Getting Things Done

This is an installation and implementation session on the higher Horizons of Focus?. We will spend time exploring if anything has your attention at each of the horizons, and will end with integrating the horizons at the project and next action levels. During the session, there are sections where you can create or refine what you have on each of the horizons. The prompt questions for each of the horizons are listed below. These sections were about five minutes each in the live webinar. We have edited out those sections of silence for this recording. Please feel free to stop the recording as you reach those sections, and use the prompt questions below to work on each of your horizons. The webinar concluded with these two thoughts: Without clear purpose and direction you could easily be busy doing off-course things and wonder why a meaningful life is so elusive Getting the right small things done directly contributes to an authentic and meaningful life HORIZON 5: Purpose and Principles My purpose and principles contribute to my authentic life. Trigger Questions: What gets me up out of bed in the morning? What is most meaningful to me? What, if I am doing or expressing it, makes me feel like I am being who I really am, at my best? When do I feel like I really ?show up?? What really matters to me, in terms of how I live and work? What do I hold as standards for myself, no matter what, in terms of how I am living and working? HORIZON 4: Vision My purpose and principles influence my vision. My vision contributes to my purpose and principles. Trigger Questions: If I were wildly successful fulfilling my purpose, living my principles, what might be true for me, several years from now? What might I be doing? What might I have? What experiences might I be having? Contexts: Career Lifestyle Energy/health Finances Relationships Time horizons: 5 years? 10 years? 20 years? More? HORIZON 3: Goals and Objectives My vision influences my goals and objectives. My goals and objectives contribute to my vision. Trigger Question: Given what?s currently in play, and what I?ve thought about today, what are the things I need to have happen, or would like to have true for me, within the next 12 to 24 months? HORIZON 2: Areas of Focus and Accountability My goals and objectives influence my areas of focus and accountability. My areas of focus and accountability contribute to my goals. Trigger Questions: What are the areas of accountability in my work? What are the areas of focus in my life? HORIZON 1: Projects My areas of focus and accountability influence my projects. My projects contribute to my areas of focus and accountability. GROUND: Calendar/Actions My projects influence my next actions. My next actions contribute to my projects. My next actions get the things that are meaningful to me done.

David explores the psychology of productivity with William Elliott, a counseling psychologist and GTD master trainer in South Africa. William describes his own journey with attention-deficit disorder, and finding GTD as a support for becoming more organized. He has wise words about how humility and accepting our limitations can improve our productivity and the overall quality of our lives. You'll likely resonate with his description of the background stress around "What do I say no to?" and how GTD helps with decision making and prioritizing. Regarding what's on our lists, he notes that there is an advance beyond safely ignoring to reach comfortably ignoring. Responding to a question from David, William says that his "brain has accepted that GTD is the life raft." (January 2018)

From the archives (July 2013) - Senior Coaches Meg Edwards and Kelly Forrister share the 3 types of ways to review your GTD system. You'll learn about what's best to review on a daily, weekly, quarterly, and yearly basis to keep on track and aligned with what's important to you. Includes helpful tips around reviewing projects, action lists, goals, areas of focus, and more.

David Allen talks about the question, "Is there really too much to do?"

From the archives (May 2010): Audio Only version of the third episode in the Road to Black Belt "boot camp" series, where Coaches Meg Edwards & Kelly Forrister take a deep dive into the Review & Do phases of GTD.

From the archives: Listen in as David chats with best-selling author Dan Pink, getting an inside look into his own path, his research and observations about people and the nature of work, and his own use of GTD for managing himself with all of that. Dan is a journalist and the author of Free Agent Nation, A Whole New Mind, Drive, and To Sell Is Human (April 2012)

David Allen explores how groups that want to foster friendliness can fall into the trap of not making it clear who is accountable for which outcomes. The result is not so nice.

From the archives: David Allen sits down with John Jantsch from Duct Tape Marketing and talk about Getting Things Done®

David Allen offers this reminder that you can be smarter than your mind by capturing, clarifying, and organizing your thoughts.

