Join David Allen and Senior Coach Meg Edwards for a GTD Connect webinar about “Customizing Your GTD System.” They’ll talk about what you can customize without affecting the integrity of the GTD methodology, signs you’ve over- or under-customized, and creative ways to make your GTD system more your own. No matter where you are in your journey with GTD—just getting a system off the ground or looking for fine-tuning to optimize your workflow—this webinar will give you helpful coaching about ways you can customize your system to work better for you, including your tools, contexts, projects, and the Weekly Review.

Open to all monthly and annual GTD Connect members. Tuesday, May 14, 10am—11am PT.

Not a member? Join for $48 and get this webinar and the wealth of content on GTD Connect for 30 days.

(Please note: live webinars like this one with David, podcasts, and public seminar special rates are not available for free guest pass members.)

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In my experience, the greatest successes don’t come from grandiose scenarios of good intentions engendered by temporarily pumped-up motivation. Rather, the most lasting and significant positive effects result from small things, done consistently, in strategic places.—David Allen

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David Allen did a live Q&A with Fast Company today.  Click here to see the questions that were submitted, along with David’s answers.  From runway to projects to goals, there are plenty of examples of how people like you are applying GTD in their lives.

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David Allen will be doing a live Q&A with Fast Company.

GTD! Q&A With “Getting Things Done” Author David Allen Live

Join Fast Company as we chat with the popular productivity expert.

Join Fast Company on Tuesday, November 20th at 3pm ET for a live Q&A with David Allen, author of Getting Things Done.

Click here at 3pm ET on November 20th.

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Ever feel like your email processing would be better if your coworkers just sent better emails? David Allen Company is offering a 30-minute Express webinar on this very topic. You’ll hear advice from one of their senior GTD coaches about the best practices for email communications with others—including when to use email, using To vs: Cc, writing effective subject lines, creating agreements about response times, and more.   Get tips you can bring back to your teams for more productive email communication.

Tuesday, November 27th from 10am-10:30am. Open to all GTD Connect members. Not a member? Try a free, two-week guest pass, which makes you eligible to sign up for this webinar. Look for the registration link on the home page after after logging in.

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David Allen describes the profound operational principle of knowledge work as:
You have to think about your stuff more than you realize but not as much as you’re afraid you might.

Asked to expand on that, here is David’s reply:
It actually comes from my experience that most people are avoiding thinking about their “stuff” appropriately – i.e. clarifying what it means to them and what they intend to do about it. It only takes a few seconds to decide if something is actionable, and if so, what the next action is. But people avoid that decision like the plague. They think if they think at all about it, there’s way too much to think about…so they don’t think at all! And then it’s hung up like a psychic albatross around their neck.

Hope that helps,
David

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Peter Drucker said that “most of the tasks of the executive require, for minimum effectiveness, a fairly large quantum of time.” That’s from the Know Thy Time chaper in The Effective Executive, published almost half a century ago.

Sure, every knowledge worker could benefit from having large blocks of time for doing pre-defined work. But the practical reality is that most workers have schedules that are more fragmented than what Drucker might have imagined.  When he wrote that book, the workers he was addressing didn’t have cell phones and laptops. They didn’t use air travel for mass transit they way workers do today. They didn’t have Skype meetings with overseas clients outside the 9-5 workday.

GTD to the rescue! If you’ve organized your next actions into contexts that work for you, you’ll find that you can take advantage of small chunks of time to plow through lots of tasks. By organizing with your busy schedule in mind, you’ll be able to use those few minutes here and there to get things done that you would need to get done anyway, at some time. This is not to say you can neglect to schedule those large blocks of time for doing executive tasks. Just be smart by planning for how you’ll use the small windows of time as well.

What can you do with 15 minutes, before your meeting at 11:30?

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Hi Folks,

Want to know one of the easiest ways to act on your creative ideas? Stop trying to hold them in your mind. Your mind is a great place to have ideas, but a terrible place to manage them.

All the best,

DAVID’S FOOD FOR THOUGHT

ARE YOU STILL USING YOUR HEAD TO TRACK YOUR AGREEMENTS?

There is a light year of difference between a system that has merely a lot of our commitments objectified and one that has 100% of the total. And few people have ever gotten to a totally empty head, with absolutely every project, action item, and potential agreement we have made with ourselves and others out and available in an easily reviewable format.

My hat’s off to you if you’re trying to keep mental lists as reminders of things to do—but I’ll bet those lists are not anywhere close to complete. Consequently they are putting enormous and unnecessary work on your psyche. If you don’t have everything in a system that the system ought to have, there is still no full trust in that system, and minimum motivation to keep it up and keep it current.

This excerpt is from a recent issue of David’s “Productive Living” newsletter. It’s free and sent about every 4 weeks. You’ll find essays from David Allen, thought-provoking quotes, and productivity tips you can use every day.

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How about this for a free email productivity hack? Breathing!

In all seriousness, there is a phenomenon called “email apnea” that afflicts 80% of us. Linda Stone describes how email and other screen-focused activities tend to compromise our breathing and reduce the quality of our attention.

The Connected Life: From Email Apnea To Conscious Computing

 

Definition: Shallow breathing or breath holding while doing email, or while working or playing in front of a screen.

While we have a greater tendency toward email apnea or screen apnea, while doing email and texting on laptops and smartphones, we are at risk for breath holding or shallow breathing in front of any screen, any time. Not only does this increase stress levels, it impacts our attitude, our sense of emotional well-being, and our ability to work effectively.

Why are we doing this? Our posture is often compromised, especially when we use laptops and smartphones. Arms forward, shoulders forward, we sit in a position where it’s impossible to get a healthy and full inhale and exhale. Further, anticipation is generally accompanied by an inhale — and email, texting, and viewing television shows generally includes a significant dose of anticipation. Meanwhile, the full exhale rarely follows.

Read the full article here.

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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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