David Allen is doing a webinar event next Wednesday, July 8th, hosted by Unbound Ideas.

In this 90-minute interactive webinar, David Allen will describe the strategies, tools and specific behaviors that dramatically upgrade individual and organizational productivity. In particular, he will focus on:

1. The 5 stages of control and the 6 horizons of focus necessary for personal self-management
2. How to get immediate control of “current reality”
3. How to keep track of the total inventory of your commitments
4. Why organizational issues are often personal process issues
5. Why it’s so challenging to change the simplest habits
6. How to continually self-consult to get back on your game

Register here.  David also does free events like this for GTD Connect members.  If you’re not a member, you can check out the two-week free trial, or join for by the month ($48) or year ($480).  If it’s not for you, canceling is easy. Really.

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Rachelle, director of public events for the David Allen Company, asked us to pass this along to the GTD Times readers:

The GTD: Mastering Workflow seminar is coming to Denver, Colorado on Thursday, May 28th. As a special offer for GTD Times readers, take 10% off the registration fee with the code Rocky10.

Whether you are new to GTD, or a veteran looking for a refresher on the best practices, we hope you can join us for this practical & tactical GTD seminar.

What a recent GTD seminar grad shared:

Since attending your seminar, my productivity has soared and I am no longer awaken at 2AM by things I forgot to do. I was and am an organized person. I had read David’s book a few years ago and had put into practice pieces of the GTD approach. But it wasn’t until I attended your seminar that I really got it. I especially appreciated the manner in which you conveyed the information - light-heartedly (no stern “gotta dos”) and with plenty examples to make the concepts easy to understand.

I am still learning and growing in my understanding of GTD, but the leap I made after attending your seminar was huge. Many thanks.

Be well, Nicole

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In case this is useful for others out there, wondering where to start with GTD, here is a letter we received from a new GTD’er in Australia today.

Sean writes, “I have just been recommended to use Omni [Focus] project management software to assist me in managing my ever complex working and private life.  I have looked at the software and I have found that they follow your principles.  My question is How do I start?  Do I buy the book, or buy the software or begin on some your other programs.  Please advise me.”

This is probably one of the most common questions we get at the David Allen Company.  A good way to think of GTD is that it is a systematic approach, not a system.  If you understand the approach first, then applying that to the system tools (like OmniFocus, the Outlook Add-in by Netcentrics, or any of the nearly 150+ GTD-centric software programs out there), will make more a whole lot more sense.

Here are 10 ways to learn the GTD approach:

1.  Read or listen to the Getting Things Done book. It is THE ultimate manual for GTD. Part One gives a great overview. Part Two walks you through coaching yourself through the process.

2.  Go through the Getting Started Series on GTD Connect.  If you’re not a member, try the free 2-week trial.  You can access everything as a trial-member except download content.  There is also a great video in the  Connect GTD Cafe called, “I read the book, now what?”

3.  Go to a public GTD seminar.

4.  Get coached in person or by phone.

5.  Find a friend or coworker who already does GTD and have them show you their setup and how they work it.

6.  Read the What is GTD? overview from David Allen.

7.  Listen to David do a full two-day GTD seminar on CD.

8.  Grab this free article to learn the 5 phases of Mastering Workflow. Then apply that consistently to one area of your workflow, such as your email inbox.  When that’s mastered, move on to the next area.

9.  Read the DavidCo staff blogs on getting started, like this series from Kelly.

10.  Listen to some of the free podcasts with the DavidCo coaches on the GTD best practices.

Obviously, these approaches range widely in time commitment, content and budget, but hopefully there’s something in there to kick start things for you!

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Earlier today David Allen took a few minutes to record the following special invitation.  In it he talks about the upcoming GTD Global Summit and shares with us why he thinks that this event is even more timely and will be more valuable as a result of the continuing financial crisis facing the US and the rest of the world.

