Sometimes Christmas feels like an all-consuming project that sends us racing through malls, jumping from party to party, and being busy-busy-busy as we fill our time with lots of Christmas fluff.

I want something more than that, though.

I don’t want to have to “recover” from Christmas. I don’t want to start the new year eight pounds heavier. I don’t want my children focused only on the electronic gadgets they hope Santa brings. But everything I don’t want will probably become my reality–unless I take the initiative to implement what I do want.

David Allen’s Natural Planning Model seriously saves my sanity on everything from birthday party planning to creating new programs for my website, so this year, I decided to use the five steps of the Natural Planning Model to create a Christmas experience that is both magical and meaningful.

Step One: Defining Purpose and Principles

For this part, I sat down with my children and gave them the following prompts:

• What’s the purpose of this season?
• What do you want this Christmas to feel like for our family?
• Please finish this sentence: “I would be happy with any Christmas celebration, as long as . . .”

[Read more →]

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David Allen Company has just released a new Setup Guide that includes great coaching advice for structuring a solid GTD system in Lotus Notes. Written by David Allen and his senior coaches, this guide explains how to:

• Set up Lotus Notes To Do’s for your projects and actions
• Use the calendar as a critical foundation for actions
• Get email to zero consistently
• Create useful reference lists
• Organize contacts
• Move faster with speed keys and shortcuts

Instructions in the Guide are primarily written based on Notes 8.5, with helpful references to differences in previous versions.

Read a free sample from the first few pages

Buy now from the DAC Store

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This is a Community Contribution from Mike Vardy

I’m a fan of gadgets. I love shiny new objects that promise to deliver bigger, stronger and faster results. The problem with a lot of these shiny new objects is that there is a learning curve for most (if not all) of them and even when the knowledge is set firmly in place, they are only part of the equation. It’s the other part that often lets us down. That other part is us.

We often get bogged down in the details, mired in a slew of hidden tasks that pile up in our electronic folders and leave us with our heads spinning. And as a bit of a technophile myself, I’ve had it happen to me on several occasions. When this happens, I turn over my trusted system to a device that I can trust with its implementation: paper.

Paper is a powerful device in its own right.  It is simple in both design and execution. You write something down, and [Read more →]

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“What tools should I use for GTD?” That question usually comes up early when someone begins implementing GTD. And in our tech-focused world, they usually mean, “Which software is the best?” But it’s also important to ask which tools will help us stay physically motivated.

An obvious but rarely noticed tool may be my key to ultimate productivity.

At David Allen Company, we consider many things when setting up a workspace. I recently reconstructed my workspace in a way that has stepped up my energy and focus to a whole new level. I made this improvement by switching to a stand-up desk. This is an amazing tool that has helped me to be more productive and ergonomically correct; a win for my company and for me.

The benefits of a stand up desk have really surprised me. [Read more →]

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By popular request, here is a list of all of the FREE GTD resources offered by David Allen Company:

• GTD Times – This is the the official blog for the David Allen Company. Loads of helpful advice, tips, special offers, tricks & strategies for implementing GTD.
• Podcasts - Includes the GTD best practices series with David & his team.
• GTD Connect – The two-week free trial is a fully-functional experience of our online learning center (except for downloads.) There’s no obligation, no payment required, and nothing to cancel. [Read more →]

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The GTD Workflow Map is now available in a small folded version.  The map set includes the coaching DVD with David Allen.  The map is in full color, offering a concise visual representation of the GTD models.  The map folds down so that the set is more compact, which lowers shipping costs — to anywhere in the world!  This set makes an ideal gift for yourself, or for someone you know who could use a portable GTD reference.

GTD® WORKFLOW MAP SET – SMALL FOLDED VERSION

The GTD Workflow Map is a stunning visual learning tool for understanding how David Allen’s models for control & perspective come together. Set includes: one small folded color Workflow Map and a DVD with David coaching you through the Map. This folded version of the Map is idea for international customers looking for more cost effective shipping options.

Order your Workflow Map Set today.

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This great idea comes from Matt, a GTD enthusiast who has lots of great ideas.

I have some of my best ideas in the shower.  I don’t know if it’s the hot water or the lack of distractions, but things pop into my head and I know that I’ll need to take action on them.  But when I’m halfway through a shower, I only have two choices: try to remember it, or get out and write it down.  Neither really works well. One results in a wet floor, and the other means I spend the rest of my shower anxiously trying not to forget.

Of course, the GTD answer would be to write it down. But pen and paper don’t survive long in the shower.  Fortunately, I remembered that when I’m scuba diving I sometimes carry a small writing slate to more easily communicate underwater.  I grabbed my slate and put it in the shower.

Now, I write down anything that comes to mind when I’m showering.  After I’m dressed for the day, I can grab the slate and add any action items to my queue.

You can get a dive slate from your local dive shop, or from an online store.

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The first customer review of the new GTD Managing Projects audio set has come in and we wanted to share some highlights:

In a nutshell, I am very excited to report this audio program is EXCELLENT!

Imagine sitting in the room with David, Marian and Meg and, basically, they are discussing all of the best practices and experiences around projects, projects planning, organizing, etc. It gives you the feeling that you have 3 personal coaches for a few hours. Many examples are discussed in great detail–big projects, smaller projects–to make it easy to understand the very fine points of how “successful outcome” project planning works in real life. [Read more →]

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We’re excited to announce that our new 6-CD audio set on the GTD best practices for managing your projects is now available in the David Allen Company store.  We’ve compiled all of the GTD best practices and common questions.   It’s a great way to get control of your projects and manage them seamlessly–the GTD way.

GTD Connect members save 10% on this product.  Be sure to log in to GTD Connect first, then head to the store for your member discounts to apply.  Not a member? Try a free guest pass.

Order your GTD Managing Projects set today.  Limited quantities available.

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Eric Mack will discuss productivity with the DC Lotus User Group next Wednesday, November 17th. Eric supplements his deep background in Lotus Notes with a broad understanding of knowledge management.  His eProductivity application expands the organizational capabilities of Lotus Notes to make it a powerful tool for personal productivity. eProductivity is the only Lotus Notes application to earn the “GTD-Enabled” designation from David Allen. If you’ve been implementing GTD in Notes already, you’ll be amazed how much more streamlined it is with eProductivity.

Highly recommended if you will be in the DC area next week.

Click here for all the details!

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