The Financial Underground recently interviewed David Allen about how to use the Natural Planning Model for personal finance.  You can read the blog post here, or listen to the podcast.

Interview with David Allen. The Natural Planning Model for Personal Finance.

By Matt James / September 24, 2012

“If I asked you to stop planning, you’d plan how to do it.”—David Allen

Have you mastered the art of stress-free productivity?

How about stress-free cash flow planning?

Many of us would answer “no” to both. Part of the problem is that we go about solving the “problem” of personal finance and cash flow management in a manner that is neither intuitive nor productive.

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Autumn is one of the four most likely seasons for procrastination to show up.  If you’re curious about why bright people like Gwendolyn procrastinate the most, have a look at chapter 12 of David Allen’s Getting Things Done.

Used with permission from Debbie Ridpath Ohi at Inkygirl.com.

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One of our GTD fans on Facebook recently posted about dramatically reducing her email backlog. Good job! How much email backlog do you still have? How would you tackle that as a project? Post a comment about how you would phrase the successful outcome (what does done look like with backlog?), and what your next action is.

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The GTD Natural Planning Model is a great way to plan any project.  A key step in the model, after deciding on the purpose and sucessful outcome, is to do some brainstorming. Here’s a key for successful brainstorming: Have lots of ideas! How? By encouraging everyone to present their ideas without censoring. Sometimes the apparently bad ideas need to get expressed to clear the way for the obviously good ideas. In the brainstorming phase, do your best to encourage complete expression, be open, non-judgmental, and resist critical analysis. Don’t worry—an idea that really doesn’t fit will get sorted out in the organizing and next action phases. And who knows? The idea that doesn’t fit for this project may be just what is needed for another project.

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One of our younger fans describes how he uses GTD to make amazing things happen.

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

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If you are a parent, teacher, or child care provider, you’ve probably wondered how you can inspire kids and teens to use the GTD methods. Maybe you have helped a kid work on a project the night before it’s due, and recognized that the Natural Planning Model would have made the whole thing easier. Or you’ve listened to a teen who’s trying to balance classwork with extracurricular activities, and known that the Horizons of Focus would clarify the situation.

How do you go about communicating the benefits of GTD to kids and teens? Here are some resources for you.

David Allen did a free podcast entitled Describing GTD to Teens that’s a great starting point.

You can also use your free trial membership in GTD Connect to view these additional webinars and listen to podcasts.

David Allen Company CEO Mike Williams and Senior Coach Meg Edwards have just started a new podcast series on GTD Connect called “GTD for Caring Adults and Young People,” that focuses on taking that GTD journey with kids. The first episode talks about family projects.  More to come!

In the Sharing GTD with Kids and Teens webinar, Mike and Meg discuss fun, creative, and practical ways to share the GTD best practices with your kids and teens.

In this audio clip, Meg talks about her experience of sharing about GTD with her daughter, and ways to make GTD fun for kids.  In addition, Meg talks about creative ways to plan for anything—and specifically for summer camp—in Planning Projects with Kids.

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GTD can be for anyone.  Here’s a blog post on Baby + You, pointing out that expectant mothers in the third trimester can benefit from the project management and delegation advice in Getting Things Done.

“Slow down. Be easy and don’t push yourself too hard,” advises Mark Moore, M.D., an anesthesiologist in Tallahassee, Fla., with a sub-specialization in obstetric and gynecologic anesthesia. His advice: Avoid rushing and overscheduling, especially in the late third trimester. “Control the nesting urges — the feeling of needing to have everything perfect before the baby comes.”

You don’t have to fight the feeling completely. Here are some safe and fun ways to indulge the pregnancy nesting urge and prepare for baby’s arrival:

Make lists and delegate. Act as project manager and have hubby or helpful family handle strenuous tasks like installing shelves, putting together furniture or painting the baby’s room.

Read the complete post here.

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If you live in Portland, Oregon, or just want a great reason to visit this lively northwest city, here’s news for you. David Allen Company is presenting a Mastering Workflow for Business Leaders public seminar in Portland on Tuesday, July 10th. This seminar is ideal if you need better productivity solutions for a small team, large division, or your entire company. It’s based on the popular and effective Mastering Workflow seminar. You’ll get practical GTD implementation help for the challenging real-world issues that you face as a business leader. You can also network with other leaders from prominent, dynamic organizations who are already registered.

Click here for more information.

Since many organizations find extra value in encouraging workgroups to attend together, there are special rates for groups, as well as for Mastering Workflow alumni, not-for-profit employees, and GTD Connect members. To find out more please email customerservice@davidco.com.

For other Mastering Workflow for Business Leaders locations, click here.

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Here’s some great news for Microsoft Outlook users. Netcentrics has released version 3.2 of their Getting Things Done® Outlook® Add-In. You can review the new features and benefits here and read their press release with additional details by clicking the …more link below.

Netcentrics offers a free 30-day trial, so you have plenty of time to take this terrific new software for a test drive. [Read more →]

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Steve Jobs would ask you to leave a meeting if you had nothing to contribute.  Ken Segall saw it happen, and describes it in an article called Meetings Are A Skill You Can Master, And Steve Jobs Taught Me How.  The article points out that, “Every company wants to maximize productivity and cut down on unnecessary meetings.”  But they don’t always know how to go about making meetings more effective.

David Allen cautions that “one of the greatest blocks to organizational productivity is the lack of decision by a senior person about the necessity of a meeting, and with whom, to move an important issue forward.” [Getting Things Done, Chapter 10: Getting Projects Under Control]

How often have you been in a meeting where someone wasn’t really necessary?  How would your organization react if you declined to attend unnecesary meetings?

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