Five Phases of Natural Planning Techniques

The five phases:

1. Defining purpose and principles - Here's where we ask "Why?" Answering this question defines the successful outcome, sets the boundaries, as well as focusing and motivating towards completion. You need to know where you're going before you can plot the course.
2. Outcome visioning - Allen says, if you can't visualize the end result you will have trouble figuring out how to do it. He suggests going beyond mere completion and visualizing what "wildly successful" would look like.
3. Brainstorming - Brainstorming generates the ideas for moving the project to completion. Allen recommends getting the ideas out of the head and onto paper. Writing serves to clear the mind enabling other ideas to come through. Writing also helps keep the focus on the project at hand.
4. Organizing - Now that those ideas are out of your head and onto paper, start moving them around. Figure out which are the important pieces and sort by components, sequences and priorities.
5. Identifying next actions - Of course, no GTD planning would be complete until Next Actions have been identified. What is the immediate action required to move the project forward on every front.

1. Purpose / guiding principles (Why are we doing this?)

• What is the expected results of the work?
• What is the task?
• What is the outcome?

2. Mission / vision / goals / successful outcome (What would wild success look, sound, or feel like?)

• What's the best that could happen?
• Who would have concern about the success of this project?
• What the worst that could happen?

3. Brainstorming (How would we accomplish it?)

• View the project from beyond the completion date
• Envision wild success (suspend "Yeah, but. . .")
• Capture features, aspects, and qualities you imagine in place

4. Organizing (identify components, sub-components, sequences, events, and/or priorities; what must occur and in what order? When do we do these things?)

5. Next actions

• What is the very next physical action step?
• Where do we start?
• Whose input do we need?
• Whose input could we use?
• What resources do we have?
• What resources might we need?

"If the project is off your mind, your planning is sufficient. If it's still on your mind, keep applying the model until it's clear."