Getting Things Done

Two-minute Tips for Turbulent Times with David Allen Current Reality: How Do You Feel? We need to make sure that we're really clear about what's true in space and time right now. Even if we have a positive direction we need to know where we are so we know whether to go left or right from where we are, but we need to start with where we are and not necessarily resist whatever the current reality is. You've got to start from a real base. And this one might be a little challenging, but this is one I call Current Reality: How Do You Feel? What are the feelings going on? What's the emotional state that you're in? Not that you should necessarily reinforce that, or spin in that. Or think that that's a good thing, to be worried, to be afraid, to be confused. Those are common kinds of emotions that we have often times in turbulent times. But you need to acknowledge that you've got it. You don't want to repress it, you don't want to stuff it down. The environment around you, certainly people that are close to you, will know whether or not that you're really true to yourself, in terms of, hey here's what I'm feeling right now. But the way out is through. You don't try to get past that by ignoring it, or stuffing it down and not acknowledging it. Not that you should stay in it, but you need to acknowledge where you are. Once you do that it becomes a lot easier to sort of grab yourself by your own boot straps emotionally How would I now like to feel? What could I do that might move me toward a more positive, emotional state and energy state? People often think Getting Things Done and the GTD methodology doesn't deal with emotions. It actually does. You have to deal with what's the current reality that you're in. The current reality may be, I feel like this, and I'd like to feel like that. That's a great place to start, sometimes a little challenging.

Two-minute Tips for Turbulent Times with David Allen What Does the Still Small Voice Tell You To Do? This one may sound a little strange as a tip, but it's one that has served me for my 74 plus years. Trying to make a priority decision... What do I do right now? How do I do that? There's no algorithm, there's no formula that you can really trust. The one I found to trust, is basically your intuition, or your spirit, or whatever kind of word you're not allergic to. That says, wait a minute, there's part of me that probably knows more about all of this then maybe even my conscious mind is capable of grasping all at one time. So being able to trust your intuitive judgement, that's a cool thing to do. Truly, a whole lot of people are so in chaos, that they can't tell the difference between intuition and indigestion. But I think we all, if you just quiet yourself, just for a couple of minutes, and listen What should I do next? What's the most important thing I need to do? What would make the biggest difference to me and the ecosystem I'm in and the people I'm engaged with right now? What would be that? And just being able to build in that habit where you stop and listen, just for that still small voice. To make the choice about all the options of things to do. Come on, we all have more to do than we can do for sure. But the whole idea is to feel confident and comfortable about your choices. And I think the best way to do that, certainly has been for me. Is to stop, listen, and trust that inner voice, that kind of knows what's up. And it loves me, and it pays attention to me.

Two-minute Tips for Turbulent Times with David Allen Capture Tools Everywhere When things pop into your head that you're going to need to think about, deal with, do something about have to make a decision about or whatever that's potentially relevant to you. Then you need to make sure you get those out of your head and capture them because your head is a terrible office, it'll fool you because you think of it you're sure you won't forget whatever that is but two minutes later you're thinking of the next thing you don't want to forget but you forgot the first thing. So you need capture tools. So, mine are low tech for the most part. No batteries, no Wi-Fi required. This is with me all the time. A pen and a little pad. When I'm sitting down anywhere that's a flat surface longer then a few a minutes, I've got a pad and a pen, can't beat it. Who knows when lightning is going to strike, something's are going to occur to me I need to deal with. Particularly while I'm working on other things and dealing with other things something comes from the side and hits me. Right then I want to be able to write it down. If you're having to look for a capture tool, you won't do it, you'll miss it. I would highly recommend that wherever your work space is and certainly even in your home space that you have a place where you, and also other people, if you live with other people that they can have a place to also write things down and capture stuff out of your head. Your head's a terrible office, you can't keep track of more than four things in your head without diminishing your cognitive process, and so it's the very first step. If you're familiar with the GTD or Getting Things Done methodology, you know that's a critical first step, which is capture, but you're not going to capture if you don't have the tools with you. So make sure you've got good capture tools around. They can be digital, they can be paper based. I like low tech. I think it's fast, it's much easier. That's not my permanent system, It's a place though as a placeholder, and an important placeholder to be able to get the stuff out of my head, so that I stop spinning on that and then know I'll come back to it and not lose the idea.

David Allen offers a Two-minute Tip: Catch Up Hi. David Allen. Two minute tip for turbulent times. This one's called, Catch up. Now, obviously in turbulent times we're often kind of up to here with stuff to do, but you're likely to have some downtime. Some time where the most productive thing to do might be to clean up the backlog. That is to bring up the rear guard, as we say. For instance, how current is your bank balance, your investments? How sharp are your kitchen knives? How well have you fertilized your garden for the spring or the summer? What's up, what's out there that you say I need to catch that up? I'm not totally current with whatever that's about. And that may be some of the best things you could do is to go find something that you need to catch up because by the way, the smaller the backlog of outdated things or things that are not current, the cleaner and clearer it is to deal with surprise and new things coming towards you. So the best thing to do right now, if you have some windows to do that, is to look around and say what needs catching up to get current? So that's my two minute tip for turbulent times. Catch up.

