The Tyranny of Project-Based Productivity.

How many “projects” do you have right now? According to Getting Things Done author David Allen, you are likely to have between thirty and one hundred and fifty open projects.

Is that true? Well, it depends on how you define what a project is. The Getting Things Done definition of a project is anything that requires more than one step to complete. Inevitably, with this definition, you will have plenty of projects.

The problem with this definition of a project is the overwhelm it generates. That many projects require a lot of reviewing. You will have countless folders to keep on top of, which means you will have many places to keep looking at to ensure the right tasks are done at the appropriate time.

However, if we change the definition — and you are free to do that — it is possible to minimise this overwhelming and over-organisational system.

For me, a project is a unique, desired outcome that takes time to accomplish. This means anything I have yet to try potentially is a project. However, moving house is a project, as it’s not something I do very frequently.

With this definition, I have very few projects. Instead, I have processes for doing my work and chores. Using processes instead of projects to get my work done simplifies the work and gives me a structure within…