David Allen does not need to be introduced anymore. Everyone knows “Getting Things Done” (GTD) and his latest book “Making It All Work” strengthens his guru status in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. Martijn Aslander and I had the privilege of interviewing David recently. Of course we’d like you to share in this too…

David Allen describes himself as a very lazy person. This laziness was the impetus to develop what is now known as “process improvement”. David devised a number of “tricks” to more easily succeeded in and develop his career.

Two basic elements of GTD that he quoted during his interview are:

1. Collection of everything you have in our head
2. Determining your next action step

He got the advice that the publication of a (bestselling) book would make a significant strategic step forward for the expansion of his business. It took another 4 years for Getting Things Done to appear on the market.

David had to first learn what it meant to write a book. He had never written a book before nor  had he developed a business plan around that. After learning these things, he needed a year to find a publisher and another year to write the first draft of Getting Things Done-The Art of Stress-Free Productivity. Then came the second draft and work on the title and graphics.

David did all this in addition to his regular full-time job. But that’s “not recommended” he says!

GTD it is easy to understand and to implement because it starts from our own concrete experiences – that is the reason why GTD is so successful according to David Allen himself.

What’s unique about GTD, is the fact that it takes the position not of starting from what we think we should be doing, but  rather from how we can simply and effectively improve how we think and how we do things.

Thanks to GTD, you get immediate control (back) over your thoughts and actions. In this way you can then develop your productivity.

The immediate effect of GTD in David’s own life was of relaxation. Thanks to his own techniques, David Allen succeeded in emptying his head ["mind like water"].

David describes himself as a researcher and educator. He had 25 years to acquire the knowledge that allowed him to become who he is today. The next 25 years will be focused on the dissemination of this knowledge.

In the accompanying audio track you hear a piece of David Allen’s life philosophy, guaranteed a great tip for you. Enjoy!

David Allen will give his public seminar in Amsterdam on February 19: GTD Seminar Making It All Work!

Posted by Bert Verdonck on www.lifehacking.nl (translation Nathaniel Stott) on February 3, 2009