Oliver Starr served as editor to GTD Times from its launch, through March 2009.
Oliver Starr served as editor to GTD Times from its launch, through March 2009.
Venkatesh Rao is a quintessential GTD’er. Seven years in the trenches and he’s probably forgotten more about GTD than most people every learn. He’s also one of those individuals gifted with the intellect and the energy to manage a level of productivity that few people even aspire to, let alone achieve.
In a mammoth post Venkat relays how a day that starts off terribly and only manages to get worse is made not merely manageable, but actually successful by virtue of his GTD habits. What’s more he manages to gracefully articulate exactly why GTD proved invaluable in the trying circumstances he describes and even more surprisingly he seamlessly weaves in an insightful review of David’s new book, Making It All Work
Although only an overachiever like Venkatesh would consider an epic like the one he’s penned a mere blog post, it is absolutely worth the ten or fifteen minutes it will take you to read and digest his post. Not only is it time well spent because of the information it contains and the inspiration it will provide but also for the powerful examples he delivers in what was a very personal blow by blow of a day that he artfully shows us was saved by David Allen and a pair of swim trunks.
Editor’s Note: Venkatesh has previously contributed to GTDtimes. You can find his other post here.
If reading his book is not enough and you’d like to meet David in person and even get your copy of one of his books personally autographed, your opportunity is at hand. David’s press tour for his new book starts tomorrow, January 6th in Pasadena, California.
Here’s the current schedule of dates, times and locations but be sure to double check here to be sure that none of the information has been updated.
Please note that the Chicago event also includes a question and answer session. This event is open to the general public however a ticket must be purchased in order to attend. Business Casual attire is also required for the Chicago event. To reserve a seat please contact the Book Stall at: 847-446-8880
Los Angeles, CA
Tuesday, January 6
VROMAN’S – in store signing 7:00 PM
695 E Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91101
Philadelphia, PA
Thursday, January 8
Philadelphia Free Library – 7:30 PM
Talk and Signing
1901 Vine St
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Chicago, IL
Friday, January 9
University Club of Chicago – 12:15 PM
76 East Monroe Street, Chicago
Question and Answer and Book Signing Co-hosted with book sales by The Book Stall. This is a ticketed event ($25/head) for non-members to reserve space by calling the Book Stall in advance. UCC dress code applies: (business casual, no denim or athletic gear; collared shirts required for men.)
Seattle, WA
Monday, January 12
Legends and Leaders Lunch – 12:00 PM
Lunch, Talk, Moderated Q&A and Book Signing
Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce
Grand Hyatt, Seattle, Grand Princessa Ballroom
Seattle, WA
University Bookstore – 7:00 PM
4326 University Way NE
Seattle, WA 98105
San Francisco, CA
Wednesday, January 14
CNET/BNET HQ – 3:00 PM
Post Interview Signing
235 2nd St
San Francisco, CA
(Sorry, just learned that the signing above is not one that is open to the public. Please check back for updated information in case this should change)
Commonwealth Club – 6:00 PM
Talk and Signing
Business and Leadership Forum
595 Market Street
San Francisco, CA
Dallas, TX
Thursday, January 15
University of Texas at Dallas – 6:30 PM
Book Signing
Graduate School of Management
Davidson Auditorium
Plano, TX
TheSimpleDollar is a website devoted to straightforward talk about personal finance. The author, Trent Hamm, is clearly a David Allen fan (he considers David’s first book, “Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity” to be one of the ten books that changed his life) and he states up front that he is very excited to have received the book and it is clear that his expectations are quite high before he has even turned a page.
“Making it All Work” does not disappoint him. The review is the most comprehensive I’ve seen to date and provides an excellent summary of what to expect from reading the book completely. What Trent does that you might find especially useful is to help place “Making It All Work” in context – both in the broader sense – which includes explaining how it fits alongside Getting Things Done, but also on a section by section basis by walking us through a good portion of what we can expect to gain by reading the book.
This is not the type of review that leaves you wondering if the author actually read the book he’s reviewing and then just did the most cursory analysis – it is patently obvious that Trent not only read “Making it All Work“, but has taken real time to consider what it means and how to employ that advice in his own life.
If you really want to know what “Making it All Work” is about and more importantly want to know what to expect from reading it this review is the best place you could possibly hope to start. In addition, Trent’s site in general is a wealth of information on personal finance and provides some excellent advice and tools for getting your personal finances under control and getting out from under any debt you might have. During these trying times, we can all benefit from being both more productive as well as more frugal – TheSimpleDollar can help you to do both.
You’ve heard about it, you’ve read preliminary reviews for it, and now, finally, after months of waiting, you can own it yourself:David Allen’s new book, “Making it All Work; Winning at the Game of Work and the Business of Life”, has gone on sale at book stores everywhere. You can get your copy by clicking the link above.