David Allen talks about capturing into your physical in-tray. …………………………………………………. https://gettingthingsdone.com https://gtdconnect.com https://www.instagram.com/gtdtimes/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/david-allen-company/ https://www.facebook.com/gettingthingsdone https://www.youtube.com/user/gtd …………………………………………………. #GTD #gettingthingsdone #DavidAllen #GTDpartner #GTDofficial #mindlikewater #FreedomFocusGTD #WeeklyReview

From the archives: David Allen interviews Garrison, the son of a staff member who was coached in GTD® at the age of 10 years old. What happens when someone grows up on GTD®?

From the archives: A discussion about all of the components that can possibly make up your ideal GTD® system, since there is no one perfect system.

From the archives: David talks with Greg Voisen from Inside Personal Growth as they discuss GTD. The topics and conversation have as much value today as they did back then.

David Allen talks about the three Cs of effective systems -- Consistent, Current, and Context-driven. …………………………………………………. https://gettingthingsdone.com https://gtdconnect.com https://www.instagram.com/gtdtimes/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/david-allen-company/ https://www.facebook.com/gettingthingsdone https://www.youtube.com/user/gtd …………………………………………………. #GTD #gettingthingsdone #DavidAllen #GTDpartner #GTDofficial #mindlikewater #FreedomFocusGTD #WeeklyReview

From the archives: Different perspectives on what's good to know and what's good to use when it comes to the abundance of list managers that are now available as GTD becomes more popular.

David Allen talks about the apparent, and the more subtle, power of naming things.

David hops on the Work Awesome podcast to talk about Getting Things Done.

From the archives: David was interviewed by Doug Goldstein about GTD in general but also about how it translates into the financial planning side of life.

From the archives: Kelly Forrester and David Allen talk about pointers and tips, and where can you start, when it comes to learning GTD.

From the Archives: David Allen interviews Evan Taubenfeld, a young up-and-coming rock musician, writer, and producer. David calls him a prime candidate for the poster child of GTD. Listen in as Evan shares how he uses GTD in his creative process.

Lots to discuss about challenging times and the economy, and people trying to do more with less and how that relates to their individual and organizational systems.

From the archives: Kelly Forrester, David Allen and Robert Peake talk about some of the best practices to complete the Organize portion of the 5 step process, as they also describe what Organize really means.

From the archives: What would your organizational structure be like if everyone is fully accountable for the roles they hold, both implicitly and explicitly? Can you imagine meetings where the things that you have your attention on are consistently and efficiently processed to concrete Projects & Next Actions? Join David Allen and Kelly Forrister as they speak with the experts from HolacracyOne. They'll talk about the "Holacracy" operating system, how it's been integrated into the David Allen Company, and how it complements GTD.

From the GTD Slice of Life archive: Musician Evan Taubenfeld and entertainment lawyer Danny Passman join David Allen and Coach Kelly Forrister in an inspiring conversation about GTD for creative people. Lots of wonderful nuggets in this one about finding the creative spark within the structure of a GTD system.

From the archives: David Allen joins Scott Shafer on KQED Public Radio's show called Forum. He describes his system of reducing stress, becoming more creative, while increasing productivity.

From the archives: David shares his experience with GTD on the road and optimizing travel productivity.

Part 2 of 2 (The complete conversation is available at GTDconnect) David Allen met with three trainers from our global network, to discuss how GTD can help to reduce burnout. While it has been an issue for years, burnout has been rising steeply since early 2020. The World Health Organization now calls burnout an official medical diagnosis. It is a result of chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed, and is characterized by three dimensions: feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion increased mental distance from one?s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one?s job reduced professional efficacy For this discussion, David is joined by Emily Gregory, Morten Rovik, and William Elliott. Morten shared an infographic on the stress curve. You can click here to download the PDF. Emily Gregory VitalSmarts One Productive Minute Morten Rovik produktiveNorge GTD Nordic podcast (in English) William Elliott ActionCo

Part 1 of 2 David Allen met with three trainers from our global network, to discuss how GTD can help to reduce burnout. While it has been an issue for years, burnout has been rising steeply since early 2020. The World Health Organization now calls burnout an official medical diagnosis. It is a result of chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed, and is characterized by three dimensions: feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion increased mental distance from one?s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one?s job reduced professional efficacy For this discussion, David is joined by Emily Gregory, Morten Rovik, and William Elliott. Morten shared an infographic on the stress curve. You can click here to download the PDF. Emily Gregory VitalSmarts One Productive Minute Morten Rovik produktiveNorge GTD Nordic podcast (in English) William Elliott ActionCo

From the archives: David talks about the challenge of procrastination and the reasons why we do it. He also explains the difference between procrastination and intuitive holding.

