a booming market for commodities, time remains the most precious one of all. No wonder Blink, last year’s bestseller by the New Yorker columnist Malcolm Gladwell, proved so popular with its time-starved readers. What a relief to be told that making decisions quickly (“thin-slicing”) might often turn out to be a better idea than thinking too hard about them.”

Make quick decisions. Be decisive. Touch it once… if you touch it, move it to the next step. Make sense? These techniques will keep you on track: in your work life, personal life, as well as all things financial. Now go get ’em… it’s Monday morning!