David Allen’s “Threefold Nature of Work”

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David Allen’s “Threefold Nature of Work”

If I tell you that I’m a writer and editor, you’ll logically think that I spend most of my work day writing or editing, right? Well, you’d be wrong. Because I run what is essentially a one-person business, most days I must accomplish tasks that have nothing to do with writing or editing.

Just a few of those tasks include doing research, conducting interviews, marketing my skills, networking, invoicing editors or corporate clients, keeping my accounts up to date, responding to emails, attending meetings, participating in conference calls… I could go on and on, but why bother? Chances are that you, too, juggle such tasks throughout the day—tasks that have nothing to do with the “real” work you must accomplish.

For years I felt frustrated by what I considered “non-work” tasks. I just wanted to write my articles and books and not have to deal with most of those other things. But at some point I realized that the freedom to write wouldn’t exist without the tasks. I stopped fighting the inevitable. I accepted the tasks into my life, learning how to get them done quickly and with as much enjoyment as I could. I’d almost always rather be writing, but I’ve come to like most of those necessary tasks.

So it was with a shock of recognition that I discovered David Allen’s theory of the threefold nature of work. Simply put, he states that meetings, email, and other tasks are not interrupting real work: they are real work. It’s not the tasks themselves that are to be faulted; it’s our perception of those tasks as bothersome time-wasters.

Allen divides all work into three categories: pre-defined work, ad hoc work, and work definition:

Pre-defined Work is what you would be doing all day if you had no other tasks—in my case, I’d probably be writing (sometimes editing). People with corporate jobs might be working on their Action Lists: drafting documents, making important phone calls, outlining ideas, working on projects, and so on.

Ad Hoc Work is not on your calendar—it’s improvised or impromptu. An unexpected phone call from a client. The boss charges into your office with a new idea. An urgent email needs a quick response. An unplanned meeting is called for the afternoon, requiring two hours of your time to pull a report together.

Work Definition is, essentially, “housekeeping.” You’ll process and empty your in-basket, deal with email, put together a plan of action based on a meeting, go through the stack of papers that’s piled up over the last couple of days, or reconfigure your Action List.

While all of this may seem like simple common sense, Allen has noted that many people act as if Ad Hoc Work is a burden and Work Definition is irrelevant. “I don’t get it,” he writes. “It’s all your work. Some is done when it appears, and some is done when you choose to do it instead of what’s showing up. And processing input is required to trust that the inventory of your pre-defined work is complete enough to evaluate its contents against your new options of things to do… How much of which kind of work to do, when, is the eternal dance of the workday… Get your habits and your systems up to handling it. And get used to it.”

That’s it in a nutshell, isn’t it? The tasks are here to stay—so get used to it!

»» Read Allen’s full treatise on the Threefold Nature of Work.

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© Suzanne Rodriguez
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