From the Archives: David talks about organizing project actions and explains that when we're thinking about a theme, topic, project, problem, situation, we tend to want to see everything about that all together...

From the archives: David steps out of his comfort zone to talk about his story and what excites him.

From the Archives: David talks with Richard Rierson on the Dose of Leadership podcast about GTD®

From the Archives: David explains that there is no perfect tool, it doesn't matter. It does matter that you have a tool or some tools, and not rely on our psyches. You need a tool that matches the function.

From the archives: Coach Meg Edwards talks about how to get to a complete project list if you're like most people who hover at 30%-80% complete project lists, and how to get them to 100% complete.

GTD Coach, Meg Edwards, expands on what she sees as problems with people's incomplete Project Lists with a personal example.

From the archives: Les McKeown talks to David Allen about GTD for his Predictable Success podcast.

From the archives: History, So It Doesn't Repeat, interviews David Allen. They explore personal productivity and how to clear our mental RAM. You'll discover how to Get Things Done® and learn how to make informed choices with ease, by learning a few keystone habits, you'll be primed to be productive and create a stress free environment. Learning is the answer, what is the question?

From the archives: David talks about all the keys to filing and how it relates to GTD® and how it creates "clean edges".

From the archives: David talks about having a window into the professional world for kids before they enter into the working life.

From the Archives: David Allen on setting Goals for 2010 with Christy Nicholson of Scientific American. Advice you can use for any new year.

Please enjoy a segment from a webinar David Allen did for our GTD Connect members. It's a guided mind sweep. It's a really great opportunity to experience what you'll find at GTDconnect.com and also be able to walk yourself through this really important practice with your GTD implementation. Subscribe on iTunes or wherever else you find your podcasts. Or simply head over to: https://gettingthingsdone.com/podcasts #GTD #gettingthingsdone #DavidAllen #GTDpartner #GTDofficial #mindlikewater #FreedomFocusGTD #WeeklyReview #somedaymaybe

David talks about the value of the GTD Weekly Review®

GTD Coach, Meg Edwards, talks about how you can customize your lists and tells you how she sets up her action lists. Find what works for you.

In this episode, Meg Edwards shares how she performs an outdoor Mind Sweep. She models for us how a Mind Sweep can be done anywhere, and how this process can be used to bring additional items to mind when you're in a given context. If you'd like to hear more about the Mind Sweep and how it can serve you in capturing more items to gain control, listen to episode 3 where David Allen guides you through a full Mind Sweep.

In this episode we present an excerpt from a talk that David gave in front of a live audience. It covers procrastination, what type of people are the most susceptible to getting stuck, and how to stop procrastinating on your taxes….and everything else.

A bit of a repeat if you've listened to my other tips, but one I just wanted to reinforce. Outcome and Action Thinking. Outcome and action are the two core elements of productivity. What do I want to produce or experience? And how do I need to allocate or reallocate my resources to make it happen? So that kind of thinking, as simple as that sounds, is something that we need to train ourselves to do. It's really a cognitive muscle you need to work with. So anything that's got your attention, anything that's either worrying or bothering you. That's the time to practice this sort of cognitive muscle. To use it. What would you like to have true? Instead of whatever is currently true. And how do you need to reallocate, or allocate your attention, your activities, your resources, to make that happen? For those of you asking "What's that huge pile of books back there David?" Frankly, the outcome was, I had a bunch of archives of all of the translated versions of my book in the different languages that we were going to throw away when we moved to Amsterdam. We said, nah we should probably keep at least one copy of each, but we live in an apartment. So, a small space. Outcome... How do you do that? That's a great bookshelf you can get from a company called Design Within Reach in the U.S. that actually works, where you can stack all those things up and they don't fall over. Anyway, so that's what that is. So, outcome and action thinking. I just challenge you, invite you, to apply that somewhere that you might be not thinking you ought to apply that, or that you haven't done that yet. So, what's the outcome you're after? What's the action step you need to take to move toward it? In many many cases now, that's become something that's just habit in my life given what I teach and what I've explored over all these years about how to keep your head clear. So hopefully this will be just a reminder for those of you already familiar with that idea. To apply it wherever you need to apply it now.

