Over the years, many people have reached out to us asking how they can share the GTD techniques with kids and young adults.  This letter below is from a GTD’er who got value from the article one of our senior staff wrote about his experience using GTD’s Natural Planning Model (p.54 of the GTD book) with his son entering college.

Wayne,

I was doing my daily review this morning, which always includes a  daily discipline of ‘read something’.  I ran across your article about  the Natural Planning Model and College applications.  I thought I’d  share a story.

About a month ago, I took a young man away for a weekend retreat to  because he was feeling great pressure from his family to decide ‘where  to go to college.’  He is 17.  We spent the first day and a half doing  various exercises to help him tap into the 50,000 foot stuff that most  people never consider.  Midway through the retreat, I shared the  Horizons of Focus model with him in totality.  It was the first of  several epiphanies that he experienced over the weekend.  “Where did  you get this stuff, Mark?  It is great!”  And then I handed him his own copy of GTD.  Anyway, we never  touched the ‘where should i go to  college’ question until about an hour before the retreat was over.  By  spending time at 50,000 feet (which involved significant delving into his backstory, strengths, habits, hobbies, dreams, ambitions, etc), we were finally able to envision (40,000) life in 5-years (post college), goals for the next year (30,000), specific projects (10,000 within his areas of focus (20,000 – student, son, and friend, in particular), and next actions (runway) to get him moving.

I’m sure you understand from your own life how liberating and empowering it felt to this young man when he was able to connect his runway (like “study for my physics test” and “go online and get an application for community college”) to his 50,000 Purpose For Being On The Planet.  Wow.

Be encouraged that the advice you are giving on Coach’s corner is being read and appreciated.  Have a stree-free day.

Here to serve,

Mark

In our experience, the best way to share GTD is to share what works for you.  If you look back on your life before GTD, what’s different and better now?  What are you doing and experiencing differently?  People will resonate with that.  Then you can tell them how long your lists are…

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Anyone who is entertaining the idea of implementing some form of productivity system in their business (or life, for that matter) will have a lot of resources at their disposal. The Internet alone has nearly 15,000 sites that mention GTD and personal/professional productivity, so right there you’ve got as much surfing to do as the Big Kahuna. As far as books go, you could read thousands that touch on the subject of productivity as well. So, once your eyes stop bleeding, where do you begin?

That’s the biggest hurdle of all.

The more options you have to entertain, the more options you feel that you have to entertain. This is counter-intuitive to what GTD and productivity is all about. While you can spend countless hours reading, researching, adopting and implementing – you are only more educated on different means of getting things done. And that’s all you’ve gotten done. Way to go!

David Allen’s system is tried, tested and true. Many follow it. Others find it too complex; too overwhelming to adopt in one fell swoop (which you really have to do to fully benefit from the system) so they either don’t do it right or let it slide unintentionally. There are other, more “zen-like” approaches to productivity, which get the job done in a different way. You can use software, a Moleskine, the back of a napkin or a Hipster PDA. You can write with any number of instruments, from bullet pens to clutches to nothing at all. You can use multiple things if you want. But, remember, sometimes you don’t want what you need – and vice versa.

(If the rest of that paragraph didn’t confuse you, I bet the last line just sailed by. And it probably made sense.)

The first hurdle is one of the biggest; the size of the rest are often determined by the hurdles around them. To get past this first hurdle, however, you need to get past the multitude of options and go with the one thing that you know best.

You.

Know your habits. Know your strengths. Know your weaknesses. The more you know how you’ll handle working towards a more productive lifestyle, the easier the hurdle will become.  Keep in mind, adopting a more productive lifestyle will definitely lead you down “the road less traveled.” Making the right choice on what system is the best for you will make the trip a hell of a lot easier.

Welcome Mike Vardy as our newest contributor to GTD Times. With his great sense of humor and self-professed productivity expert credentials, we hope you enjoy his perspectives on GTD!

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Here is an interview with David Allen by the publisher of the Polish version of Getting Things Done.

Q: You developed the Getting Things Done Program because…
A: I had discovered that applying some rather simple techniques could have profound results, immediately, in people’s ability to focus, stay relaxed, and make positive progress in their work and lives

Q: What is the difference between GTD and normal task planning?
If you mean by “Normal task planning” that you make a list of things to do today, or this week, then the difference is that GTD recommends you keep track of every action that you might be able to take, plan as little as possible, and trust that you’ll make good intuitive decisions moment to moment from all your options. In other words, you need to remain flexible and open to all the new inputs and changes that are happening more and more frequently; and if you over-plan, it will get in your way.

Q: Order above all. That is the first rule of the GTD Program. What is the second one?
“Order above all” – not sure what that refers to (I never said it). There are not really any “rules” in GTD – only observations of principles. If you want to have a clear mind, you must capture externally whatever is keeping it from being clear, make executive decisions about what you’re committing to do about it, and park the results into some system that you can trust will reflect it back to you at the appropriate time.

