Tell us a little about yourself:
Komal Thakkar from Australia.
What do you do for work?
am the Founder, Managing Director for Productivity First and a Certified GTD Coach. My company, Productivity First, is a certified partner of David Allen Company in Australia.
How long have you been practicing GTD, how did you hear about it, which tools do you use, etc.?
I have practiced GTD for over 15 years.
I was gifted a small iPod® with the GTD Audio book by my brother-in-law at a time when I was out of control due to young kids, juggling work and life! My eldest son was 5 at the time, he is 20 now! I am forever thankful to Raj for this gift and indebted to David for creating this methodology.
I have been certified to teach GTD since early 2015 and enjoy the opportunity to spread GTD all over Australia via coaching and training teams and individuals.
Until recently Wunderlist® had been my choice of list manager for my GTD lists. I have moved to using Outlook® tasks and Microsoft® To-Do for my GTD lists since start of the year. My family and I still use Wunderlist for sharing shopping lists, medical histories, etc.
OneNote® is my preferred tool for storing reference materials and checklists.
After helping hundreds of clients in using a variety of list managers, I can tell you that the best tool is the one you are comfortable with.
How has GTD made a difference in your work and life?
GTD has created a balance in my life to an extent that I am unable to imagine life without GTD now! It is completely integrated with my life and allows me to be present in whatever I am doing and have a quality time with my family.
As a GTD Coach and Trainer, I have been fortunate to have worked with people at different professional levels ranging from Board Directors, C-level Executives, Department Heads, Managers all the way to new hires in a number of industries such as Healthcare, Education, Government, Legal, Construction and Financial Services. Such a diversity in GTD clientele keeps my work interesting and exciting! GTD helps me navigate all this and stay on top of it. I love my work:)
What areas of GTD are you doing really well (or at least better than you used to)?
David Allen Academy’s continuing education program helps me get deeper levels of this methodology. One thing I have noticed is that I have got really good at the ability to recalibrate fast and turn a messy day into a productive one. I can be productive even on days when I am having low cognitive energy.
I would say that I am also having a lot of fun with my someday maybe list!!
What areas of GTD would you like to get even better at doing?
Path of GTD mastery never ends – I am currently working on my Horizon 4: Vision and Horizon 5: Purpose and Principles.
What is one piece of advice you would give to someone just starting out with GTD?
Start with whichever part of GTD you are comfortable with. This could be the capturing or the 2-minute rule. In the long term, however, you want to be addicted to an empty intray/inbox and the weekly reviews; and of course, addicted to having the cognitive space as you are capturing everything that has your attention.
Give yourself time to get better at GTD. Go back to the basics whenever you fall off the GTD wagon, as it will happen at some point. Start by capturing and follow through with the five steps.