Methodology
Action Action Action
There are too many ideas in the world, and not enough action. Without organization and productivity, brilliant ideas never happen.
Action Method Online is a radically different approach to productivity, designed to simplify project management and life.
All of life can be divided into "projects" - the categories we use in our minds to separate and make sense of what we need to accomplish (e.g. "the party I'm planning," "client X," "event Y," "finances"). The Action Method helps you manage your projects starting with the most basic elements - always with an emphasis on action.

  • Action Steps

    Action Steps are tasks that need to be completed. Each Action Step should start with a verb: "Call Y," "Follow up with X," "Buy a gift for Z."

  • References

    References are notes, links, files, sketches - any information related to a project that gives context to your Action Steps.

  • Backburners

    Backburners are the brilliant ideas that you want to come back to later, but are not yet actionable.

  • Discussions

    Discussions enable you to manage ongoing conversations across all of your projects with anyone that works with you. All relevant communications (shared documents, solutions to problems, feedback, decisions) are in one place.

  • Events

    Events are the key occasions/meetings/milestones/etc toward which you (and your team) are working. Events can be used to coordinate deadlines for Action Steps, aiding project management.
As a company founded to help organize the creative world to make ideas happen, we have interviewed hundreds of the most productive individuals and teams in the world, and have discovered best practices across industries for managing everyday projects. These best practices have informed the methodology and design of the Action Method.

The Action Method is defined by the following principles:

  • Goodbye email, hello action!

    Email can kill productivity, because the actions you must take get buried in regular communication. Tasks should have an ecosystem of their own.

  • Only share what's relevant

    Most project management systems are made up of shared projects. But it's rare that 100% of a project is relevant to all involved. If we only share the relevant components within projects, individuals can then organize these components in a way that makes sense for them.

  • Good design breeds great productivity

    It's simple: if a system functions properly and is attractive, you are more likely to stay loyal to it.

  • Actions are only "delegated" if they are accepted

    We become truly accountable only when we actively choose to accept the action steps assigned to us. This is not the case with "to do lists" that multiple people can view, or emails that may or may not get read.

  • Voyeurism and transparency keep us engaged

    Being able to tune in and view what happens around you can be far more valuable than getting update emails or holding status meetings.

  • Work and personal life collide

    People often separate "personal" tasks from "professional" tasks (e.g. formal "to-do" lists at work, post-it notes on the refrigerator at home). But Action Steps are Action Steps, regardless of their context. Having everything you must accomplish in one system is your best bet for anxiety-free living.

  • Darwinian productivity: The "nag" and natural selection

    Sometimes the priority of an action step is demonstrated by how badly other people need it done. Dividing tasks is not enough. "Nagging" (within reason) plays a key role in productivity - allowing the forces around us help us to prioritize, with the most important action steps rising to the top.

  • The power of Appreciation

    If you have a formal way to nag your colleagues when necessary, why not also show some formal appreciation to reward productivity and a job well done?

  • No more email-chains - make it a real discussion!

    Ideas discussed through long email chains become cut-up, convoluted, and lost. They fill our inbox and consume our time as we try to parse it all out. We need a more organized system for starting, tracking, and searching online discussions.

  • If nothing else...ACTION ACTION ACTION

    Action Steps are more important than anything else, and our system is organized around them. Too many project management systems either exclude a "task" functionality or minimize its importance. We believe that success comes down to identifying what needs to get done, who needs to do it, and then making it happen