Category Archives: Featured

David Allen has reconnected with Kevin Wilde, for a discussion about learning, leadership, and coachability. Kevin describes how he heard about GTD, and his success with making it a part of the culture at General Mills. His mission in the last few years has been to dive deeper into the science and practical application of leadership coachability. He has found that leaders who plateau below their potential have one thing in common: They stop seeking feedback so they can improve.

David Allen interviewed Daniel Levitin several years ago after the publication of The Organized Mind. In this interview, David talks with Daniel about his new book, Successful Aging: A Neuroscientist Explores the Power and Potential of Our Lives. They begin by discussing the neuroscientific basis for GTD. Then Daniel explains that there are two principles from GTD that are crucial for successful aging.

Richard Medcalf consults with C-level executives about leadership and strategy. The company he founded is Xquadrant. In this interview, he discusses how he learned about GTD, and his tools and practices. He also introduces thought-provoking principles and questions for leaders. He created a GTD-specific version of his Checklist for Challenging Times.

Josiah Ronco is a touring guitar technician who also has two other careers, repairing guitars and managing real estate. He uses OmniFocus as a list manager, Evernote for reference, and the Mac OS calendar for managing date-specific and time-specific information. His advice for those new to GTD? Read and reread Getting Things Done, and do the weekly review. We range around various GTD topics, and you’ll also get to meet his dog. Near the end of the interview he goes into fascinating detail on the logistics of touring with the band. If you’ve ever wondered how a band can do four shows in four cities on four consecutive days, you’re about to find out.

Tamara McLendon is the personification of a high achiever who adopts GTD to achieve even more. In this interview, she describes her journey from working for others to growing her own business. Along the way, she began implementing GTD, and has gone on to become a certified trainer. You’ll hear her describe her own system and tools. She also goes into detail about how she trains and supports all of her employees in a culture of accountability and professional development. Tamara is the president of LongLeaf System and Network Specialists, a nationwide managed IT services provider.

As you listen to David’s interview with Dan Greenleaf, you’ll hear a theme of service in his present and past work. He is currently the CEO of Providence Service Corporation, following work in several other large healthcare services companies. Prior to his business career, he was a captain and navigator in the US Air Force. You’ll hear the pilot training in his “plan the flight, then fly the plan” approach to projects. Dan notes that as life has gotten more complex, GTD is the best tool for allowing him to be present with other people.

Part 6 of many – David Allen and his senior staff share the GTD® best practices and models for seamlessly managing your projects.

Part 5 of many – David Allen and his senior staff share the GTD® best practices and models for seamlessly managing your projects.

We have a delightful Slice of GTD Life interview for you, with Jim Small. He’s a professor of pathology at Rocky Vista University, and self-confessed “science nerd.” In addition to his background in medicine, he has studied computer programming, which he credits with thinking sequentially in a way that works well with GTD.

Bruce Fetzer took a productivity training with David Allen in the 1980s. Since then he has been applying what he learned. His work with the John E. Fetzer Memorial Trust has been his major focus in the last few years. The mission of the trust is to advance integrated, relational views of reality through exploring scientific frontiers and universal spiritual practices. David Allen engages Bruce in a discussion of the role of business in doing good work through meta-science, or the study of the scientific method. They also explore how to integrate inner life with outer action.

Join us for a discussion of how two educators apply the GTD methodology. Erik Johnson teaches high school in Chicago, and David Drake is a professor of microbiology at the University of Iowa. They both have a passion for teaching, and have adapted GTD make their busy profession easier to manage. You’ll hear them talk about their areas of focus, projects, and daily routines around email, meetings, and teaching. They also consider how educators can adapt context-based lists to their environment. As a bonus, they both describe what tools they use and why.

At the GTD Summit, David Allen briefly shared a vision of the ultimate GTD app which consists of 19 pages of hand-drawn drafts of the screens he would want to use. To expand on that topic, we recorded David talking with Eric Mack about the past, present, and future of GTD software. It’s a wide-ranging discussion with stories that will inform, entertain, and maybe even surprise you.

Kevin Kelly calls himself a “packager of ideas” and a “predictor of the present.” Both of those are in evidence as Kevin talks with David about range of ideas.

Kevin is a co-founder of Wired magazine, where his title is Senior Maverick. His most recent book is called The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future, which David calls a must-read.

With a PhD in sleep science, Dan Pardi has plenty to say about the relationship between sleep and productivity. In this wide-ranging interview, David Allen talks with Dan about how sleep, rest, and mental acuity affect productivity.

Dr. Keri Hobert has worked for several community health organizations, and is currently with the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless in Denver. Her GTD journey began around 2012 with a search for a list manager. She has tried Things, Nirvana, Outlook, and now uses OmniFocus for her lists. In addition to hearing her describe her own system, you?ll find that she is dedicated to sharing about GTD with her colleagues. Beyond describing the benefits of GTD, she provides her staff with structured support to learn and apply the principles.

Part 5 of 5 – Over 2½ hours of expert coaching advice to support you in this key GTD® practice. Features David Allen and his senior coaching team.

Part 4 of 5 – Over 2½ hours of expert coaching advice to support you in this key GTD® practice. Features David Allen and his senior coaching team.

Andy Hickman is a theologian who came up with fascinating intersections among David Allen’s Getting Things Done methodology and the philosophies of Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas. In particular, he describes ways that the 5 steps of GTD align with Aquinas’s 12 distinct actions of intellect and will.

Part 2 of 3 – David Allen talks with GTD® trainer Justin Hale about his journey with GTD®. Justin notes that the journey includes cultivating self-awareness about our habits. He emphasizes the importance of deliberate practice to change behaviors. More than a set of hacks, he considers GTD® to be a complete system.