David Allen offers a Two-minute Tip: Fix or Finish Something Simple: David Allen with a two minute tip for turbulent times. This one is called fix or finish something simple. You know, many times when we are in a situation where, golly, it's easy to be worrying, it's easy to be hung up, it's easy to be procrastinating, it's easy to be maybe confused about what your priorities are or what you need to do. Sometimes the best thing to do is to aim low and close and get a cheap win real quick. Like right now. I'll bet if you looked around your environment, you'd find a number of things that would not take you but a few minutes to fix or finish, or to deal with and it's been kind of not necessarily bothering you in a big way, but bugging you and you know it's something you need to do at some point, you need to move this over there. You need to take that off the wall. You need to replace a light bulb that's been out. You need to take some WD40 and lubricate a door or something that's been squeaking. There's a number of things like that, I'll bet in your environment. And those are just really great to get some cheap, quick wins for that. I know that sounds really mundane, but I've discovered there's magic in the mundane. Many, many times I just need to stop and go finish something just because it allows my brain to clear itself, allows me to get positive, get focused, and actually many times what happens is, is I'm doing that, or certainly if I finished doing that, I get this little win, I get this little burst of energy, like, yeah, then I'm thinking on perhaps a more strategic level is perhaps more important things that I want to be thinking about in a more positive way. So keep it simple. Go find something simple to finish or fix or do in a few minutes. Give yourself a win. Pat yourself on the back. A tip for turbulent times.

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.

In this episode, David shares some useful insights regarding how we already plan projects when we're at our best: The Natural Planning Model. He contrasts this behavior with the much more common unnatural or reactive planning models. You'll also learn about the importance of vision and principles when planning, and a practical way to get stagnant projects moving again.

Today we have three separate, rare segments pulled from the archives on different concepts that are all related to memory and performance improvement. First, you'll hear a segment regarding the idea of mental RAM, and what happens when we leave unclosed loops open in our lives. Next, you'll learn about multitasking vs. rapid refocusing and how that state helps us scale our performance. And third, you'll learn a few handy uses for checklists in order to continuously improve over time.

What behaviors actually make a difference in your GTD system? Listen as David Allen shares tips on removing system drag in front of a live audience.

Today David Allen shares best practices for Someday/Maybe & Incubation lists in front of a live audience. He provides plenty of example scenarios where Someday/Maybe lists can serve, as well as the specific circumstances it would be helpful to incubate information until a later date. You might even get a few new ideas for how to further improve your system as you listen.

This engaging and inspiring interview with David Allen, by Tragedy and Hope broadcasts, explores the key principles of GTD and how to make informed choices with ease. The interviewer, Richard Grove, is a GTD enthusiast himself, and his intelligent questions make this interview particularly interesting.

At the June 2019 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 and John Forrister 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. This episode is part two of two.

At the June 2019 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 and John Forrister 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. This episode is part one of two.

This is a fascinating, wide-ranging conversation between David Allen and Brian Robertson. They discuss how we as humans relate to our own attention, and how the increasing complexity of our work environment has necessitated that we get stuff off our minds. They point out multiple common threads between Getting Things Done for individuals and Holacracy for organizations. They also consider what happens after your personal system and your organization's system are on cruise control.

Join David Allen for an intriguing discussion about leadership and the architecture of story, with Nancy Duarte and Patti Sanchez. They came to fame when they created the presentations that Al Gore used in speeches for several years before An Inconvenient Truth won the Academy Award for best documentary. Their book is Illuminate, "a road-map to help leaders move people to embrace bold visions and carry them forward." They describe five phases of an organization's story, and how leaders need to communicate to inspire progress. The team at Duarte have also been a trusted resource for David Allen Company in the storytelling involved with our GTD curriculum.

Jason Atwood has built Getting Things Done into his company from the start. Listen as he shares with David Allen about starting Arkus, a Salesforce consulting firm, well after his own GTD practice was on a solid foundation. Beyond encouraging his employees to adopt GTD, he provides them with ongoing tools and support. During the onboarding period, he even meets with new employees to answer questions and refine their GTD implementation.

This episode of our podcast is from David Allen's opening talk at the GTD Summit in 2009. We've just announced the 2019 GTD Summit, and we'd love to see you there. Get all the details at gtdsummit.com.

David Allen and Coach Kelly Forrister present an instructional webinar where you'll have the opportunity to take a deeper dive into understanding the power of completion and creating a vision for wild success.

Do you ever struggle with managing competing priorities and don't know how you'll get it all done? Join David Allen for a conversation that's packed with practical GTD coaching advice on how to deal with competing priorities--from getting a higher perspective on your life and work, down to trusting your moment-to-moment action choices.

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 episode about finding the creative spark within the structure of a GTD system.

David Allen shares his thoughts on what a good Weekly Review is and isn't, as well as some random tips and tricks from his years in the trenches.

David Allen, Mike Williams, and Mark Wallace discuss the brand new book Getting Things Done for Teens, including what's different, what's the same, and some of the wisdom they've garnered in writing the book together. Learn more at www.gtdforteens.com.

