Let’s talk about the Horizons of Focus.  In my experience, this is one of the parts of the GTD approach that can take a little time for people to get their arms around. This is where priorities and perspective live. Whereas traditional time management approaches attempted to give people an ABC type coding system for defining their priorities, David Allen’s GTD approach has always been that priority codes are too simple for the complexity of most people’s changing lives, as the only measure of what to do. For example, assigning an “A” priority to something (or flagging is the popular method in email programs these days) could change with the next new piece of input you get. Plus, in my experience, people tend to get lazy with that code or flag without really deciding the next action. A flag, or #1, or lighting the email on fire still doesn’t tell you what your next action is. So is David saying to never use those? Of course not.  Just be sure that what you are marking as high priority has a a clearly defined next action and be willing to change that priority the moment your world changes–which it will. [Read more →]

6 Comments »

If you are still struggling trying to get the GTD Weekly Review to become a habit, you’re not alone!  It’s why GTD Connect, David Allen’s online learning center, sends out a Weekly Review reminder email to our members.  It’s a dose of inspiration, sent once a week, looking at a common speed bumps for people with their GTD practice. Here’s a recent one:

Still procrastinating about a bunch of things on your action lists? There are usually one of two reasons for this: (1) they have slowly slipped in importance and interest to you or (2) they aren’t really next actions (so you don’t really know what to do, where, about it).   If (1) give yourself permission to move them to Someday/Maybe.   If (2) then gird your loins and get back to the granularity of real next actions on your lists – not small sub-projects about your stuff.

- David Allen

1 Comment »

David Allen answers the timeless question, “What are the first steps in getting organized?”

If by “getting organized” you mean getting relaxed and in control, it actually involves five steps, only one of which is actually the specific “organizing” component.  1) Collect the work. Corral everything that has potential meaning for you. 2) Process the collected work and associated notes. What specifically do they mean in terms of your commitments about them? What can you toss? What are the actions required on what you keep? 3) Organize the results of what you’ve collected and processed into retrievable lists and groupings. For instance, when you’re at a phone you should be able to see all the calls you need to make. 4) Keep things current—which involves a weekly review. What are your outstanding commitments and agreements? What new ones have emerged? 5) Decide what you want to do. Make a choice about how to allocate your resources, and feel comfortable about that decision.

Grab the free article or buy the laminated card set that summarizes these phases as well.

2 Comments »

Looking for the perfect Christmas gift for your co-workers?  Out of ideas on what to get the boss who has everything?  Still hoping your co-workers would just “get” GTD and make your life easier?  Buy them the new GTD Workflow Map!  We have a new “office bundle” that includes one large Workflow poster, one small poster, coaching DVD + 10 additional folded-desk size maps.  Learn more.

No Comments »

Is GTD too structured for creative people? Will it work if you don’t like rigid schedules and plans?  Could an artist possibly “do” GTD.

Coach Julie Ireland weighs in:

I tend to rebel against too much structure/planning. At the same time I do need a certain amount of structure, otherwise my creative energy gets drained from the uncertainty of not being clear about what my commitments are. The beauty of GTD lies in putting enough time and energy into what we call “defining our work and responsibilities”, so that when we have discretionary time we can choose very consciously and purposely to work off of our pre-defined lists, or in my case go and play in my art studio. There is real power in making that choice as the most appropriate thing for me to do, vs. attempting to work in my studio because I’m either avoiding my responsibilities or simply haven’t defined them clearly enough.

6 Comments »

A GTD’er wrote to David Allen asking:

I am part of the senior management in a company and am responsible for a particular department. With many changes happening in the company such as growth and expansion, in a very short span of time, things happen ad hoc and lot of time gets spent in miscellaneous activities. This ad hoc confusion de-motivates me and does not give me a purpose to work in the interest of the company, as a lot of this work is thankless in nature. Hence, how should I address this?  Should I ask my CEO for direction and let him know about things not being interesting or do I have to motivate myself to drive and take charge of the situation and take the growth process ahead?  What is your suggestion?

David replied:

You have asked a very good question, but one that I can only feed back options. Much depends on the bigger questions about what’s important to you and where you’re going. If your long-term goal is clear enough, [Read more →]

1 Comment »

Many of you were excited about the new GTD System we announced last week.  But, our international GTD’ers were disappointed to find out that it could only be shipped to US & Canada.  We’re excited to let you know that we’ve aranged to have the GTD System shipped anywhere in the world through a special link in our store.

Many of you also asked, “Are the CDs new?”  Yes, 5 out of the 6 CDs are completely new content.  One of the CDs is a popular one of Coach Meg Edwards walking through a guided Weekly Review. We thought it was so good that we included it in this new set.  But all of the other CDs are new content with David and the staff.

No Comments »

A GTD’er asked David Allen:

I have read Getting Things Done many times and am attending the Boston seminar.  I have a question:  Why is it so hard for human beings to get organized?  Why do the techniques you recommend require so much effort and encounter such resistance from human nature?  I’m not interested in this academically, but if there is some biological/psychological/historical aspect of human nature that makes it so difficult to organize, it might help us learn how to overcome them and get where we should be…

David’s response: [Read more →]

5 Comments »

Still wrestling with really mastering GTD? The weekly review still a conceptual mystery? Still looking for the keys for getting started and making it stick? We just announced a new package, called the GTD System, that includes a wealth of resources for newbies to GTD experts.  It includes a comprehensive set of tools and learning resources for setting up your GTD system, knowing the critical success factors and getting it to stick–once and for all. You’ll get 6 CD’s with David and his senior coaching staff, plus the GTD book, GTD System Guides, 30-day GTD Connect membership and 25% discount on a public GTD seminar.  And, it’s an unbelievable value for what’s included. Really.  Check it out.

5 Comments »

08/17/2010 – We now have a GTD & BlackBerry Setup Guide. Visit the David Allen Company store to get your copy. It’s loaded with tips, tricks and expert coaching advice of applying GTD to your BlackBerry.

Wayne Pepper, one of the senior staff at David Allen Company, uses a BlackBerry device in his implementation of GTD.  We thought you might like to hear some of his tips & tricks about using it effectively with his GTD system, including avoiding having it become a constant source of latest & loudest!

Listen to Wayne’s 15 minute podcast.

13 Comments »