Ryan Norbauer wrote an interesting article on what he calls, “The Psychology of OmniFocus: How to Wrap your Head Around the Finest (and Most Perplexing) GTD App on the Market.”  We know many of you are OmniFocus fans out there (we are too) and I thought this was an interesting read.  I particularly liked:

“If you’re just borrowing ideas from GTD here and there, like the idea of grouping your to-do lists by context, you’re missing almost everything GTD has to offer, which is a terrible shame.”

This article is worth a read on tapping into the full power of GTD + OmniFocus.  Read more…

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This is a Community Contribution from Don Khouri, based on his personal experience with GTD and personality assessment tools.

You may wonder how your personality supports your ability to get things done.  In this article, I will elaborate on various preferences and the connection to Getting Things Done® (GTD®).  This is a follow-up to my response to David’s post about GTD and Personality Types.

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® instrument (MBTI®) is a self-assessment which measures people’s behavioral preferences across four dimensions.  Learn more from the creators of this instrument.

Let’s start with the fourth MBTI dimension which is our attitude toward the external world and how we orient ourselves to it.  Judgers (Js) prefer structure and lists; Perceivers (Ps) prefer experience, flexibility, and options.  Js like GTD because they like to plan, enjoy having lists, and finishing things.  Ps do not like making lists as much as the Js do; they like having options available to them.  GTD facilitates this very nicely because when making decisions on what to do, there are options available based on your energy level, time available, and context. [Read more →]

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Two of our senior coaches, Meg Edwards & Kelly Forrister, are doing a 3-part Webinar series for GTD Connect members. It will help those of you who are teetering from newbie to black belt–you know the basics, but are ready for a deeper cut with GTD to really make it stick (and actually get that mind like water experience!)  All Webinars are one-hour from 1oam-11am PT and the series will cover:

Part 1 covers Organize (May 7)
Part 2 covers Collect and Process (May 14)
Part 3 covers Review and Do (May 21)

We post the replays for all Webinars to the GTD Connect media library.  This series is free for all GTD Connect members.  If you’re not a member (and frankly not much of a joiner-kind-of-person!), then try the monthly plan ($48), which would qualify you to take all 3 Webinars.  Just cancel before the next month renews. Learn more…

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There’s still time to get a FREE set of the GTD System File Folders (an $18.95 value) if you order the GTD System Starter Kit by May 1st.  Aligned to the principles of GTD, six of these folders are imprinted with the essential categories:

1. In
2. To Home
3. To Office
4. Read/Review
5. Action Support
6. Waiting For Support

An additional six folders are blank for you to label as you wish.  Paired with the GTD System Starter Kit, you’ll have all of the key ingredients for getting a solid GTD system off the ground. Simply add “FREE FOLDERS” to the notes section of your order on checkout (no need to add them to your cart) and the File Folders will be included for free with your order. International orders qualify too!   Questions? Contact customerservice@davidco.com.

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For GTDers on Lotus Notes, tomorrow is a rare opportunity to attend a free Webinar with David Allen.  ICA, developers of the eProductivity tool David uses to manage his workflow in Lotus Notes, is hosting a Webinar that is free and open to the public.  Wednesday, April 28th @ 10am PT.

Register now>>>

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You can’t fool your mind.  It’s an expert on your current personal management system, and it knows whether you can be trusted to look at what you need to at the appropriate time.  It knows if you’ve decided what the next action should be. And it knows if there is a reminder of that action placed somewhere you will actually look, when you could possibly take that action. If you have not done any of that, your mind won’t let it go. It can’t. It will endlessly keep trying to remind you of what to remember. The mind is a loyal and dedicated servant, but it needs to be given the jobs it does well–not the ones that it mismanages.

- David Allen (from Ready for Anything)

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For those of you who are still grappling with questions about the tools you use for GTD, check out this 2 minute video from David Allen:

For more GTD videos, check out GTD Connect, our online learning center. You’ll find nearly 100 Videos on GTD Connect, from “2 Minutes with David Allen” clips to replays of our monthly Webinar classes.

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A Community Contribution from Augusto Pinaud, a GTD enthusiast and long-time GTD Connect member

Take the free GTD-Q assessment at GTDIQ.com to see how you’re doing with control & perspective.

As GTDers, the goal for many of us is to increase Control and improve Perspective.  That will bring you to the place that David Allen calls ” Captain and Commander.”  But what what happens when you are suffering from the opposite– you are losing Control and lacking in Perspective?

We all lose control and perspective.  What a true GTD “Black Belt” (in my case a Brown Belt with Black Stains) can do, is to identify that stage and do what we know to do to get back in control and perspective. The challenge of course is to notice that you are losing control and lacking perspective in a moment, and make the correction.  Often we notice in the chaos stage, not at the beginning. [Read more →]

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David Allen shares the systematic processes and GTD best practices for CEOs and senior-level executives.

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A Community Contribution from Brian Isikoff, sharing how he manages GTD lists on his new iPad

I’m a four+ year adoptee of GTD, an IT Procurement professional since 1992, podcast producer, writer, and all around nice guy. Lastly, I’m the owner of a sparkly new iPad.

That iPad has quickly become the center of my GTD system. The form factor is the key for me.  The device is highly portable – certainly around the house, neighborhood, and many of my favorite destinations. The iPad’s planner-ish size and capabilities allow me to not only implement GTD but take many of actions captured in the system. To complement the native Apple calendar, contacts, and email, I added Toodledo (which syncs with the free web service of the same name.)

My iPhone  also running a synced copy of Toodledo (and calendar, email, safari, etc.) which provides the little notepad / Moleskine equivalent to my system. It’s also a little more discrete than pulling out an iPad – ideal for the BART train, while on a walk, coffee break or arriving at a meeting a little early.

Implementation Specifics [Read more →]

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