Okay, if that headline leaves you scratching your head you are probably not alone.  After all, doing nothing hardly seems like a way to get anything done, however, it is my aim to convince you that at times, doing nothing is the most appropriate next action.

As you know if you’ve been reading GTDtimes with any regularity, I’m fairly new to practicing GTD and I make no claims of being an authority on the subject.  In fact, it’s a great privilege to be able to learn from so many knowlegeable and experienced GTD’ers as a direct benefit of editing this site.  Nevertheless, I believe that I can make a strong case for my statement above because my experience in another arena has proven to me that sometimes it is the choice to do nothing that leads to better results in everything down the road.

Back when I used to race bicycles for a living I had a problem finding people who wanted to train with me.  It wasn’t that I had no friends.  The problem, it seemed was that I rode too hard on my hard days and too easy on my easy days.  Most less experienced riders do exactly the opposite.  Their hard days are not intense enough and their easy days are too intense to deliver optimum recovery.  After more than two decades in the saddle, I had learned that having the discipline to take a day completely off and just do as little as possible was a key component in my training program.

Without taking the occasional day off your body never gets that chance to fully recover and recharge.  Your energy level never reaches maximum, you never get totally re-hydrated and in the long run, the twenty, thirty, forty or fifty miles that you put in while I was hanging out watching TV weren’t the miles that won you the race, they were the nails in your coffin as I rode away on fresher legs over the final climb.

Similarly, I believe that we all need a mental break from time to time so that we have the ability to focus completely, to make good decisions about what our most appropriate next action needs to be and so that we are capable of putting forth our best effort when and where it can do the most good.

In the geek culture in particular, there’s a sort of masochistic pride we seem to take in logging the most absurd hours, taking the fewest days off and forgoing meals and coffee breaks to prove we’re working harder than the next guy.  Frankly, if we were bike racers we’d be peeing off the bike on training rides instead of stopping like civilized people. (Yes, I know it sounds impossible, but it is actually something that a professional cyclist can do without wearing it - seriously) .

Peeing aside, the truth is that this sort of behavior leads to all sorts of problems.  As a double-divorcee myself I can attest to this being counter productive to relationships, but there are other costs that are equally steep.  Stupid mistakes like accidentally hitting the “send” button or misaddressing a scathing email, falling asleep in a crucial meeting or simply doing less than stellar work are all quite possible when you don’t factor some mental recovery into your productivity strategy.

Like an athlete who doesn’t realize that the body improves while recovering from the stress of training, not the training itself, an executive who works non-stop is cheating herself out of the mental recovery that can enable creative thinking, problem solving, or even simply relaxing enough to get a good night’s sleep.

People used to laugh at my training schedule when they’d see a day that said: Mileage Zero, Couch 9 hours - they figured it must be a joke until they saw me with the remote control a stack of videos and a big bowl of microwave popcorn - yet it made perfect sense to me to schedule my recovery with the same discipline with which I scheduled my other training.

The thing is I bet that not a single reader of this site has doing nothing as a next action anywhere on any list or scheduled on any calendar.  Of course doing nothing is a little bit hard to categorize as a next action.  Perhaps we should also add occasional inaction to our lists.  Who knows, you might just discover the same thing that I did during my  racing years: that sometimes a little bit time spent doing nothing leads to accomplishing something much bigger down the road…

HOPE YOU ALL HAD A GREAT FOURTH OF JULY AND THAT EVERYONE TOOK THE DAY OFF!!!

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Today, I’ll share the next part of my e-mail that answers the question: “How to ramp up quickly with GTD and Lotus Notes?“  We’ve touched on the productivity equation and we’ve looked at how methodology is the first component of the equation. We also explored the technology or tools that can be used to implement GTD in Lotus Notes.  Last week, I discussed Mobility: how to get things done on the run. Now, as I begin to wrap up this series, I want to discuss the value I’ve found in getting coaching in how to make all of this work together.

