Forbes has picked up Senior GTD Coach and Presenter Kelly Forrister’s article on how to tackle a crazy to-do list, originally posted on The Daily Muse.

Crazy To-Do List? Here’s What to Tackle First

Many people try to tackle their mountain of personal tasks by sorting them by priority, and starting at the top. Seems logical—but they’ve actually got it backward. In reality, before you think about priorities, there are three factors you need to consider, because they each actually limit your choices about what you should (and even can) do next.

Limitation #1: Context
If you’re not in the right place, don’t have the right tool, or are not in front of the right person required to take an action, you can’t take that action.

Limitation #2: Time Available
The second factor that comes into play is how much time you have. If you’ve got a big project to work on, but you need to bounce to your next meeting or pick up your kids in 10 minutes, it’s probably not a good use of your effort to start it.

Limitation #3: Resources
The third factor to consider is what your energy is like. I don’t know about you, but Friday afternoon after a long, busy workweek is not the time to dive into anything that will take a lot of mental bandwidth. Instead, I make choices that match what my mental and physical energy is like. Not to say there aren’t times I need to just “buck up” and get in there anyway, but I like to be conscious about what I’m choosing and match that to when I think I’ll bring my best self, whenever I can.

Read the full post here on The Daily Muse, or here on Forbes.

Tags: Getting Things Done, GTD, GTD Best Practices, Implementation, Implementing GTD, Inspiration, Next Actions, organization, Productivity, Tasks
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For those of you who like to customize your workspace so that it’s an integral part of your GTD system, you’ll enjoy seeing Lifehacker’s most popular featured workspaces of 2012. Alas, the one that’s missing is David Allen’s workspace.

Most Popular Featured Workspaces of 2012

Seeing how others have organized and set up their workspaces can be great inspiration for creating your own perfect workspace. This year, we had lots of inspiration. Whether your taste leans towards a minimalist approach or more eclectic style, here are the most popular featured workspaces of 2012 to get your ideas flowing.

You can see the full post here.

Tags: Getting Things Done, GTD, Implementation, Implementing GTD, Inspiration, organization, Productivity
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David Allen answers the question about when something belongs on the calendar vs. organizing it on a tasks list. This short podcast will help you use your calendar and task lists more effectively. Available for download now on the David Allen Company podcast page.

Tags: David Allen, Getting Things Done, GTD, Implementation, Implementing GTD, Next Actions, organization, podcast, Productivity, trusted system
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CBS Moneywatch asked David Allen about New Year’s resolutions. His advice? Nix ‘em!

3 reasons to nix those New Year’s resolutions

January 1 always offers a tantalizing gift: the chance to start over again. We think that the right resolutions will make us more productive, healthy and successful. But productivity guru David Allen, author of “Getting Things Done” (and the creator of the widely-adopted GTD system) says that he doesn’t make New Year’s resolutions. Here’s why—and why you should reconsider the practice, too:

1. Review your life more frequently.  Allen and GTD enthusiasts schedule regular reviews (usually weekly) to study any open loops and look at where things are going.

2. Focus on the positive. “People don’t pat themselves on the back like they ought to do,” says Allen. Instead of New Year’s resolutions—which focus on what you haven’t managed to do in your life—he recommends trying New Year’s “recollections.” Allen and his wife sit down and reminisce about, “basically, what did we accomplish, what did we experience that was cool and interesting?”

3. Finish old business—and gain inspiration. “People would be much farther ahead just cleaning up at the end of the year, as opposed to moving things forward,” says Allen. “If you try to set goals—to recalibrate or refocus—and you’ve got old business hanging around your neck like an albatross, good luck,” says Allen. After all, most New Year’s resolutions fail. But tackling a few things on your to-do list? That you can do, and success breeds success.

Do you make New Year’s resolutions?

You can read the full article here.

 

Tags: David Allen, Getting Things Done, GTD, Inspiration, organization, Productivity
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Hi Folks,

Is there anything in your world you need to declare “done” but haven’t yet?

