If you live in Portland, Oregon, or just want a great reason to visit this lively northwest city, here’s news for you. David Allen Company is presenting a Mastering Workflow for Business Leaders public seminar in Portland on Tuesday, July 10th. This seminar is ideal if you need better productivity solutions for a small team, large division, or your entire company. It’s based on the popular and effective Mastering Workflow seminar. You’ll get practical GTD implementation help for the challenging real-world issues that you face as a business leader. You can also network with other leaders from prominent, dynamic organizations who are already registered.

Click here for more information.

Since many organizations find extra value in encouraging workgroups to attend together, there are special rates for groups, as well as for Mastering Workflow alumni, not-for-profit employees, and GTD Connect members. To find out more please email customerservice@davidco.com.

For other Mastering Workflow for Business Leaders locations, click here.

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Time is a dressmaker specializing in alterations.
—Faith Baldwin

Change is on the way. Time will bring alterations. Your GTD system, with a current and complete inventory or your commitments, helps you manage yourself effectively regardless of time’s alterations.

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Here’s some great news for Microsoft Outlook users. Netcentrics has released version 3.2 of their Getting Things Done® Outlook® Add-In. You can review the new features and benefits here and read their press release with additional details by clicking the …more link below.

Netcentrics offers a free 30-day trial, so you have plenty of time to take this terrific new software for a test drive. [Read more →]

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Question: For the people who need an immediate change, what are the first steps to be taken?

Answer from David Allen: Get a notepad and inbox, capture everything that has your attention. Decide the next actions on each and all of them. Review that total inventory, keeping it current, at least weekly.

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Sometimes people ask if David Allen’s Getting Things Done is still timely, eleven years after it was published. The answer is yes, absolutely, according to millions of people who have implemented GTD.

And the GTD systematic approach is still timely according to Forbes’ ”Ten Ways To Get More Done At Work,” which has a healthy does of references to David’s book.  The article points out that real productivity is much more than organizing and time management tips.

It’s about freeing up time for deeper, creative thinking–perhaps about new products or other ways to generate revenue (or to cut costs). Schedule stretches of creative time throughout the day—mute your phone’s ringer, close your door, avoid e-mail and think.

Now, isn’t that better?

For the alert readers who click through to that Forbes article,  you’ll notice that it’s also still timely, a year after it was published.

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The Creativity of Getting Things Done – Part One
by Wayne Pepper

GTD for creatives? While many of our enthusiasts love the systematic approach of GTD, we’re seeing more and more creative types embracing Getting Things Done, including musicians, comedians, and television writers. This article (written in two parts) will address two ideas. The first is that being “creative” is no excuse for not doing GTD, and the second is about using GTD within the creative process itself.

First let’s define creativity. Creativity can be thought of as “art” and that certainly can be a valid and true definition, but perhaps one that’s too narrow for our purposes. Let’s define creativity more broadly. Let’s think of creativity as any effort where we are bringing our creative energy, thinking, or forces to bear. That could be starting a new company, brainstorming a solution to a management problem, organizing a launch party, envisioning a branding approach, creating ad copy, or designing a new video game—and everything in between. [Read more →]

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David Allen gets right to the point about productivity in this interview with the Washington Post. 

How to clear your inbox, make decisions and generally get things done

By Tom Fox, Published: June 13 The Washington Post

What are some of the biggest productivity problems that leaders face?

A lot of stuff banging around in their heads; and if not captured, you’ll be driven by the latest and loudest. Even if you’ve captured everything, but you don’t decide what it means quickly enough, then you become a compulsive list-maker. You’re still not getting anything done, and you’re just wasting time making lists. People must ask: What does this mean? Is this actionable or not? What is the outcome that I am committed to?

Many people make decisions when they blow up instead of when they show up. Even if you’ve decided what the next step is, you must be organized. And, even if you’ve captured, decided and organized, you will still face problems if you don’t step back, review and reflect on your decisions. The worst practice is to fall off of any of those steps and start working out of hope.

 Read the full article here.

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“The two key ingredients for making it all work are:

• Control
• Perspective

If you can maintain a sufficent level of each of these factors in yourself or in your organization,  your world will be in order and you’ll be focused exactly as you should be.”

—David Allen, Making It All Work

Where do you stand, today, on the matrix of self-management?  In less than two minutes, GTD-Q will give you a visual representation of where you fit in terms of the two critical elements of self management—control and perspective.

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If you need to get on top of your Microsoft Outlook® email, calendar, and tasks by implementing GTD, this is the webinar for you.  You’ll learn the best recommendations for building a GTD system in Outlook to seamlessly handle your work and personal commitments.  It’s only 90 minutes, and it’s packed with tips and tricks that will start saving you time right away.

Wednesday, June 27, from 10am-11:30am Pacific Time

You can find more information about GTD Public Webinars by clicking here.

GTD® & Outlook® Webinar – June 27, 2012

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Steve Jobs would ask you to leave a meeting if you had nothing to contribute.  Ken Segall saw it happen, and describes it in an article called Meetings Are A Skill You Can Master, And Steve Jobs Taught Me How.  The article points out that, “Every company wants to maximize productivity and cut down on unnecessary meetings.”  But they don’t always know how to go about making meetings more effective.

David Allen cautions that “one of the greatest blocks to organizational productivity is the lack of decision by a senior person about the necessity of a meeting, and with whom, to move an important issue forward.” [Getting Things Done, Chapter 10: Getting Projects Under Control]

How often have you been in a meeting where someone wasn’t really necessary?  How would your organization react if you declined to attend unnecesary meetings?

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