If you are a GTDer, and you use Lotus Notes, there’s a great opportunity later this month to see David’s personal system in action.  The developers of eProductivity, the application David personally uses to manage his workflow in Lotus Notes, are hosting a Webinar with David on April 28th.  Here are the details:

What: Webinar on GTD & Lotus Notes

When: Wednesday, April 28th from 10am – 11:30am PDT

Sign-up: Cick here to register. It’s free and open to the public, although space is limited.

For more best practices on GTD & Lotus Notes, check out the Webinar on GTD Connect or the Setup Guide in our store.

No Comments »

If you are in the Minneapolis area next Wednesday, David will be doing a book signing that is free and open to the public. Here are the particulars:

When:

Wednesday, April 21st from 11:30am – 1pm CDT.

Where:

Barnes and Noble Downtown
Midwest Plaza, 801 Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis, MN 55402
612-371-4443

2 Comments »

We just posted the 5th podcast in our best practices series that we are making available to the public (which are normally exclusive to GTD Connect.)  Listen or download now.

You’ll hear insights, tips and tricks from David Allen and two of the senior coaches on this key phase of GTD. It’s about 30 minutes and chock full of helpful coaching advice.

If you missed the first 4 in this series (Collect, Process, Organize & Review), you can find them all in the free GTD podcast feed.  If you like these free podcasts, we have loads more like this on GTD Connect, our online learning center.

1 Comment »

From all my years of working with probably every type of reasonably healthy and effective person, I’ve noticed no particular bias of style that “favors GTD” more than any other.  Of course, the real question inside that:  What is GTD?  If you think it’s about organizing lists, then of course the left-brainers may fall in step. If you say, on the other hand, it’s really about the most effective way to produce and maintain clear psychic space, then the “creatives” will most resonate.  Eliminating static appeals to everyone, in his/her own way, and for his/her own reasons. It ensures close tolerance and closure, and it opens vistas and catalyzes thinking. Could it be that GTD is truly on the nerve of the larger integration of yin/yang, creator/destroyer, right-brain/left-brain, linear/associative polarities? – David Allen

5 Comments »

We were thrilled to see that GTD Times ranked #7 among quite a prestigious list of the top management and leadership blogs.  We just passed our 2-year anniversary with GTD Times.  Thanks to all who have contributed over the years.  If you’d like to contribute a personal story about your journey with GTD, we’d love to hear from you!

2 Comments »

Community Contribution from Mike Vardy

I’m about to state the obvious.

We’re all human.

Ergo, we make mistakes. Like creating words like “ergo.”

Beyond “The Royal We,” we’re individuals. I’m sure you didn’t create the word “ergo” but I am pretty certain you’ve made other mistakes. I know I’ve made my share. For example, starting off this article as I have. That’d be one.

Another I make is getting off track rather than Getting Things Done. Hey, it happens to the best of us, right? [Read more →]

2 Comments »

(The tool David mentions at the end is eProductivity for Lotus Notes. It’s what he uses personally to manage his projects and actions.  If you’re a Notes user, you can learn more about David’s setup in the free Webinar on April 28th.)

4 Comments »

A GTDer asked: I am using the GTD Outlook Add-In software. Should I create subprojects?

Coach Kelly: I personally don’t use the subproject feature of software.  For me, everything is just a Project. But if you do decide to use it, it can be a nice way to sort major components of a large project. For example, let’s say you are getting married.  You could have “Get married” as the project that you track, however, there would be many, many
steps that would fall under that.  Some people would choose to create subprojects for each of the major components, such as:

Project =
Get Married

Subprojects =
Rehearsal Dinner
Ceremony
Reception
Honeymoon

I’d say it’s an optional feature in the Add-In, not required. Only use it if it helps you. Don’t use that feature if it seems confusing or more complicated than you need. [Addendum: this is my universal feedback for people on creating your system.  Use as many features as you need, but as few as you can get by with.]

10 Comments »

A few months ago, a new GTDer named Michael started sending me his experiences of reading Getting Things Done.  He read a chapter a week and would recap what he learned. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading these, as it’s been fun to see GTD through a newcomer’s eyes.  He just finished the book and sent his final summary. I thought you might all enjoy this.

Over the past few months, I’ve gone through Getting Things Done (GTD) with the proverbial fine-toothed comb, reviewing one chapter each week. During this time, I’ve completed a second draft of a novella and moved into a new apartment.

At the very least, GTD prepared me to fully complete these two tasks and any other task that I might happen upon. The novella is a complete story, beginning to end. I’ve organized my new apartment into a livable space, and I’m completely unpacked.  Learning how to identify a task and follow it to completion has been a key element of my GTD learning experience. [Read more →]

No Comments »

Q: What are the main reasons why people let themselves get overwhelmed at work?                 

David Allen: People tend to both over-commit and to be inefficient. Few people know exactly how much work they actually have, and therefore must take everything on that they think about and that others ask them to do. Their integrity forces them to agree to take things on because, not being real clear how many projects they already have on their plate, some part of them thinks they actually MIGHT be able to do it. [Read more →]

5 Comments »