There’s a lot to be learned from reading books and attending seminars. I routinely do both. But when I really want to improve my skills or performance in a given area I turn to a coach, a mentor, or an expert that can help me accomplish my objectives. I think it’s important to understand that hiring a productivity coach is not a magic bullet for getting things done. YOU have to do the work, but a good coach can help you see what may not be readily apparent to you and encourage you to build sustainable habits. (I’ll talk more about sustainable habits at the end of this post.)

Here’s what I wrote to the person who asked me about getting things done on the run…

[Read more →]

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GTDtimes is pleased to be the first site anywhere in the world to announce news of a major event in the world of GTD…

For the first time anywhere  five hundred of the most intelligent, inspired and productive people on the planet will gather in San Francisco, California to learn, share, explore, inspire and most importantly to Get Things Done…

The Getting Things Done Global Summit!

Headlined by the inimitable David Allen, author of “Getting Things Done: the Art of Stress Free Productivity” this first GTD Global Summit, taking place on March 11th to the 13th, 2009,  promises to be a truly once-in-a-lifetime event.

Not only will attendees get the chance to  learn the latest on GTD by the man that created the strategy, David will also be sharing new material from his forthcoming book “Making it All Work: Winning at the Game of Business and Business of Life“.

Complimenting David will be a cadre of some of the most accomplished and effective people in the world:

• CEOs that have have had the insight and vision to implement a GTD culture throughout their organizations yielding extraordinary results

• Coaches who will share how implementing a GTD strategy has had profound benefits for their clients from world class athletes to struggling students

• David’s Senior GTD Facilitators who will lead hands on sessions to share their real-world techniques to help you implement GTD for yourself and your organization and maximize the success you will achieve as a result.

• Surprise guests that will inspire, awe and excite you with their stories of how they managed to achieve success, in some cases against unimagineable adversity and odds that would have been dramatically improved had they only been one in a million.

If  other conferences are about ideas and inspiration, the GTD Global Summit is about action and implementation.  No other event will have this level of practical, how to information to help you further refine your personal GTD strategy, troubleshoot your own implementation, or introduce you to new tools and techniques to take even the most advanced GTD Blackbelt to a whole new level.

In addition, demonstration areas will be reserved for attendees to check out the latest in high tech gadgetry- a veritable “geek’s paradise” of software, hardware, and accessories will be available for you to discover, test, and compare; from tried and true products you may have seen to the latest whiz-bang prototypes that you may not have even heard of, let alone seen or touched.

Of course one of the greatest benefits to attending the GTD Global Summit will be the opportunity to meet and network with five-hundred other GTD practitioners all in one place.  If you’re a GTD’er you already know that people that use GTD to help them stay on top of things are consistently among the most intelligent, informed and productive people on the planet.  Here’s your chance to make new friends, develop new professional relationships and capitalize on the energy and collective intelligence that only a group such as this can generate.   If you’ve attended special events in the past, you know that half the value lies in the people you meet and the friendships you establish.  Now take that prior experience and multiply it by 500 and imagine the possibilities.

The GTD Global Summit is scheduled to take place from the 11th to the 13th of March, 2009 at the unparalleled new Hotel Intercontinental in San Francisco, California.  Only five-hundred fortunate individuals will have the chance to attend this life-changing event.  Reservations can be made at the official GTD Global Summit Website.

Further news about the GTD Global Summit will be made available here as soon as we receive it.  The link to the conference website above is now live so be sure to make your reservation before it’s too late!

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You’ve read his books, you’ve seen his videos and now, you can see a David Allen seminar in person for 10% less than the regular price. I know this sounds like an advertisement but the bottom line is that I’ve just been given word that GTDtimes readers can save 10% off the price of any David Allen seminar by clicking this link and entering the code: GTDtimes10 when you check out. Your discount will be applied automatically.

If you’ve never seen one of David’s seminars live before, you owe it to yourself to take this opportunity to learn more about GTD from the people who he’s personally selected to teach the practice. These seminars are enlightening, educational and entertaining and you’ll not only get the chance to learn directly from David or one of his hand picked presenters but you’ll also get to meet dozens of like-minded GTD practitioners with whom to compare notes, explore opportunities or simply strike up new friendships.

This discount is only available to readers of GTDtimes as our way of saying “Thank You!” for being a reader.