You know this is another one of those kind of out of the box things but this could be a really good time to do some reflection on new stuff. New relationships. New ways to manage your relationships. New ways of managing yourself. Being able to work more independently, even if you're still part of an organization, and need to be connected to it. We grow with challenges, so the challenges that we may all be in right now or experiencing in some way, shape, or form they're going to teach a strength, patience, and tolerance I've discovered after my 75 years. That tends to show up and expand, and kind of add to the quality of my life. Add to the relaxation of my life. Add to the focus of my life. One very useful key many times, is journaling. If you're not doing that already you might want to consider just sitting down and just writing. Just writing out. I've done journaling on both my computer as well as with a great fountain pen and a wonderful journal, over the years in my life. There have been times that was really really helpful. Just to help kind of uncork, unload and open up some creative thinking that could go on when you're in times that sort of force some reflection where reflection could be highly useful to you. So, be crazy about what could be cool in your life, in lots of different ways. Be open to all the options for that.

Upgrade, you know if you have any downtime at all, with that kind of backed off time that we have, in the pandemic. It's the situation we're dealing with right now. This is a time to think, it's part of one of those backlog things, one of those things you may have had in the back of your mind. I need to upgrade my computer. I need to upgrade my operating system. I need to upgrade this piece of software. I need to upgrade any of my technology, and any of my tools. If you're painting, do you have the right brushes? Do you need to upgrade those? If you're playing the flute, or the piano, do you need to upgrade any of the music that you have to be able to practice with? So I know this is kind of an off-the-wall question. But, a good idea to sort of access, is there anything that you might want to bring up to current speed? That you enjoy, that you love, or you need to be involved with. I love Kevin Kelly's book from a few years ago, talking about the inevitable, talking about the inevitable trends that are happening to all of us, no matter what. He basically made the point that, you're never going to get really any good at anything because there are going to be constant upgrades, especially in software. So, I used to think that I could just resist upgrades to my Quicken because I thought I could manage it, but now I can't afford to do that because, who knows, to be able to manage Quicken and my accounting stuff personally I need to have the current version. So it's kind of like, trust that you're never going to get truly on board with everything, currently and totally, but some of those things might need to be upgraded, and that could be just a process. You kind of get the zen of that. OK, let me just keep upgrading, getting better at, getting more stuff that might work. So, just in case that triggers any kind of a thought. Any kind of a thing you might want to add to your list. Hopefully that's helpful.

How much money do you actually have in your bank account? How do you and the people in your family really feel right now? Really. What's really going on in your professional environment? In your personal environment? Not generalizing or exaggerating. Most people have a tendency, me too, to generalize. Everybody's leaving. It's so awful. Everybody's leaving the company, what do you mean? Everybody's leaving. It's so awful. Everybody's leaving the company? What do you mean? Well, Sally said she thought she might want to get a new career. And over 35 years of my consulting and coaching practices, I've often seen, And over 35 years of my consulting and coaching practices, I've often seen, all I have to do is to start to address, what is the real current reality? And there are lots of ways to do that, but I would highly recommend you examine whether you're running any exaggerations or generalizations. That may be creating more pressure than you need. What's really true? What do you know what's really true? What do you know is actually really true? Not "What do you think is true?", or "What do people say is true?" But, what do you *know* it actually really true? It gives you a grounded base to actually make decisions from. I could spin on that for a long time, but let me just say if that rings any of your bells at all, notice whether you're generalizing and exaggerating. And if so, stop it! Just say what's really true right now? Because you need to know what's the current reality so that you can then move from a ground base of reality. Not from some expectation of that, or generalization of that, or exaggeration of that.