Q: How soon after proper Program implementation could we see its first results?
Results happen immediately. As soon as you start capturing what’s on your mind, and as soon as you start deciding the next action required on them, it will lower stress, improve focus, and facilitate getting things done.

Q: In what order should we empty our “buckets” so that it would be most efficient – starting from the oldest tasks, the more important ones or the least important items?
All of your incoming “stuff” should be processed every 24-48 hours – doesn’t matter which ones you handle first. Then deciding which action to take, once your IN-baskets are empty, should depend on the combination of strategy, context, time, and energy available.

Q: What could be the percentage increase in efficiency in case of implementing GTD Program in the organization? Have you conducted appropriate studies?
No one has ever done a study of efficiency. Some surveys, however, have indicated that by applying GTD methods it can save 30-45 minutes of time a day.

Q: Is the system flexible, or is it necessary to abide strictly by the rules?
It’s not a system, but rather a systematic approach. Again, there are no rules. The basic principles are true – if you keep commitments in your psyche instead of some external system, you will reduce your clarity and effectiveness. That’s not a “rule” so much as it is an observation of reality.

Q: How to deal with urgent matters that disturb the work system?
Urgent matters ARE your work. Your system needs to be able to incorporate surprise and change.

Q: What to do if we have to carry out several equally important projects at the same time?
If they are truly of equal importance, then it doesn’t matter which one you work on. You can only do one thing at a time, no matter how many projects you have; Generally you are better off taking a project to completion before moving on to the next one. It is good to have all the next actions on all the projects available to pick from, and, again, one action may be easier to do at a certain time than some of the others, simply because of time, energy, and context you’re in.

Q: Does the GTD Program have any limitations, or is it applicable in any corporation, regardless of its size or business it is in?
GTD is simply how anything gets done, and the principles apply not just to any business but to any person in any aspect of their life. As soon as you have more than one thing to do, that you can’t finish the moment you think of it, then you can apply the GTD methods to increase your ability to manage what you’re doing well.

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For those that assume GTD is only about rigid, structured task lists, it could seem like a natural conclusion that GTD is not for creative types.  But if you were to ask a few people you know who are really into GTD, or at least get something out of it, they probably don’t consider themselves to be un-creative people!

We believe GTD enhances creativity.  Some of the most creative, intelligent people are drawn to GTD because they see what’s beyond the lists.  Lists are a means to an outcome.  Consider that the spirit of GTD is about finding and using the most energy-efficient, effective, and least stressful ways of getting things done. That means:

• Capturing anything and everything that has your attention
• Defining actionable things discretely into outcomes and concrete next steps
• Organizing reminders and information in the most streamlined way, in appropriate categories, based on how and when you need to access them
• Keeping current and “on your game” with appropriately frequent reviews of the six horizons of your commitments (purpose, vision, goals, areas of focus, projects, and actions)
• So that you can focus clearly, view your world from optimal angles and make trusted choices about what to do (and not do) at any moment.

In our experience, we’ve seen as many ways to work this approach as there are people working it.  If you follow David Allen on Twitter, he recently mentioned a client (well-known creative artist in Hollywood) who felt the most creative way to “do” GTD would be on 3×5 index cards.   Musician Evan Taubenfeld recently did a wonderful podcast with David for our GTD Connect members where he credits GTD with helping him to be more creative in his songwriting process.

Michael Bungay Stanier has done a wonderful series with David on Connect called Creative Questioning, as well as a new one available on Michael’s website.

As we often say, GTD is an approach, not a system.  Dive deeper and you may find that GTD is actually one of the best things you can do to tap into your creativity.

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Eric Hanberg is a regular community contributor to GTD Times.  You can also follow his personal blog, with musings on the arts, technology and politics.

So I’ve done pretty well in the last 9 months adopting GTD into my daily life.

I’m more productive, I’m happier, and I don’t feel like I’m ducking when I haven’t done something.

But I still have not totally grappled with one of the biggest challenges of the Information Age: Continuous Partial Attention.

Thomas Friedman joked in a column that we’re no longer in the Information Age, we’re in the Age of Interruption. And it’s exactly how I was feeling, I just kept getting interrupted.

The biggest challenges were inbound emails. Last month, when I started to realize the problem, I tried a novel solution: Gmail Lab’s “Email Addict” feature. It disables access to e-mail for 15 minutes in order to let you actually get something done. Should help my productivity, right?

Ha. Right.

At first, it did feel pretty good. But then the Gmail icon in my task bar lit up and the tab changed to Gmail – Inbox (1). Ooh, a message! But I couldn’t get to it!

I tried hitting escape. I couldn’t get back into Gmail. I tried hitting escape twice. Then I tried escape and then enter. Then the space bar. Then random panicked clicking.

Then I took a deep breath and decided to be Zen. I don’t need to look at it right now anyway, I told myself.

About 2 minutes the tab changed to Gmail – Inbox (2).

I couldn’t take it. I restarted Gmail entirely. I lasted all of 4 minutes with Email Addict.