For folks that are curious about David Allen’s new book,Making It All Work: Winning at the Game of Work and Business of Life
It’s not just the little guys that appreciate all that David Allen and GTD has to offer. Some of the biggest corporations on the planet have implemented GTD to improve workplace productivity and personal life/work satisfaction of their work forces.
One such company, Costco, has a publication that they send to almost six million small business owners. It is having a house list such as this that makes Costco one of the most successful businesses of its kind in the history of the world.
Thus, it is a tremendous honor for everyone involved with David Allen and the David Allen Company that David is featured on the cover of this month’s Costco Connection as well as in a multi-page article on the inside. It’s free so be sure to check it out!
Both David and longtime friend to the David Allen Company and developer of eProductivity for Lotus Notes, Eric Mack will be presenting at Lotusphere. Their session, called IBM Lotus Notes and Me: Maximizing Personal Productivity with Lotus Notes is on Monday, January 9th at 5PM with a booksigning at 6:30PM. If you’re attending Lotusphere you should be sure not to miss this session which is part of Track 4.
Here’s the abstract for the session:
People often talk about Lotus Notes being an “organizational” productivity tool; that’s the way Lotus Notes is marketed and it’s often the way organizations deploy it – as a top down solution. Seldom do you hear about Lotus Notes being used for “personal” productivity or knowledge management. As a consequence many users see Notes as a “company” tool and not “their” tool. When tools become “personal,” productivity increases and when personal productivity increases so does the productivity of the workgroup and the organization. This session will show both expert and novice Notes users how they can use Notes coupled with proven best practices to make them immediately more productive.
On December 13th the David Allen Company is presenting a special FREE event, Q&A, and book signing with David Allen at UCLA. You’re invited!
Registration begins at 9AM and the event runs from 9:30 to 12:30. Here is your chance to get a preview of David’s new “Making It All Work” seminar, the next generation of his popular RoadMap training.
If you want some keys for staying in the driver’s seat in the unfamiliar territory of this economy, need to get a better handle on everything or just wish to ensure you begin the coming year with a fresh start, then this event is for you.
This special program is also the kick off for David’s new marketing campaign for 2009. Our goal for this campaign is be to reach a broader audience with the GTD message, and we are hope you will help spread the word..
In preparation for the campaign, we will be filming this event so that we can capture testimonials and some really great visual footage. Please come dressed in business casual attire.
Registration is free: simply click here!
Seats are limited, so be sure to sign up now to guarantee yourself a spot.
Community Contribution from Yolanda Otero, an HR Compliance Coordinator from AmerisourceBergen in Orlando Florida
I been doing the GTD for the last 6 months and this has changed my day completely in a way that I’m more proactive, organized, and I have full control of work time due to the way that I manage my time through the GTD process.
This is an idea that I want to share with you all. I do a lot of projects and it was not easy to keep track of every step that a project has as a different task. What I do now is to write down all the steps in the body of the task and as I go to each task I mark the preceeding one “DONE”. I change the subject, I type the new step # and change the due date and or category. Any thing new I’ll add it to the body and that way I keep track of the complete project in one task.
I shared this with the management team GTD meeting in our Division in Orlando and they like it. Hope you like it too, thanks.
For those of you that love the tried and true tools of pen and paper, the David Allen Company has just launched a couple of new products that you’re sure to love. Two sizes of personal coordinators; jr. size and letter size as well as a letter size calendar.
Made by Mead, the same folks that make the At-a-Glance products, these new additions to the David Allen Company Store were designed specifically for those of us that practice GTD.
Both coordinators feature helpful tabbed sections that can have a profound effect on your productivity and peace of mind. Each section is prefaced with an educational piece with examples to show the user best GTD practices in that area of the coordinator. The action tab for instance, has eight pages of text to accompany that area, included in the reference tabbed section are the GTD Templates in paper form! There is an intelligent ‘flow” in how the sections function and work together.
The coordinator includes the following tabbed sections:
• Notes/In
• Calendar
• Action Lists
• Agendas
• Projects/Goals
• Project Plans/Notes
• Reference/Misc.
• Contacts
The 2009 GTD® Calendar is part of a full array of GTD tools®. Based on the revolutionary principles from “Getting Things Done” the calendar comes with a full page of written instructions as well as a blank Notes/In pad, useful as a capture tool and a cornerstone of David Allen’s methodology.
This calendar is best used for these three things:
1. Appointments
2. Day-specific actions
3. Information for and about that day
The calendar has the following features:
• January- December 2009
• Monthly tabbed overviews
• Weekly calendar
• 8 ½ by 11 inch page size
• Note/In Pad included
• Refillable/reusable faux leather cover
• Wire binding
