Editor’s Note:  Sarah Albright a Mom and a reader of GTDtimes recently sent in this great little article about how she uses the GTD principals to help maintain her sanity.  I’ll be that there are more than a few GTDtimes readers out there that can benefit from her ideas so I thought I’d share her commentary word for word.  Sarah, thanks for this great article.  Please feel free to send in another at any time!

By Sarah Albright

I began my GTD journey in 2005 when I took a 2 day version of the class at work. I loved the concepts, but at 27, I still placed a lot of trust in my memory. Then I got pregnant. Now that a massive hormonal shift has occurred and I’m the sleep deprived, full time working mother of a 1 year old, GTD lists are the only thing that keep me from sinking.

Outlook tasks combined with my Blackberry are my weapons of choice. Probably my biggest saving grace is the Agendas category. Three biggies: @ diaper bag , @ doctor and @Target.

@Diaper bag-Nothing is worse than getting to a restaurant with your somewhat cranky toddler only to realize you don’t have any snacks. Before I leave the house I do a quick check of my @ diaper bag list to make sure all the essentials are accounted for (Diapers, wipes, plastic bags, snacks, toys, sippy cup, extra clothes (for baby and me), etc.)

@Doctor-As a first time parent the list of things I can come up with to worry about (and of course Google) is way too long to keep between doctor visits. So if one pops up, I quickly record it, and the next time we have a check up I can bring my lists of concerns with me.

@Target-This one is self explanatory, but it’s huge for me. I’m forever running out of something, and this keeps me from realizing at 4 am that I used my last diaper before bed.

These are just a few of the small ways that GTD keeps me sane.

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Yesterday, CNN posted a special section on parenting with a focus on moms.  Pages of content with tips, advice, answers to common questions and even video round out what appears to be a very nicely done presentation designed to help moms everywhere do a little more with a little less money and a lot less time.

This got me thinking.  How many moms out there use GTD to help them manage all of the things that most moms have to handle?  From keeping the household from running off the rails to getting dads dry cleaning (or is dad picking it up himself these days?) to making sure that everyone is properly inoculated before the new school year begins, it seems to me like GTD would be a lifesaver.

The thing is, I’m not a mom and so there’s a certain lack of knowledge and perspective here of which I am well aware.  I’m sure that at least a couple moms read this site, however and it is to them that I make this appeal; would one (or more than one) of you like to contribute to GTDtimes?  I think that having a section written for moms practicing GTD by moms that practice GTD would be very useful and very interesting - even for those of us who will never be moms.  (Sometimes it is good for us to see how other people deal with things that we can’t even imagine to help us put our own petty troubles into perspective!)

If anyone out there would like to take up the mantle of writing a GTD for Moms column here at GTDtimes, I would love to hear from you.  Please write to me at editor at GTDtimes dot com and put “Mom” in the subject line.  I can’t promise you’ll make money but I can promise both some very nice exposure and some very cool gifts for helping us out.

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