The two emails that absolutely could not wait were a two-word reply to a meeting request and a coupon to Barnes & Noble … Not exactly worth it.

My attention was getting distracted by a lot more than just e-mail. I felt like I keep getting derailed by Google Reader, pointless refreshes of Facebook, and a constant stream of tweets (sometimes even tweets from David Allen himself!). Even my Google homepage–with all the customized content I’d put on there–was interrupting me with interesting links.

But of course they were interesting links! I’d selected those widgets because I liked the content, and now I couldn’t stop clicking. That’s when it dawned on me that every single interruption I faced was an interruption that I’d actually planned and created. I was my own undoing.

I set up my phone to ding when my friends twittered. I set up three different reminders that I had e-mail. I set up reminders all over the place that the blogs, sites, and people I like had new content online.

How stupid was I being, I wondered. It’s hard enough staying focused on the web when every headline, every advertisement, and every blue-underlined word is a potential temptation to get distracted. So why had I made my life even more difficult?

There was only one solution: purge the reminders. I scrapped the widgets on my Google homepage that had outbound links and left the rest. I disabled the Gmail Notifier on my laptop and made sure that when I was working my Gmail account up in a window separate from the one I was working in–so I can’t see the tab change when e-mail arrives. I turned Twitter updates off so my phone doesn’t buzz anymore.

The aim was not to reduce the collection of content. In fact, content feels like it collects faster in my reader and inbox because I check it less frequently now. The key was to reduce all the reminders that it was there. It’s helped keep me more focused. I “flit” between web pages much less often.

The two activities that pay the bills–writing and web coding–both go much better when I’m not getting pulled away all the time.

The lesson I’ve learned is that once I got my next action list under control and scrubbed away my mental clutter, I still had a lot of virtual clutter that needed my attention too. My advice to others is the same: you don’t need all those reminders. Let Google Reader gather the links you want and open it only when you want a break. Keep your e-mail in the background. If you can, turn off the feature that displays how many unread messages are waiting for you in the dock (Mac) or menu bar (PC).

The web is one of the few places where we can really manage distractions. We are in control of what we see and when we see it. Remember, you can only handle one thing at a time, even on the web.

For an interesting read on multi-tasking, I’ll refer you to Walter Kirn’s story in the November 2007 Atlantic. This short bit is key:

Through a variety of experiments, many using functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure brain activity, they’ve torn the mask off multitasking and revealed its true face, which is blank and pale and drawn.

Multitasking messes with the brain in several ways. At the most basic level, the mental balancing acts that it requires—the constant switching and pivoting—energize regions of the brain that specialize in visual processing and physical coordination and simultaneously appear to shortchange some of the higher areas related to memory and learning. We concentrate on the act of concentration at the expense of whatever it is that we’re supposed to be concentrating.

If you have an article you would like to submit to GTD Times, please let us know!

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David did an hour-long podcast this morning for the Leadership Coach Academy for their members.  Listen as David describes GTD, Making It All Work, and his approach to “elegant lazyness!”

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For those of you who were at the GTD Summit, you heard David mention in is opening remarks (which will be posted this week to the GTD Connect video library), the letter from the elderly woman who says she gets more inspiration from GTD than from many typical things targeted at seniors.  Here’s her letter:

Dear David,

Not your intent, I know, but again your excellent principles are  helping an elderly housewife cope with  an elderly house and even with old age itself.

I’m nearing 80 and can’t tell you what a help your maxims have been — FAR more cogent than tips from AARP and senior-health mags.   The 2 best gems, for me,  in this latest rich e-mail from you:    Eliminate residue, distraction & excess;  and,  It’s time to get clear, current and courageous.  Such post-its on fridge-front are worth a dozen crayoned tributes to Granny and cat-bedecked injunctions to Hang In There.  Online advice to oldies is to do sudoku & crosswords & jigsaw puzzles.   Not bad, but far more productive is to methodically map out practical procedures by which to implement your really excellent guiding principles.

Many thanks & best regards,

Anita

If you want regular doses of inspiration from David Allen, you can sign up for our free Productivity Principles newsletter.

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We often get asked for our recommendations about the best ways to learn and master GTD.  As with any new skill, the best way to start is with how you like to learn.  For example, if you wanted to learn Italian you could go through audio lessons, go to an in-person class, move to Italy and immerse yourself in the culture, pick up an Italian language book or go hire a tutor.  Just depends on how you like to learn (and of course what your budget is!)

There are many ways to learn GTD as well.  You can take a class, get coached, go through the self-paced Getting Started Series on Connect, listen to David present a two-day seminar on CD, or read the GTD book….to name a few.  David has always said that he didn’t hold anything back from the book. It is the ultimate textbook for GTD.

So, if reading the book is your style, you may consider a local (or virtual) book club or discussion group to share with others also interested in learning GTD.  Chris from Dallas recently shared with us how his group focused on the GTD book by going through the five phases of workflow, which is a great way to structure a discussion.  You can read about what did and how they engaged the group with some trigger questions.

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