If you’re a student or if you happen to be the parent of one or more students you might want to check out  Soshiku,  a new web-based productivity application by  Definitialize that has just launched.  Designed specifically for students by a student - 17 year old founder, Andrew Schaper.  This enterprising young developer claims that frustration with not being able to keep track of all of his school work assignments and the lack of a service that addressed this problem compelled him to code the application himself.

While Soshiku is not really a GTD application in the strictest sense of GTD, it is nevertheless both an impressive development effort as well as a much needed tool for a group that as a whole tends to be both underserved by technology while at the same time being among the most comfortable with it.

The application has received some highly positive reviews including one by no less than Mashable which was highly complimentary of Andrew’s efforts.

Soshiku supports students several ways, it allows them to enter courses and then assignments for each course as well as the dates upon which those assignments are due.  It allso allows you to set up reminders for these due dates that can be sent to you via email or SMS or both.  The application also supports a limited degree of collaboration that includes the ability to exchange messages among users, to store and share documents online and to collectively manage and edit notes and assignments tha are all stored in a central online receptacle making it easy for students to work together on projects.

Mashable was surprised that nothing like this had been developed before and so am I and frankly I am very impressed that someone as young as Andrew managed to build this application.  Having worked on Foldera which was originally a robust orgnization and collaboration application that never made it to a fully live status I know first hand how difficult it is to build one of these kinds of applications, let alone one that works as well as SoShiku appears to. Oh yeah, before I forget, Soshiku is also FREE.

If you’re a student or a parent of a student and either you or your child has used or is using Soshiku and you would like to share your experience with GTDtimes readers, please write to me at editor at gtdtimes dot com and we’ll publish your first hand review of the application.

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Yes! I fell off the wagon this summer—I just had too much going on in my head. The summer holidays swept me away—not just the flooding we had in the cellar or even the rain and spectacular heights of the Swiss Alps—I simply had a lot of things going on. A lot to get done with more than the usual interruptions.

The kids at home

Why and how did I get into GTD? “Getting Things Done” was such an interesting book title, that it was the title alone that grabbed my attention. And that in combination with a huge period of changes—just moved, settling into a new country and then separation and divorce. Alone and at home with the kids.

There was more, but I needed to focus on the essentials.I have a lot to do and GTD gives me the peace of mind just to get on with it. That is why I think falling off the wagon is such fun–I mean when else do you get to roll in the grass? Or take a hike up the mountains. To really experience what it is like at high altitude. Breath taking!

Forgetting and remembering

Summer holidays are a time to reflect and to forget. By falling off the wagon—by forgetting everything—I get the chance to review everything anew. The kids get to do this too. They fall off all the time. And climb back on. And sometimes just run allongside the wagon. In fact it is part of the expected rhythm of a the year. Intensive periods of learning and of rest. The summer holidays are a time to forget everything and do something altogether different.

Wow! what a time in your life! The school day and week is fully organized and structured and then there are 6 weeks of chaos. Nothing. Actually the weekend can be a bit like that too.We have been back at school for 3 weeks now. And what a refreshing way to take stock and a new look at everything.For example our weekly review takes on a new perspective. Also new importance as commitments and structure take hold again. New projects are appearing everyday! Class trips to London, plays, music lessons and choir and then of course The Circus! The twins joined the Circus last year…

In growing up we acquire responsibilities and independence. Charlotte is taking on a review all by herself. Organizing her week, homework and practicing her violin. With some help new steps can be taken to independence.That is why we need time to play! Next summer I will jump off the wagon and roll in the grass. I remember now how much fun it is to play and just forget about things for a while.Where are you making time for fun?

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Doing the wash is just a few minutes has started some discussion with friends. Most of all the question: how do you do it?I am simply inspired by others.In the video here (explained in the classic GTD 2 minutes) you will see how a t-shirt can be folded in 2 seconds.

Now this is something you can try at home with the kids! We had fun learning this 2 second trick

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David Allen starts the RoadMap seminar: “GTD is all about the lazy way of getting things done”.

That got me thinking. Getting things done - that means everything done. Yes even the wash. Done. Getting the wash-IN basket to empty can be done in 2 minutes. Each stage in the process need not take longer - be that collecting or processing, organizing, doing or reviewing.

Doing the wash, even big piles of it which comes with living with 3 kids, takes me (us) a couple of minutes at each stage.  The piles grow (quickly) everyday, especially with children. Mostly things just get dumped on the floor. I find things in the oddest places too, like a left sock under the car seat or a sweater next to the sofa and a hat on the kitchen table.

A visiting friend once pointed out “this house is lived in!”.

Collection is a continuous and daily task. Everything gets to the wash-in basket - and it never takes more than 2 minutes to get to done.

