Making it All Work

What Do You Want?

A Community Contribution from Jim Lindenthal

I truly believe that David Allen’s GTD approach works.  I have been using the GTD approach for almost 5 years and have found that the higher level perspective area is really where the power is.  Specifically around the ”Horizons of Focus“.   Over the years I have focused most of my attention on gaining “Control”.  Collecting all my stuff into a “Trusted System” which I constantly review.  As a Delivery Manager and Consultant, I found myself always in the “Implementer/Micro Manager” GTD-Q quadrant, completing my tasks and staying ahead of everyone that is pulling at me.
Years ago, I attended a GTD Making It All Work seminar and found myself asking one of the David Allen coaches, how to define your 50,000′ Purpose.  The coach told me to answer the questions “What do you want?”.   This simple question sprung a lot of thoughts and ideas which I have documented in a MindMap.
Recently I accomplished something extremely important and exciting for me based on answering this simple questions.  What I want is to “Be an adventurer with my 3 boys”.  What our family accomplished on May 14th, 2010 was to visit the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and see the last lift-off of the Space Shuttle Atlantis. How cool is that!!!
Jim is has been a consultant with Keane for 15+ years, primarily working in the field within the New England region.   Jim has been practicing the GTD® approach for over 5 years and has found it extremely helpful in managing both work and life responsibilities and goals.  Outside of work, Jim is married with three young boys and enjoys cooking, skiing and traveling. You can learn more about Jim at http://twitter.com/jlindenthal.

Seminars with David Allen

David Allen will only be doing 3 public seminars this year, so here’s your chance to learn the system with the master himself. The GTD Making It All Work course offers a higher level, more theoretical overview of the GTD concepts. It’s a fun, informative, and engaging day whether you are new to GTD or have experience with the system. You’ll get the big picture of the process, including prioritizing, applying the core GTD principles, and making change stick. Coming to San Francisco, London, and Washington, DC.  Register before July 15th with the code TIMES10 to receive 10% off any of David Allen Company public events.

Learn more

Rachelle shares her experience with the GTD public events

Rachelle Bonsignori, who has serves as a our wonderful director of events, shares her personal experience with the GTD public seminars.  Rachelle spends most of her time on the road, making sure the events are run without a hitch.  She’s always happy to answer any questions you have about our classes and can be reached at publics@davidco.com.

See the current schedule of classes.

Best Deals: Get a 25% off coupon to attend a public class when you buy the GTD System or become a GTD Connect member.

Book Signing with David Allen in Minneapolis

If you are in the Minneapolis area next Wednesday, David will be doing a book signing that is free and open to the public. Here are the particulars:

When:

Wednesday, April 21st from 11:30am – 1pm CDT.

Where:

Barnes and Noble Downtown
Midwest Plaza, 801 Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis, MN 55402
612-371-4443

Making It All Work at the Beach

Hey, not a bad place to read a book!  Thanks to Susan from Rhode Island for sharing this from her recent vacation in the Caribbean.

Keeping the Runway Clear

David Allen refers to your day-to-day Calendar and Action choices as the “Runway.”  In the Horizons of Focus model, covered in Getting Things Done and more extensively in Making It All Work, it’s the ground floor:

  • 50,000 – Purpose
  • 40,000 – Vision
  • 30,000 – Goals
  • 20,000 – Responsibilities
  • 10,000 – Projects
  • Runway – Calendar & Actions

We got a letter from Mike who has been reading the Getting Things Done book and shared his experience with us of what David’s means by “keeping the runway clear.” [Read more →]

Is GTD Tactical or Strategic?

Someone recently asked one of our coaches: Would you categorize GTD as a “Tactical” system as opposed to “Strategic”?

The answer: GTD is both tactical and strategic. The process of capturing what has your attention in a system that is external from your mind, deciding the outcome and the very next action, and listing those in contexts that match your work style, is tactical.  For example, if you think of a colleague that you need to call, [Read more →]

The Strategic Value of Personal Productivity

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.