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Parkour or is a sport that involves high speed traversal of any area in such a way as to cover as much ground as efficiently as possibly - if you recall the opening scene in the recent 007 Film, Casino Royale, you’ve seen Parkour. There are two themes here that I felt related well to GTD, first, the idea of responding appropriately to any situation.

Parkour is about responding appropriately to the terrain through which a person is moving and is not about extraneous movements or tricks. Flipping and other stunts that do not contribute directly to getting from point a to point b as quickly and efficiently as possible are not part of Parkour, but a related discipline called “Free Running” that is a distinct activity according to the people who have been the most influential in creating this new form of movement and self expression.

The second theme relates to mental discipline and the ability to overcome obstacles through the power of the mind. I believe that mental conditioning is critical to performing at your highest level in any activity. As a professional cyclist I found that my physical performance was best when I regularly did mental training in addition to my physical preparation and I believe that the same holds true for GTD - in fact, I would go so far as to suggest that this is part of the reason why the weekly review is so important - it allows you to train your mind to accomplish the things you need to do and helps you prepare yourself for your upcoming efforts.

The video below features Parkour in the context of overcoming physical obstacles using your mind I hope you’ll find it as inspirational as I did.

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Is getting ready to get things done getting in the way of actually getting things done? For the “hero” in this story this seems to be a real challenge…(this video comes courtesy of a tip from Michael Sliwinski, Founder of Nozbe)

Our second video today is a special treat: it’s David Allen at Google presenting GTD and the two keys to sustaining a healthy life and work style. This is a fantastic video and is absolutely worth the 45 minutes or so to watch it through. If you haven’t seen this before you’re in for a great learning experience, if you have, it’s worth seeing twice (or even thrice).

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First off we have a great video by one of our very own contributors, Nozbe founder Michael Sliwinski. If you want a quick explanation of how to get started with GTD that is very faithful to David’s own methods this is a great 30 minute investment.

Late Night Video Bonus Feature:

It’s late, I’m working on my Mac - I have to get up early in the morning for a conference call and what? It locked up? Oh noooo…. (Has this ever happened to you?)

Just in case, as a Mac user like me you ever start to feel smug or superior…

Do you have a good GTD video you’d like to share with the GTDtimes community? Please send it in: editor at GTDtimes dot com. Thanks.

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These guys, lurking at the back of the room aren’t playing video games, at least I hope not. They are two of the newest team members at The David Allen Company, John Ward and Chris McIntyre. Both seasoned presenters, they are here to audit Kelly class and sharpen their GTD presentation skills. We enjoyed a nice lunch together, I look forward to seeing them in action, soon.

Kelly just gave us a tour on how to setup Notes and Outlook as GTD implementation tools. Even though I think I know this stuff, I still learn new things and I got to share some tips of my own. Listening to some of the questions from the audience that inspired some ideas for features I can build into eProductivity for Lotus Notes to make getting things done with Lotus Notes easier. I’ve got those items on my agenda list to discuss with my team.

The seminar is going well, Kelly’s in peak form, people are learning and laughing at the stories she’s sharing from her work in the GTD trenches. (Example: Most full e-mail box? 87,000 emails. True story from Kelly.)

Well, time to get back to the seminar. I’ll try to post another highlight, soon.

Update: Chris is ahead by 45,000 points.

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Kelly just gave an interesting illustration of thinking about projects from a…z.

Here’s how this works:
Z represents the successful outcome - what your project will look like when done.

A represents the next single physical action to take to move forward.

b…y represents any additional action steps (but not the next action) along the way.

Now, here’s the secret: Z (the project) goes on your project list. A (the next action) goes on the appropriate action list. Everything else (b…y) needs to be parked somewhere, but if they are not next actions they do not belong on your current working list. [Read more →]

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TIME 9:37 AM

Kelly started the discussion with a great question:

On a 1-10 scale, how would you rate your productivity over the last two weeks?1= I should have stayed in bed.
10=Master of Control & Perspective

What supports you/gets in the way of you being at 10 more often?

Great question. Some surprising answers. I look forward to hearing what your experiences are.

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