Goals are tools, not golden calves. I was facilitating a senior level discussion in a medical technology company, and they were grappling with the issue of the role of R&D and how to “fill the pipeline” with new products that would keep them competitive. As one top exec proposed some aggressive goals for the number …
Category Archives: Free Resources
Episode #36 – Overcoming Procrastination
Listen to a fascinating segment with David Allen where he outlines the sources of procrastination, shares a few fun examples of the dynamics at work, and talks about the steps you can take to overcome it. Listen Now Subscribe or Download iTunes Stitcher Libsyn Google Play Music Spotify SoundCloud
GTD Tips for Getting Your Inbox to Zero
Looking for a quick summary on how to get your inbox to zero? Click here for a helpful free article from one of the GTD coaches.
Get a Grip on Your Process, or Give It Up
If you’re not willing to commit to keeping your head completely empty, it’s not worth trying to make any “personal management system” work. Give it up. Don’t kid yourself. Throw your productivity tools away. OK, I’m becoming more direct and succinct. (At 72 I think that serves us both, and I choose not to beat …
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Episode #35 – The Case for Capturing
Listen to an engaging presentation David Allen gave on the case for capturing. In it, David explores the concepts of psychic RAM, society’s move into knowledge work, and the freedom we feel as we begin to implement the GTD methodology. Listen Now Subscribe or Download iTunes Stitcher Libsyn Google Play Music Spotify SoundCloud …
Work/Life Balance
There’s not really work/life balance, there’s just balance. I mean, work is anything you want to get done, right? It doesn’t have to be pejorative. Having a good vacation can be work. Just think of the affirmation: Wow, this really works! Is that a bad thing? There’s a lot of stuff we have to do …
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, …
Episode #34 – Crafting Your External Brain
David Allen presents a webinar on how to craft integrated external systems that allow you to focus more productively. He explores the cognitive science behind the external brain, what the purpose of it is, and how you can use it most effectively with your GTD system. Listen Now Subscribe or Download iTunes Stitcher …
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Going the Distance to Mind Like Water
There is a light-year of difference between a system that has merely a lot of our stuff objectified, and one that has 100%. Few people have experienced what I’m talking about, because there are few people who have ever gotten to a 100% empty head—absolutely every project, action item, and potential commitment we have made …
Episode #33 – Wrangling Your Priorities
David Allen and Coach Meg Edwards give expert coaching on wrangling your priorities. The discussion includes three common challenges: competing priorities, mapping day-to-day priority choices to your higher level goals, and prioritizing as a group. Listen Now Subscribe or Download iTunes Stitcher Libsyn Google Play Music Spotify SoundCloud
5 Signs You’re Getting Better at GTD
1. It feels weird to keep stuff on your mind Capturing what has your attention is a key practice with GTD. Getting better at GTD means you are capturing what’s on your mind when it shows up, moment-by-moment and keeping something ON your mind, well, it just feels weird. 2. You empty your inboxes regularly …
How’s your altitude aptitude?
Over the years, it has become more and more helpful in my work to help people understand the ecosystem of GTD® (particularly priorities) by framing their thinking and decision-making around my altitude model: GROUND: Calendar/Actions – The nitty-gritty this-moment doing level. Call Fred. Buy tires. Draft proposal. Email Susan. HORIZON 1: Projects – The things …
Episode #32 – The Better You Get
David Allen says, “The better you get, the better you’d better get.” This podcast is about how to improve your skills, when you’re already proficient at GTD®. Coaches Meg Edwards and Kelly Forrister will guide you through some of the coaching they would give to a client who already has a solid foundation and plenty …
Outsmarting Your Mind
I have the feeling and the hope every now and again that in 25 years what GTD teaches will be such a “given” that we may wonder what it was like to walk around with such pressure and stress from our suboptimal thinking habits. The advent of the “knowledge worker” society has given so many …
Episode #31 – David Allen talks with Dr. Theo Compernolle
David talks with Dr. Theo Compernolle, a doctor with a 35-year background in medicine, psychiatry, teaching, and research. His most recent book is Brain Chains. You’ll find this interview to be educational, and perhaps challenging, as you learn that we may be using technology in counter-productive ways. Listen Now Subscribe or Download iTunes Stitcher Libsyn …
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Getting (back?) on the wagon with GTD
It all makes sense. You want to do it. And yet, you aren’t doing it. If this sounds familiar in relation to your GTD practice, know that you are not alone. The methodology is incredibly powerful, but only to the extent that one actually uses it. Perhaps because of this disparity, I sometimes see clients …
The dark side of collaborative cultures
The dark side of collaborative cultures is the allergy they foster to holding anyone responsible for having the ball. “Mine or yours?” is unfortunately not in the common vocabulary of many such organizations. There is a sense that that would be impolite. “We’re all in this together” is a worthy sentiment, but seldom a reality …
Speeding up by slowing down…
I want to talk about one of the more mysterious best practices in the GTD®methodology: the art of speeding up by slowing down. I am making the assumption that all of you reading this are on some track of improvement and growth to begin with. I mean, why speed up, instead of slow down, as …
Managing projects with GTD
Having a complete and current projects list is one of the cornerstones to GTD mastery. To support you in getting there, here are 10 keys to defining and managing projects: 1. Projects are defined as outcomes that will require more than one action step to complete and that you can mark off as finished in …
Episode #30 – David Allen GTD® Keynote in Milan – Part Two
In this conclusion of a two-part episode, David Allen shares an in-depth, sweeping overview of GTD® to an audience in Milan, Italy. Learn best practices, as well as what you can expect to have happen in your life once you start applying them. Listen Now Subscribe or Download iTunes Stitcher Libsyn Google Play Music Spotify …
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