I’ll take a deeper look at completing the past to prepare for the future in a public webinar I’m doing in January on Creating Wild Success in 2013. We’d love to have you join us online for that.

Until then, my essay this month should give you some good direction about going back to those things you need to unhook from and how to be complete with that.

All the best,

DAVID’S FOOD FOR THOUGHT

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO STOP DOING?

We’ve got to learn to declare things DONE. Especially when they’re not. Not completed, that is, to the level of perfection or result that we initially visualized or committed to.

The world changes, and our creative focus along with it. So do our standards. We will always maintain some inventory or backlog of projects to complete, of things to do. But if we’re not careful and take responsibility for unhooking from those that have outlived their seat on our active list, they can easily constipate our creative process. …more

Tags: David Allen, Getting Things Done, GTD, Implementation, Implementing GTD, Inspiration, organization, Productivity, project planning
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GOOD RIDDANCE

It’s time to purge.

The end of a year and start of the new is a great metaphorical event to use to enhance a critical aspect of your constructive creativity—get rid of everything that you can.

Your psyche has a certain quota of open loops and incompletions that it can tolerate, and it will unconsciously block the engagement with new material if it has reached its limit. Release some memory.

Want more business? Get rid of all the old energy in the business you’ve done. Are there any open loops left with any of your clients? Any agreements or disagreements that have not been completed or resolved? Any agendas and communications that need to be expressed? Clean the slate.

Want more clothes? Go through your closets and storage areas and cart to your local donation center everything that you haven’t worn in the last 24 months. And anything that doesn’t feel or look just right when you wear it.

Want to be freer to go where you want to, when you want to, with new transportation? Clean out your glove compartments and trunks of your cars. And for heaven’s sake, get those little things fixed that have been bugging you.

Do you want more wealth? Unhook from the investments and resources that have been nagging at you to change. (And give more than usual do to someone or something that inspires you to do so.)

Do you want to feel more useful? Hand off anything that you are under-utilizing to someone who can employ it better.

Want some new visions for your life and work? Clean up and organize your boxes of old photographs. Want to know what to do with your life when you grow up? Start by cleaning the center drawer of your desk.

You will have to do all this anyway, sometime. Right now don’t worry about the new. It’s coming toward you at lightning speed, no matter what. Just get the decks clear so you’re really ready to rock ‘n’ roll.

—David Allen

Tags: David Allen, Getting Things Done, GTD, GTD Best Practices, Implementing GTD, Inspiration, organization, Productivity
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Question: Can I edit the Next Action list contexts you recommend in the Getting Things Done book?

David’s Answer:  There are no hard rules about these context categories. You might have action lists specific to more than one office or home location; or you might want to combine At Computer and At Office; or distinguish between Web-Access Computer vs. Offline Computer.

You have to navigate among: How many different ways do I want to keep all these different segments? How easily do I want to be able to review them? And how confusing is it if I put too many things together in one list? I recommend you just get started, try out the most common ones (Agendas, Anywhere, Calls, Computer, Home, Errands, Office), and give yourself permission to change or enhance your system to fit your world as you move forward.

Tags: David Allen, Getting Started, Getting Things Done, GTD, Implementation, Implementing GTD, organization, Productivity, trusted system
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You’re managing your commitments with GTD. But how about the people you work with, and your family? David Allen answers the question about how to get others—including coworkers and family members—to “do” GTD. This brief 4-minute podcast is packed with useful information. Available for download now on the David Allen Company podcast page.

Tags: David Allen, Getting Things Done, GTD, Implementing GTD, Inspiration, trusted system
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“The point of GTD is not to finish everything, but to be constructively engaged with our process of creating and completing.”
–David Allen

Tags: David Allen, Getting Things Done, GTD, Inspiration, organization, Productivity
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One-minute video describing life with GTD.

(This video is streaming from YouTube, so it may take a few seconds to load.)

Tags: David Allen Company, Getting Things Done, GTD, Inspiration, Mind Like Water, Productivity
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