David Allen is doing a webinar event next Wednesday, July 8th, hosted by Unbound Ideas.

In this 90-minute interactive webinar, David Allen will describe the strategies, tools and specific behaviors that dramatically upgrade individual and organizational productivity. In particular, he will focus on:

1. The 5 stages of control and the 6 horizons of focus necessary for personal self-management
2. How to get immediate control of “current reality”
3. How to keep track of the total inventory of your commitments
4. Why organizational issues are often personal process issues
5. Why it’s so challenging to change the simplest habits
6. How to continually self-consult to get back on your game

Register here.  David also does free events like this for GTD Connect members.  If you’re not a member, you can check out the two-week free trial, or join for by the month ($48) or year ($480).  If it’s not for you, canceling is easy. Really.

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Studies show that most people will be 4 times faster on the keyboard by using shortcut keys versus reaching for the the mouse and clicking their way through menus.  You don’t need to know all of them, but certainly the keyboard shortcuts that represent the tasks you use the most can be a tremendous time saver.

One of our Coaches was recently working with someone on OmniFocus and passed along a great summary of all of the OmniFocus keyboard shortcuts. We also have these posted for Windows & Outlook.

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Making It All Work, David Allen’s latest book, ties together what many people were hungry for after reading Getting Things Done:  control + perspective.  In MIAW, control (5 phases of mastering your workflow) gets married to perspective (your horizons of focus)  to give an overview of the whole game.

Chris Taylor, editor for Goose Educational Media, wrote up a detailed book review of Making It All Work that we thought you may find helpful. He wrote:

We broke the review into two parts, as I felt Making it all Work really lent itself to that format.

Part 1, focusing on control
Part 2, focusing on perspective

You can also read their review of GTD. Enjoy!

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We’ve setup a page on Facebook for all of you David Allen and GTD fans out there.  It’s a  great place,  if you’re so inclined, to follow some of the latest bits of noteworthy news, quotes and musings from GTDGuy.  Check it out:  facebook.com/gettingthingsdone. You can also follow David on Twitter as GTDGuy.

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Yes, we know it makes for a great debate, but GTD really is for men or women, PC or Mac, paper or digital.  It’s an approach that gets overlayed onto the tools that work for you.  Since so many GTD’ers are on a Mac, and we’re always looking to feature a wide-range of GTD’er styles, Meghan Wilker was chosen as one of David Allen’s upcoming “In Conversation” interviews for GTD Connect members.   It will be posted on GTD Connect this summer.  We’re also excited that Meghan will soon be a regular contributor to GTD Times.

She recently did a great write up on her experience of GTD on a Mac:

My System

When I started implementing GTD about four years ago, I was working on a company PC. I configured Outlook (as outlined in the GTD and Outlook whitepaper) and everything hummed right along. Three years ago, I left that job and transitioned to a Mac. Suddenly, I was adrift without a system and I ended up falling into a trap that I think a lot of GTD practitioners (and geeks) fall into: I started over-analyzing my needs and evaluating software to the point that my system stopped working very well. I tried Backpack, Remember the Milk, OmniFocus and a score of others.  Finally, I decided the best approach would be to figure out a way to bend the applications I already use all day, every day to my will.   Read more>>>

By the way, David’s In Conversation series on Connect has featured some of the biggest GTD fans out there, including… [Read more →]

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David Allen & his team sat down to record a podcast on the best practices of Collect.

In this 35 minute podcast they talk about:

• Some of their favorite tools for capturing anywhere, anytime
• The essential tools for work and home spaces
• What makes or breaks a good collection tool?
• The essential “red folder“
• Collect versus organize and why most people don’t get the difference
• Why an empty inbox reduces interruptions
• What’s it like to work in a GTD culture?

Listen now>>>

Subscribe now>>> to all of the free podcasts

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Mike Williams, speaker at the recent GTD Summit, and longtime friend of David Allen Company, sent us this story with us about his experience sharing GTD with his kids. We thought this was fitting to share on Father’s Day.

I am always running experiments with my kids (queue the evil scientist laugh!).  I would love to share these experiments or test new things (experiments, gear) to help start the GTD thinking at an earlier age.

Here is a recent post I wrote on one of my experiments.  It resonated with several GTD moms and dads at the GTD Summit.

I am also experimenting with home design, backpack gear, homework routines, school routines and home routines to build systems that enable the GTD systemic approach.

Read more about Mike’s experiment>>

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A community contribution by self-professed productivity expert Mike Vardy

We’ve all heard the benefits of taking naps or practicing meditation during your workday can result in one being more productive. We’ve also heard how these things aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive – sometimes (often by accident) they go hand in hand. However, depending on your work environment these suggestions may not be applicable…or even possible.

I’m certain that many employers wouldn’t take it too kindly  if you were seen napping – break or otherwise – on site. That may not be fair, but welcome to life.  I also know that achieving a meditative state can be difficult, unless you work in a church, monastery or perhaps a library. What I would suggest to replace napping and/or meditation is that you look back to your youth, back when you were in grade school. Remember what it was like to have recess. [Read more →]

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