Process - organize and color code “What is this?” Processing the wash-in basket gets done quickly. Involving the children can make this a really fun task. It also takes the mystery out of what happens to my dirty trousers, and gives understanding to the question: “where is my favorite shirt?” Or a clean set of underwear.

• COLLECT - all the socks and dirty stuff
• PROCESS - sort and colour code, one at a time
• ORGANIZE - machine or hand wash? Dryer or hang it up?
• REVIEW - fold or iron, keep it or pass stuff on
• DO - putting it back, one thing at a time!

Like Michael Sliwinski mentioned in his recent post on GTDtimes, doing things, like the wash, is all about the 2 minute rule.

Delegate it.  I delegate tasks for the children. In fact they organize their own lists of who does what each week (more on lists in another posting). Collecting and putting away the wash for example are great habits to foster.

Learning by doing: In a situation where learning by doing sometimes means  not doing anything, I recently shared the experience of not having any clean underwear with my son. This came came about when the collection step was missed. Puzzled as I had done all the wash, dried it and folded most things - I helped see where the problem was. Sure enough several discrete piles were discovered. None had been placed in the wash-IN basket. After reviewing this “awakening” together and agreeing who does what in the process of doing the wash my son had a better understanding of how “not doing” resulted in a result also - though not the desired result to be sure.

Having fun.  Of course with kids, making things fun - even something boring like the wash is key to engaging their minds and making the lessons stick.  By incorporating the principles of GTD into doing the wash with my kids  we see that this chore can be done 2 minutes at a time and we can even have fun in the process.

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The GTD weekly review is a great habit. Almost everywhere I read about the importance and effects of regular reviews. In my everyday activities I notice the effects too -  amidst the chaos  of everyday life, the payoff of  committing myself to conducting regular reviews results in having the appropriate  response to whatever comes up.

I also read about the struggles we (can) have. A recent lecture at my children’s school helped me understand why I struggle and how I learn new habits.

Learning new habits

A habit is something we all have plenty of. Learning a new one takes time. Whatever it is. Yes even “bad” habits take time to learn.

Children are quick to learn. And like me need time to make what they have learned really their own.

It takes something like 4 weeks to acquire a habit.

Every day or week, diligent repetition of a task helps make that task a habit. And the learning continues. It takes something like a year to make a habit a part of me. A skill. Good reason to continue until that habit reaches a level of perfection.

Music lessons and the music of GTD

My children each play their own instrument. Charlotte the violin, Judit cello and Thomas piano. The daily rhythm of playing is important to establish. Weekly lessons support the practicing habit.

Orchestra and ensemble rehearsals, regular concerts and just playing bring joy to music. That moment of concentration. Those nervous moments waiting. Deep breath… One. Two. Three. Four. Pure music to the ear. And the applause! Wow what a feeling.

And that is just me as father listening! The hardest thing I love to do, is watch the children growing up.

We now have summer concerts at the end of the school year. Later in the year Christmas street concerts are not only great fun, but raise extra pocket money too.

Goals and projects making music

“Papa! I want to play every weekend at the Market!”

I ask: What do you need to do to get there? When can you play? Who do you want to play with? Which instrument? How many songs do you know? Which songs are fitting for Christmas or just fun to listen to? Which piece are youM going to learn next?

Focusing on goals like these means we often forget that we are learning about habits. And suddenly habits become something else. Its just about having fun!

GTD is like making music.

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With the recent posts on GTD for Kids and GTD for Families, I thought I would share this one…

Last year, my daughter, Wendy, recently made a post in the GTD Connect forum about how our family is learning about GTD at the breakfast table. [If you’re a GTD Connect subscriber, you can read the posts and respond there.] I thought I would take a moment to share my own thoughts and experience here, too.

Over the years, I’ve often ask my children to help me test new software and programs. I find that they approach software from a totally different perspective and I always learn new insights as a result of their efforts. (Even Microsoft found benefit in this approach; they distributed Amy & Wendy’s podcast on OneNote Shared Sessions to the OneNote design team.) Anyway, back to the GTD breakfast club…

In December, I decided to ask my wife and children to test some prototype features for my productivity software for using Lotus Notes with the GTD methodology. (Little things, like linking projects to actions, switching contexts, and a tickler to calendar system.) In order for them to be effective helpers, however, I knew that they would have to distinguish between the methodology and technology of the productivity equation. I decided that this would be a good time for me to set up more formal GTD instruction for my family.
[Read more →]

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By Michael Sliwinski

“Don’t try this at home” (MTV – Music Television)
As I mentioned in my last article, being at the GTD seminar and listening to David Allen inspired me to try out different approaches to GTD.

I decided to actually try GTD at home.

I had a pleasure of talking to other fellow GTD-practitioners about their positive experiences at their homes. This short article will include tips and tricks for implementing GTD at home gathered from my friends’ homes and from my very own.

