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?

2 Comments »

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.

2 Comments »

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.

No Comments »

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.

No Comments »

No Comments »

If you need to get on top of your Microsoft Outlook® email, calendar, and tasks by implementing GTD, this is the webinar for you.  You’ll learn the best recommendations for building a GTD system in Outlook to seamlessly handle your work and personal commitments.  It’s only 90 minutes, and it’s packed with tips and tricks that will start saving you time right away.

Wednesday, June 27, from 10am-11:30am Pacific Time

You can find more information about GTD Public Webinars by clicking here.

GTD® & Outlook® Webinar – June 27, 2012

No Comments »

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?

2 Comments »

American business travelers took 445 million trips last year.  Between delayed or cancelled flights, uncomfortable accommodations and inconvenient downtime, most people find business travel to be frustrating and a drain on their productivity.

David Allen, the consummate road warrior, will present a free one-hour webinar on how he stays productive while traveling.

Stress-Free Productivity on the Road on June 5, 2012 at 11:00 a.m. Pacific / 2:00 p.m. Eastern.

In this educational and entertaining webinar, hosted by CLEAR and the David Allen Company, David will discuss how to:

• maximize productivity in the weird windows of time that show up when you travel
• utilize the email snack
• optimize the appropriate travel tools
• manage reentry into your home life without the post-travel collapse

Space is limited, so please click here to sign up now.

David Allen Company provides training and consulting services designed to increase performance, capacity and aligned execution for organizations and individuals.

CLEAR is a membership program that shortens travel times by providing members with exclusive access to expedited lines at airport security checkpoints.

To take advantage of a 3-month free trial with CLEAR, click here and enter CGTDCLEAR in the promo code field of the enrollment form. The code expires August 31, 2012.

10 Comments »

Hi Folks,

Before you spend another minute creating yet another list with ABC, 123, or high-medium-low codes as a way to define your priorities, read my essay this month. You may discover there’s a more natural path for getting you what you need to get the right things done.

All the best,

DAVID’S FOOD FOR THOUGHT

WHY ABC PRIORITY CODES DON’T WORK

“How do I set priorities?” Because I hear that so frequently, I assume most people think they could and should be doing it better.

The “ABC” priority codes don’t work. Listing your top 10 things you think have to get done, in order, doesn’t work. You’ll have a different priority set at 8:00 tonight than you will at 10:30 this morning. And sometimes the most strategic thing for you to do will be to water your plants. Like, when you’ve been in six meetings, felt beat up in five of them, and by 4:30 your brain is scrambled eggs, and you barely have the attention span of a gnat. That’s the time to water your plants and fill your stapler. Why? Because you can’t do anything else, and you’re going to have to water your plants sometime anyway.

On a day-to-day, moment-to-moment basis, there is no algorithm or formula that will last very long, or is really worth trying to nail down in some written or coded system. The four criteria that you will use to decide what to do are (in order of precedence):

Context (what can I do where I am?)
Time (when do I have to do something else?)
Energy (how wasted/fresh am I?)
Priority (what has the highest payoff for me if I do it?)

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.

4 Comments »

Get clear, get current, get creative.  Sound good to you? That’s what you get from a weekly review. David Allen calls it ”the critical success factor” in GTD. Lifehacker has two recent posts on this topic. The first is their link to our video of David talking about the value of the weekly review, and why it provides the leverage you need to be more productive.  The second is a how-to that includes practical tips for getting into the groove of doing a weekly review.

Your time is valuable. The time you put into a weekly review is a guaranteed investment in yourself.

No Comments »