From a personal perspective I would add that this event was partially the brainchild of my late friend, Marc Orchant.  Marc passionately believed that a gathering of people from around the world to share knowledge of GTD, to exchange ideas, swap tips and tricks and show off our coolest shiny toys would be invigorating, intellectually stimulating, and above all offer a very significant opportunity for self improvement.

I’m excited about the forthcoming event and hope that I’ll finally have the chance to meet many GTDtimes readers in person for the first time.  Of course I’ll be providing extensive coverage of the Summit here at GTDtimes (as well as announcing in advance some of the special presenters who will be joining us).

If you can only attend a single conference this year the GTD Global Summit will be the one that delivers the most lasting value and real world practical advice to help you become more productive, better balanced in your work and home life and ultimately more capable to weather the current turbulent economic times in which we’ve suddenly found ourselves.

One last note:  If you are an accredited member of the media and would like a press pass for this even, please send an inquiry to me at editor at GTDtimes dot com and I will get back to you with a response.  Please note that only accredited journalists from publications with a recognized name and meaningful circulation numbers wiill receive a complimentary pass as spaces for journalists are highly limited.

If you are a less accomplished writer looking to attend there may be some discounted slots available on a first come, first served basis at the discretion of the event management.

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Eric Mack, eProductivity creator

If you’re attending LotusSphere be sure to attend the two sessions being presented by David Allen and Eric Mack.

The first session, Best Practices Session, BP304:
“IBM Lotus Notes and Me: Maximizing Personal Productivity with Lotus Notes” will take place at 5:00 PM on January 19, at the Swan Hotel (SW 7-10). Due to the top down approach employed by most corporations in conjunction with Lotus Notes, 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 work group 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.

The second session: Birds of a feather session, BOF408: “Getting Things Done with IBM Lotus Notes” will take place at 7:00 AM on January 20, at the Swan Hotel (SW Mockingbird 1-2)

Here’s the Abstract:
This session will explore ways to make using Lotus Notes more productive by making it “personal.” This interactive discussion will bring together expert and novice Lotus Notes users to share how they are using Notes for personal action and information management.

About David Allen
David Allen is widely recognized as the world’s leading expert on personal and
organizational productivity. His twenty-five-year pioneering research and coaching to
corporate managers and CEOs of some of America’s most prestigious corporations and
institutions has earned him Forbes’ recognition as one of the top five executive coaches
in the world and Business 2.0 magazine’s inclusion in their list of the “50 Who Matter
Now.” Fast Company Magazine has also called David “one of the world’s most
influential thinkers” in the arena of personal productivity.

David is the international bestselling author of Making It All Work: Winning at the Game
of Work and the Business of Life, Getting Things Done: the Art of Stress-Free
Productivity, and Ready for Anything: 52 Productivity Principles for Work and Life. He is
also the engineer of GTD, the popular Getting Things Done methodology that has
shown millions how to transform a fast-paced, overwhelming, over committed life into
one that is balanced, integrated, relaxed, and has more successful outcomes.

For additional information about David Allen and GTD, please visit www.DavidCo.com

About Eric Mack
Eric Mack is the founder and president of ICA.COM, Inc. (ICA), a professional
consulting organization, based in California, USA. In 2007, Eric celebrated 25 years in
business as an technologist, software developer, public speaker, and productivity
consultant. He has provided expert consulting services to more than 350 corporate and
government clients, most notably in the area of information, communication, and action
management. An articulate speaker, Eric has also shared his technological insights with
more than 10,000 people around the world through his eProductivity coaching and
seminars. Eric has been a featured speaker at the Office 2.0 and KMWORLD
conferences and was the keynote and featured presenter for the Beyond Planning
Conference in Manila, Philippines.

Eric is also the creator of eProductivity™, a GTD® implementation solution for Lotus
Notes that is both used and recommended by David Allen.

For additional information about Eric Mack or ICA, please visit www.ICA.com

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