Although in my case the experiment is an ongoing work-in-progress, I’m really happy with the results. Here’s a small fraction of GTD concept you can introduce in your family to get more done and motivate (and inspire) each other and have a happier home:

Inboxes for everyone!

First step is to prepare inboxes for each and every member of the family. Put the names on each of the inbox and instruct the family members “what is the inbox and why do they need one”. Some practical tips on setting inboxes for family members:

• Don’t put all of the inboxes in the same place – put each inbox in the place the family member will most likely see and pay attention to it. Why? If the inboxes are grouped together – the items will most likely “migrate” from one inbox to the other instead of being processed and done by the family member they belong to. Family members really understand the concepts of “delegating” too well.

• Locate the inbox in a place where the family member will pay attention to it. I initially placed my wife’s inbox in the hallway of our apartment. She would repeatedly ignore it. When I relocated her inbox to a spot near her cabinet with jewelry, the results improved tenfold.

• Motivate your family members to process their inboxes. Initially assist them in processing their inboxes and from time to time remind them about the piled-up inbox that needs to be cleaned to zero. I even heard a tip by one of the fathers who would actually put occasionally a 1-dollar bill or another kind of “pleasure-item” to encourage inbox-processing among his kids. I think this kind of bribery is worth trying out.

Work on the projects together

A family is a team and there are many projects, especially home-related ones, that need to be planned and executed together with several family members. Planning a project like “cleaning up the house”, “redecorating one of the rooms” or “family Sunday dinner” can be planned with a simple to-do list for each of them. In my home one of the places for these kind of to-do lists is on the fridge.

A simple to-do list won’t be enough, though. When planning a project like this, it’s important to pay attention to these two things:

• Clearly point out each other’s responsibilities in the project and delegate the tasks to each of the family members.

• Clearly define Next Actions for each other so that everyone knows what they should do right away.

Encourage the 50,000 feet level thinking

Make sure you talk to your loved ones about the meaning of their lives. About their overall area of responsibility, their goals – both long-term and short.

Try to schedule these kinds of talks to on at least monthly basis and make sure everyone (including yourself) really knows why they are doing what they are doing. Why they participate in their projects and review their priorities and analyze the motives of their actions.

I’ve started this kind of ritual with my wife and found out one of the best moments to do it is Sunday morning, right after our breakfast, when there is no pressure to go somewhere or do something.

Apply the great 2-minute rule at home!

After my last article about the “2-minute rule”, one of my friends told me how he applied the 2-minute rule at home and gave me several examples of daily rituals that could be accomplished within this short period of time, or faster (and I never realized that!):

• Take out trash
• Clean the table after the dinner
• Put the dishes into dishwasher
• Start the dishwasher to actually clean the dishes
• Make the bed
• Turn off lights in the rooms unoccupied by other family members
• Put the shoes into the shoe-drawer
• Grab a beer from the fridge
• Etc.

I’m sure there are many more quick 2-minute tasks at home that you can add to this list. I’d encourage you to identify these quickies with your family members. Once discovered, nobody will have an excuse to procrastinate and leave these tasks off for later.

Tip: To motivate my family members and myself, I’ve actually created a list of these 2—minute “quickies” and posted it on my fridge for others to see.

Do it now – start introducing GTD in your Family.

I’m hoping I’ve encouraged you more than enough to try and start GTD in your family. Creating good habits is very important in a team such as a family that lives under one roof and wants to live in harmony, love and respect for one another.

To foster family-friendly GTD I’ve introduced a “family plan” in my Nozbe web application where you can set up an account for up to 6 family members to manage projects and next actions together and spread more GTD-goodness among your loved ones.

Please post your comments about GTD in your family and share your successes and challenges below – I’d be more than happy to discuss my experiences with you!

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I’m really excited to be making this particular introduction because the topic he plans to cover - GTD for Kids - is both new (to my knowledge) and I think will be incredibly valuable and very well received.

When Nathaniel approached us with the idea of having some content on how to implement a version of GTD for kids I immediately felt like this was a great idea.

Nathaniel is the full time father of 3 (Charlotte, Judit and Thomas). In his own words, Nathaniel says:

“The best surprise of my life was the arrival of the twins soon after our daughter arrived. From that moment on I had a lot to do.”

“It was not till 2006 that I first read David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” and that really changed my life. As a parent and at work.”

“I quickly realised big changes with GTD in how I work and live. As a father I thought that these changes could help my children get more fun out of the day. It certainly has helped me. So starting to share experiences and ideas for GTD with kids is what I want to do here and on GTD4kids.com.”

Please help me in giving Nathaniel a warm welcome to the GTDtimes team - I am sure that like me you’ll be excited to see what he’s got in store when it comes to ideas about implementing a GTD program that can be an exciting, stimulating and ultimately, incredibly useful skill for your kids as well perhaps as a way to bring families closer together.

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