The concept of daily or weekly to-do lists is as outdated as rotary phones. We need to have a total, holographic view of everything we want to accomplish, and all the actions required to start any of them. And we need to have access to views of those actions whenever we actually might be able […]
How well do you know the GTD Fundamentals?
How well do you know the GTD® Fundamentals? Designed for newbies getting their systems off the ground and veterans looking to close any gaps, the Level 1: Fundamentals course is offered around the world: March 27 – Stockholm March 29 – London March 31 – Prague March 31 – Milano March 31 – Roma March 31 […]
How complete is your inventory?
Advice for perfectionists
Question: Do you have any GTD pointers for perfectionists? David Allen: Just focus on doing the next action perfectly, which is a lot easier than trying to be perfect about how you approach something bigger. Be as retentive as you want. The only problem is when it stops action. Be a perfectionist about the process, which […]
A Tense Muscle is a Slow One
A tense muscle is a slow one. This is a physiological and demonstrable fact in the martial arts. Could this be true in other aspects of our lives? In karate, the power that can be generated by a punch is primarily due to speed, not muscle. It is the snap at the end of the […]
Choosing a GTD system
Q: How should I choose which system to use (digital vs. paper) for GTD? David Allen: Pay attention to your intuition, or just simply: What do you feel like using as a system? We’ve discovered people tend to resist the GTD® implementation process enough as it is, so you need all the help you can get […]
Get help installing GTD
If you’re looking for a step-by-step manual for getting your GTD system up and running, our Installation Guide is a fantastic resource. The guide includes: Getting Started: Setting Up the Time, Space, and Tools Collecting: Corralling Your “Stuff” Processing: Getting “In” to Empty Organizing: Setting Up the Right Buckets Reflecting: Keeping Your System Functional Doing: […]
What does it mean to be organized?
What does it mean to be organized? It used to be the definition was clean and neat. You know the offices–you walk in the door and it looks likes no one works there. The desk has nothing on it, except for a cool object and a photo. Is this what being organized really means? My […]
GTD and Attention
Managing your projects with GTD
How well are you managing your projects? In the GTD Managing Projects audio program, David Allen and his senior staff share the GTD best practices and models for seamlessly managing your projects. Bonus materials include a rich set of PDF handouts and the GTD Live recording of David leading you through the Natural Planning Model®. […]
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 […]
Getting started with context lists
Q. What do you recommend for lists if I am just starting with GTD? A. One of the biggest challenges that I see when people are setting up their lists initial in their GTD system is they are not really sure what contexts to use. Typically what I recommend is starting with really basic contexts; Agendas to hold the […]
Do you have problems or projects?
Have you got any “stuff” that needs clarifying as a “project” for your Projects list? Anything that you’d call a “problem” right now that should be labeled a project, with a next action? Think about situations and circumstances in your world this week. Anything emerge that still needs resolution or clarification? Make it a project […]
Processing email with GTD
The more facile you get with the GTD models, the faster you’ll be at processing your input, such as new email. We’ve found it takes most people about 30 seconds to process something. That means making a clear decision about what “done” (the outcome) and the “doing” (the next action) looks like. No software will […]
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 […]
The best time to do a GTD Weekly Review
The strength of GTD awareness and ability is knowing that the best time to do a GTD Weekly Review is when you least feel like doing it. The strange force that seems to make these simple but powerful habits so challenging is that we think we need to have the result of the behavior, before […]
Dealing with surprises elegantly and objectively
Surprises happen when you least expect them. But it is much easier to deal with them – accept, integrate, and refocus – when your backlog is minimal. The GTD Weekly Review ensures that you never get too far behind. When new opportunities and challenges appear, they can be dealt with more objectively and elegantly, knowing […]
There are no problems…
Should I separate personal and professional?
Question: I’ve recently implemented GTD in my life and it has helped immensely, but I can’t bring myself to mix work and personal lists. My question is…is it really necessary to mix personal and work lists? I don’t want to think of work while I’m outside of work! (And I don’t, for the record, as […]
In praise of the last minute
I’m going to share some good news with you: The last minute is not always the worst time to do something. A client once shared that there are times when he actually likes to wait to the last minute—his work is better then. It’s more focused, more creative, and more inspired, because of the time […]