Q: Do you have any pointers for perfectionists?

David Allen: Just focus on doing the next action perfectly, which is a lot easier than trying to be perfect about how you approach something bigger.  Be as retentive as you want. The only problem is when it stops action.  Be a perfectionist about the process, which will require, of course, making decisions on the front end that might not be perfect.  Think about what will screw up if you avoid decisions and action! (If you need a negative motivator.)

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GTD simply emerged after paying attention to the things that get in our way…

Mr. Allen.

I am writing to pay a special tribute to my Grandfather – who passed away last week at the age of 94.  He led a good, long life and was successful in many things.  He was the first President of Fording Coal and Superintendent of Mines for Comino in British Columbia, Canada.

I was in Vancouver last week, helping the family with the final tasks that are inevitable after a loved one passes.  Now – for the record, I have read all of your books and personally, have struggled with being successful in the implementation of the full GTD System. [Read more →]

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A Community Contribution from Stephanie Dickison

During the holiday season, it’s easy to get caught up in the “stuff” of the holidays – buying, buying, buying, giving, planning, traveling, cooking, packing, etc.

This season, I am spending my time on gratitude and simplifying the holidays so that I don’t burn out, so that I don’t spend beyond my means and so that I do the things that matter most.

I am eternally grateful for Getting Things Done.    As a former disorganized individual who moved to her first apartment with 97 boxes of books, I have completely reinvented myself as an organized gal who people can count on.

It wasn’t easy. [Read more →]

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A Community Contribution from Sarah From

My Year in Review, by Sarah From

This time last December, I was working in an office crammed with stuff.  Conference programs, old speeches, copies of travel receipts, notebooks brimming with ideas from half a decade ago, and drafts of reports long-ago published were filed and piled around me.  I wasn’t a hoarder – I just considered stacking things to be a valid organizing system.

Since I was generally able to find what I needed when I needed it, I didn’t consider myself disorganized.  Psychologically, my stacks served as a symbol of the important work that I was doing – work so important that it kept piling up and didn’t wait for me to get around to filing it.

At the same time, I knew my stacks weren’t really doing me any favors.  [Read more →]

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Dear DavidCo:

After working with the GTD system for quite awhile, I find tracking next actions in Outlook to be pretty easy.  The harder part is tracking projects.  Where do you do that and how do you move from the 10,000 ft. level to the runway?

Wayne Pepper, a senior coach and presenter with David Allen Company replied:

I keep my Projects list in Outlook Tasks.  I simply create a category in Tasks labeled “Projects”.  Then, whenever I process a thought, an email, a piece of paper that has an outcome associated with it that will take more than one step to complete, I create a new Task and enter into the Subject field the name of the Outcome (for instance, “tune-up car”) and then I identify the very next action (call mechanic to find a good time), and I create another Task with that action in the Subject field.  I would then categorize that next action as a call by selecting the “”@Calls” Category.  I then review my collection of Projects (my Projects List) once a week during Weekly Review, making sure the project is still relevant, making sure that I have appropriate Next Actions supporting it, and focusing on how much attention that Project has or has not been receiving as a way to assist my focus and intuitive choices for action into the following week.

Our GTD & Outlook Setup Guide also walks through using Outlook Tasks for managing both your Projects and Next Actions. It’s a great resource for applying GTD to Outlook.

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Looking for the perfect Christmas gift for your co-workers?  Out of ideas on what to get the boss who has everything?  Still hoping your co-workers would just “get” GTD and make your life easier?  Buy them the new GTD Workflow Map!  We have a new “office bundle” that includes one large Workflow poster, one small poster, coaching DVD + 10 additional folded-desk size maps.  Learn more.

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In David Allen’s latest Productive Living newsletter, he wrote about the tricky business of motivation. Here’s more sage advice from David on that topic…

Q: How does one get motivated to do these things?  Yes, I can put pressure on myself;  know that I SHOULD do them, but there is pain and suffering that takes away any motivation to “do” things?

David Allen: If I had the magic key that could guarantee that it would get you motivated, I’d be the king of the world (which I’m not!).

I have been in the state you describe, and I think I know the feeling that nothing seems worthwhile to do. It is just a feeling, however, and feelings can change. The problem is, when you’re in that feeling, you see the world through that lens, and nothing is attractive.

I’ve found the best way to change that filter for me is physical movement.  To get my butt in gear about something, even the littlest thing, like walk around the block. Sometimes I just find things to do that don’t require much mental or emotional energy, like clean a drawer or closet, or weed a garden bed. It tends to force me into the driver’s seat of my own energy, and I start directing it in some positive way, as mundane as the activity may be.  Interacting with other people who have my best interests at heart and who hold a positive focus for and with me (instead of letting themselves be brought down with me – “misery loves company”, you know) is a real key for me too.  Sometimes writing in my journal helps.

Trust that there’s a part of you (though it might not be perceivable from your viewing point) that is connected to motivated energy. And imagine what you’d be like if you were, and what you’d likely be doing.

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One of the key buckets in your GTD system is Waiting For.  So what’s the biggest creator of Waiting For? Sent emails. Sure, you could slog through your Sent folder for which ones you actually need to make sure to track, but that’s like searching for a contact lens on the beach.  Good luck having that be a trusted and efficient system.  Another way to track Waiting For items is to create a simple rule or filter in your email program.   Here are those rules for two popular mail programs:   Gmail & Outlook.  If you’re on a different mail program, it’s usually pretty simple to set something like this up if it’s got a filter or rule function.  [Read more →]

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What’s it like to do GTD when you are an bioinformaticist?  Here’s a community contribution from Fred, sharing about his recent week:

After a monstrous review today, I felt compelled to sit down and write this:

I started a new job a week ago squeaky clean.  A review the Friday before got everything squared away.  No loose ends.

It’s 14h20.  I just finished processing my in baskets.  I started three hours ago.  The end isn’t in sight.  Only the two minute rule has kept my head above water.  My projects list has multiplied and multiplied again. [Read more →]

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Wikipedia defines a killer app as “…so necessary or desirable that it proves the core value of some larger technology.”  So, what are your killer GTD apps?  What do you use regularly AND find to be essential to your GTD implementation?

• Where do you keep your lists? Your calendar?
• Do you sync to a handheld? If so, what is that?
• Your favorite collection tools?
• Killer desk supplies?
• Project planning, brainstorming and creative mapping tools?
• What else??

[Small request:   If you are commenting about an app, please disclose if you are the developer and/or involved with it in some way. Thanks.]

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