Someone recently asked David Allen to share the underlying principle to Getting Things Done® (GTD®). He said: There are several, but the main ones are: 1. CLEAR YOUR HEAD – Your head is for having ideas, not for holding them. In other words, build and maintain an “external brain” to hold all your significant reminders …
Tag Archives: trusted system
Turning Inside Out
I am beginning to get it. The ultimate ingredient for really getting things off my mind is to nurture the part of me that lives from the inside out. Now, when I say, “I’m beginning to get it,” please keep in mind that I’ve been “beginning to get it” for at least 50 years, consciously, …
Are You Micromanaging Your Mind?
One of the greatest traps in growing a business is also a pitfall for self-management: If you don’t trust your system, you can’t let go of operational details and you’ll limit your ability to create at a bigger level. Many successful entrepreneurs I have worked with over the years could be characterized (and have been, …
Why things don’t get done
In the work I do, I often see a dark side to organizations and relationships that have collaboration and being nice as values. It can easily become a smokescreen behind which people avoid accountability and clarity. I have noticed a tendency for people to spend a lot of time in high-energy meetings and discussions, and …
Get your life back to widget-cranking!
Oh, for a widget-cranking job again! Ever have gigs like that, where all you did was crank widgets? Like a summer job in college? Remember how bored you were, and how psychologically healthy it was? All you had to do was show up. Every morning there was a big pile of un-cranked widgets, right next …
Personal Productivity and the Inner Seven-Year-Old
There seems to be someone about seven years old inside of all of us, who never matures, and whose behavior either allows us lots of creative expansion and productivity, or causes us to crash and burn. It seems that the smart (adult) part of me has known what to do for years. It knows that in …
Continue reading “Personal Productivity and the Inner Seven-Year-Old”
GTD Community Story with Rosalie Gale
We discovered Rosalie Gale’s love for GTD on Facebook. We interviewed her so our community could hear her story. Enjoy! 1. How did you hear about GTD? I used to be the queen of making to do lists. I would write them out over and over again and become very overwhelmed by everything I needed …
GTD Setup Guides
One of the best ways to implement Getting Things Done is to follow our expert advice in configuring one of the many tools we have found to work well for GTD. See a sample or buy a Guide now. Here are the current GTD Setup Guides available to support you: GTD & Outlook for Windows GTD …
The 5 Stages of GTD®
Where are you in the 5 I’s? David Allen explains the 5 stages you can expect with GTD: Please accept statistics cookies to watch this video. If you’re not at “Integration” yet, here are some ideas to continue on the Path of GTD Mastery: Read (or reread!) the Getting Things Done book. David Allen has often …
Personal digital assistant or paper for on-the-go collecting
Even though most people always carry their phone, some of the most savvy GTD implementers also use pen and paper for collection. The key is to know what methods reduce the friction in your system.
What’s your standard for email?
I assert that it’s actually less effort to maintain your email inbox at zero than to maintain it at 300 or 3,000. Will it take effort? Of course. But there is gold to be mined there with a trusted practice that will have ripple effects across your workflow and motivation.
GTD is more than time management
Your GTD system, with a current and complete inventory or your commitments, helps you manage yourself effectively regardless of time’s alterations.
What are the first steps to take for an immediate change?
Get a notepad and inbox, capture everything that has your attention. Decide the next actions on each and all of them. Review that total inventory, keeping it current, at least weekly.
The Creativity of Getting Things Done
While many of our enthusiasts love the systematic approach of GTD, we’re seeing more and more creative types embracing Getting Things Done, including musicians, comedians, and television writers.
How to clear your inbox, make decisions and generally get things done
People must ask: What does this mean? Is this actionable or not? What is the outcome that I am committed to?
2 ingredients for making it all work
Where do you stand, today, on the matrix of self-management? In less than two minutes, GTD-Q will give you a visual representation of where you fit in terms of the two critical elements of self management—control and perspective.
Email, calendar, & tasks in Outlook – the GTD way
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.
How to start getting organized
How to get organized? First step is to capture into a simple ‘bucket” all of those things that are not on cruise control – anything that has your attention. Write it all down.
The power of GTD checklists
New to GTD, or a veteran, you can be more productive by harnessing the power of checklists.
Which is more stressful: email or no email?
With the GTD approach to getting email under control, you can stay connected, or take a vacation away from email, and trust that your decision is healthy.