David Allen talks with General Randal Fullhart. Graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1979, Randy has commanded at the squadron, group, and wing levels. He shares insights and tips about his journey with GTD, teamwork, and leadership.

In this podcast, Coach Kelly Forrister focuses on the best practices of email communications with others, including appropriate use, writing effective subject lines, creating agreed upon response times, reply to all and more.

In this podcast we hear a wide-ranging conversation between David Allen and the founder of HolacracyOne, Brian Robertson. Just as GTD is a systematic approach to maintaining perspective and control in your life, Holacracy is a systematic approach (or operating system) to running an organization. You'll hear a lot of interesting similarities between the two models, as well as their shared history and purpose.

David Allen explores the power of outcome thinking in front of a live audience. This talk will reveal just how much the thoughts we hold in our head have the potential to affect the types and qualities of action we take. From athletic performance to prepping for that next big meeting, what we think about *while* we act can affect *how* we act.

The new year is always a great excuse to zoom out and recalibrate how your system is running, and a year-end review is an excellent way to do exactly that. In this conversation that first showed up on GTDConnect.com, David Allen & Coach Kelly Forrister give us some quick and practical tips for successfully performing a year-end review.

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 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.

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.

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.

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 of experience with GTD.

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.

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.

In this first installment 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.

David Allen and Coach Kelly Forrister talk about using the creative technique of mind mapping for project brainstorming, meeting notes, checklists, gathering project data, and more.

In this speech excerpt, David Allen shares the GTD® keys to clarifying your work.

What are your biggest GTD® improvement opportunities? Do you ever fall off the wagon? Join David Allen & Meg Edwards as they discuss what "Black Belt" GTD is, some of its biggest hurdles, and how you can overcome them.

David Allen discusses the power and practical usage of focus and vision. Learn the keys to creating and maintaining successful habit change by utilizing visioning, goal setting, and clarifying positive outcomes.

Feeling overwhelmed? This talk from David Allen is a wonderful overview of the keys to control & perspective. Includes participant Q&A at the end.

Join David Allen for a fascinating, wide-ranging conversation with Daniel Levitin, author of The Organized Mind. Daniel is a professor of psychology, a cognitive scientist, a musician, an entrepreneur, and more. He brings recent cognitive research to bear on GTD, validating obectively what GTD users know subjectively -- that getting things off your mind frees your mind for more creative and productive thinking. David and Daniel discuss why the brain pays attention to some things and ignores others, the limits of short-term memory versus long-term memory, and why the Mind Sweep is not just a good idea, but a critical part of dealing with our modern lives.

How do you balance a daunting project list representing multiple roles and outcomes? David Allen chats with Meghan Wilker, a tech expert, mother of two, and GTD enthusiast. Listen as Meghan shares how she uses GTD in her work and family life.

How do you leverage procedures and tools for better outcomes? David Allen presents a webinar on how to optimize your GTD system, so that you have the information you need to be productive, when you need it. Includes Q&A's from webinar participants.

A key to trusting your priorities is knowing your roles, areas to maintain, oversee, and manage–personally and professionally. In this webinar, Senior GTD Coaches Meg Edwards and Kelly Forrister walk you through developing the Areas of Focus level in the GTD Horizons of Focus® model, giving you examples, best practices, and tips for developing and refining your own.

Listen as David Allen talks with Gillian Martin Mehers, who has dedicated her career to helping people doing good work in organizations focusing on global sustainability. As a highly enthusiastic GTDer and experienced professional in training and development, she shares many of her own successful techniques for spreading those best practices to others.

Coaches Meg Edwards and Mike Williams share strategies, techniques, and insights for engaging kids and teens in GTD. They'll weave in personal stories from their own experience as parents, and give practical exercises for bringing the power of GTD to young people in your life.

We hope you enjoy this very special Q&A conversation between David Allen and Senior Coach Marian Bateman, interviewed by Rick Kantor. They answer ten of the most frequently asked questions regarding GTD, including "How do you set priorities?", "What do you do when you're interrupted constantly?", and "How do I get back on track when I miss Weekly Reviews?"

This episode features two wonderful doctors and GTD enthusiasts in our GTD community: Dr. Julie Flagg and Dr. Julian Goldman. They join David Allen and Senior Coach Kelly Forrister in a lively and heartfelt discussion about how GTD has helped their stability, clarity, and focus.

David gives a unique and inspiring presentation about the power of Getting Things Done to the participants of The Do Lectures in Wales, September 2010. If you're new to GTD, you'll love the fast-paced overview David gives of the entire systematic approach. If you're a seasoned practitioner, you'll appreciate the transparency and authenticity in which David shares a bit more of his behind-the-scenes story.

When you listen to this interview with Jeff Heilman, you'll be amazed how much he does. He's got a thriving sales career, plus he's a pro golfer. And a husband, and a father, and much more. Jeff says he always dreamed of becoming the guy who has his act together, and GTD is the pathway. In this interview, he talks with Mike Williams about how he heard about GTD, and his subsequent installation and implementation journey. Somewhere along the way, he says he was able to take on more work than his boss could give him. Now that's saying a lot. But beyond work, Jeff says that "GTD leads to the freedom to pursue what I choose."