Now that you have implemented Getting Things Done (GTD) at a personal level, what if you can multiply that effect by helping your team implement GTD, even it’s just the basic fundamental principles? That is what this post is all about, using Qtask (web based task management) as the implementation method.

If you have not taken a look at GTD, we suggest you read the book or listen to the audio version. Once you have gone through your first reading and implementation, this handy guide will help you review the overall system as necessary. If you don’t have the time at the moment to read or listen to the entire book, check out this free summary.

Gain Buy In Through Example

The first challenge of using GTD with a team is achieving buy in. As with any method or system, the effectiveness will be somewhat dependent upon the level of acceptance among the users. We suggest that you initially provide the team with this free summary to review and then work through a current project using one key method of GTD, the Natural Planning Model. Here are the steps:

1. Ask the following questions:
   1. What is the purpose of the project?
   2. What does success look like?
   3. What are the principles we will follow while executing this project?
2. Hold a brainstorm session:
   1. A mind map on a large white board works well.
   2. Probably, the most critical thing at this point is to let the ideas flow naturally without judgment. Quantity over quality at this stage.
   3. Throughout this process, envision “wild” success.
3. Organize the results from the brainstorm:
   1. Delete the ideas that will not be effective due to time, resources or both; or that do not contribute to the success of the project in a reasonable way.
   2. Organize the remaining ideas in terms of risk (riskier tasks at the top). Then prioritize those items in terms of the success of the project.
   3. Now, organize all of the tasks in terms of a timeline. Especially, note those items which require other tasks to be completed first.
4. Create the “next actions”:
   1. For each item, define:
      1. What the action is. Make sure the “next action” is something you can actually do. (e.g. Call three vendors for pricing on X vs. Get pricing on X)
      2. Who will be responsible for completion and by when?
      3. If the item requires more than one “next action”, define a project and follow the same procedure as outlined above. (this can be done individually)
   2. Each person would have their own “next action” list and the project manager would have all of the “next actions” on their “waiting for” list.

Later in this post, we will describe how to use Qtask to simplify the results of such a session using a wiki within a project to manage these “next actions” effectively.

System Challenges of Executing GTD within a Team

One of the biggest challenges executing GTD within a team environment is creating a uniform system to operate within. David Allen (creator of GTD) does not endorse any particular system; instead he suggests you use whatever system you feel comfortable with. While it is feasible to successfully complete your projects with everyone using their own system, a better solution exists. When you use Qtask as your task management system, not only do you have a uniform way of organizing all of the data, you also get the added benefit of transparency and accountability.

Another challenge is making sure that everyone is completing their weekly reviews every seven days. In the next section, we will show you how to automate away that problem.

Executing GTD within Qtask

At the highest level of your GTD Team execution, you will be creating projects. Inside each project you will store all of your “next actions” and reference materials.

Once you have created your projects, you will need to setup your “next actions”. In Qtask this is achieved by setting up a task. We recommend that you add the context to the Category field so that you may be able to easily filter by context later.

Every task (next action) has a “Lead” and within the GTD system, that person effectively has that task on their “Waiting For” list. The “Doer” is the person who will actually execute the task (next action). The great thing about this implementation is that the “Doer” has to officially accept the task before moving forward. This helps ensure accountability. This video explains how Qtask’s dashboard helps you easily manage and review all of the activities across your projects.

Reference materials such as files, discussions and wikis are stored within the project or task. In this way all of the information related to a project is stored in a centralized location, making life much easier.

We suggest you create a weekly review checklist for each team member using Qtask’s compliance feature in just a few minutes to help make sure the weekly review is completed, on schedule and executed correctly.

Your team members may also request an easy way to get their tasks when they are mobile. Fort this, Qtask has a great mobile interface that you can access with your mobile web browser.

Your Team GTD Tips

Without much effort, you can adapt Qtask to fulfill your GTD team implementation needs from a systems/tools perspective. Your biggest challenges will likely be buy in and consistent use of the system in the manner in which you prescribe.

We hope that this guide has given you some insights on how Qtask can be used as a powerful tool to help you meet these challenges. We would like to hear your experiences as you move forward with these strategies. Please join us in conversation in our comments section. Following are some questions to stimulate your thoughts.

How have you integrated GTD into your team? What has been your greatest challenge and how did you overcome? Have you tried to implement GTD with Qtask in a team environment? What is your story?