David Allen's Blog, page 46
May 3, 2017
Episode #29 – David Allen GTD® Keynote in Milan – Part One
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.
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May 2, 2017
Managing Work on a Vacation
QUESTION: While on vacation, how do you juggle work and play? How much time should you allot each day of your vacation to 
reading business email, checking up on projects, etc.? What’s the best balance of work and play? When is the best time of the day to spend on work? What organizational tools should you always bring along on your vacation?
DAVID ALLEN: My main purpose for a vacation is to change pace and environment to refresh perspectives and energies. Things that support that are on purpose. Things that don’t, aren’t. I like to think of vacation as re-creation, i.e. an opportunity to shift gears and balance my activity and focus mix (mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, social, relationships, family, etc.) If I’ve been spending a lot of energy thinking, writing, and speaking, then I want to spend some time getting physical–going for walks, exploring, swimming, jogging, etc. If I’ve been engaged in lots of physical work, then I want to read adventure novels, do some creative writing, and just hang out and socialize. Sometimes, when I’ve really been in the turbo fast lane for a while, I just like to do nothing, with a vengeance!
The main thing I want to keep on a vacation is a clear head–lack of distraction. That should be the criterion for how much of what kind of “work” to take with me or to stay connected and current with. If I’m lying on the beach and I keep thinking about what’s in voicemail or email, then I’d better check it so I can tan with a clear head. There’s a fine line, though, between checking in with the office to stay clear, and checking in with the office as an addiction or comfort zone of the pressure and pace of professional engagement. Because most people have some version of that habit, I would suggest erring toward the unplugged side of the equation. But if you must, to keep a clear deck, then of course do them as soon as you can in the day so that all those things can be put to bed early.
Many times we actually can afford to take off for mini-vacations, not constrained to “be in the office”, simply because we have the ability to be in touch from wherever, handling the necessities of our commitments with our clients and companies. Complaining about “having to do work” in those situations is a bit absurd. I have made business calls from my sailboat, so that I could actually go out sailing all day. You do as much as you need to do, to be able to keep doing what you’re doing!
Some specific suggestions:
1. The last place in the world to have a thought twice is on vacation. That’s why you should always have at least a low-tech “capture” kind of tool with you, even in the most remote places, doing the most remote things. I have a small wallet for credit cards and driver’s license that also has a tiny notepad and pen. I may not process the note (decide actions and input information) until I’m back in the groove, but the potential value that the thought might add is not lost. I also travel with a file folder or large envelope labeled “IN” for tossing notes, business cards, receipts, etc. for dealing with back at the office. The more senior and sophisticated your professional roles, the more likely your best thoughts about work won’t happen at work! They may happen on the vacation. And invariably people meet others to expand their network, and get new ideas and good information while socializing. And if you’re traveling it’s great to keep track of places to go, things to do, in case you want to go there again. If a key benefit of recreation is to get a fresh perspective, then protect your investment and be ready to take advantage of it’s outputs.
2. It is common sense to do your best before you start a vacation to catch up, clean up, and get proactive and current in all your work-related agreements and commitments, handling all the details in plenty of time. Be sure that you identify “Vacation” as a project as soon as it’s on your radar, and that you continue to define and complete all the action steps as soon as they can be done. Too many people need half their vacation to recover from the last two days before they leave!
3. If you have support and admin staff, give them relevant contact information and clarify what might constitute an “emergency” ahead of time to use it, and allow them to filter all communications.
4. Block out at least a full day or two on your calendar for catching up when you return. It is just shy of stupid to not prepare ahead of time for the invariable accumulated pile of details to adjudicate.
In conclusion, there’s nothing inherently good or bad about being involved with professional things on a vacation. It all depends on the many variables in your situation. But the assumption that work and fun are mutually exclusive is not a healthy one. If you have to have a vacation because your job is too stressful or no fun, you might want to change jobs, career, or your mindset about it all.
May 1, 2017
April 24, 2017
April 12, 2017
10 Tips for Success with GTD
I was reading a great article about creating fitness habits and realized every key point the author made about exercise could be 
applied to GTD®—especially for anyone still trying to get their systems off the ground and build sustainable habits. Inspired by that article, here are 10 easy tips for success with GTD:
1. Start Small
There is a lot that makes up the Getting Things Done® methodology. But that doesn’t mean you need to learn or master it all, all at once. Start with the master moves, like:
Write down everything that grabs your attention when it shows up (supporting the idea that your mind is better used to have ideas, not hold them).
Try the Two-Minute Rule, which would mean handling things that take less than two minutes to finish when they show up.
Make sure you really understand the 5 steps to mastering workflow—those are the keys to how everything gets done in your life and are the backbone to GTD.
2. Set Easy Rules
Create a game you can win with GTD. Instead of saying you’re going to get your inbox to zero every day, start with an easier goal of once a week. Instead of saying you’re going to do the GTD Weekly Review every week for the next 10 years, try scheduling just the next one. And when you’ve done that one, book the next one after that.
3. Trust You Are Not Too Busy
One of the common misconceptions and pushbacks about GTD is that it will take more time than people think they have to spend. The funny thing is, this ignores the time being spent now with inefficient systems and behaviors. Opening and closing an email without making a decision about it is taking more time than it deserves and more time than it would take to make a decision the first time you open it, using the GTD Clarifying Map.
Not having a dedicated time like the Weekly Review to get clear and current means your mind will try to do that kind of process 24/7.
Having the same idea more than once about something you need to do is taking more effort than it deserves (unless you really like having that idea).
4. Have a Why
One of the things we do at the start of the GTD Fundamentals course is to ask participants to consider, “What’s your desired outcome?” and “What would you like to be doing or experiencing differently?” The idea of inbox zero is nice, but why? Will that give you more peace of mind? Better sleep? The ability to be more present with your friends and family? Better chance at leaving work at work? Asking why will automatically move your thinking higher in your horizons of focus and to the deeper meaning about what drives you. You’ll want to know the why when you least feel like doing the maintenance that comes with being productive.
5. Be Prepared
GTD requires some simple gear. For starters, get an in-tray on your desk designated for new, incoming stuff (separate from work you’ve already decided what you need to do about). That tray will serve you well as a trusted bucket for capturing good ideas, meeting notes, etc. Without a designated tray for “IN,” you risk your whole desk/office/house being your in-tray.
The next thing I would recommend is a ubiquitous capture tool for giving you a fighting chance on having an empty mind. Without a capture tool to grab ideas, your mind is forced to try and hold on to them, and won’t do a very good job doing that. (It’s the wrong tool for the job).
6. Keep it Interesting
Mix up your tools, habits, and rewards. If you’ve been doing your Weekly Review the same way and they are feeling stale, mix it up by trying it on a different day, time, or location. I’ve heard from many clients that just doing it somewhere other than their office has sparked new inspiration.
Changing tools can also keep the process interesting. I recently moved from Evernote to Wunderlist for storing my projects and actions lists and was reminded about how changing tools can feel new and exciting again. And it forced me to re-evaluate everything on my lists as I transferred things over. I let go of some things and triaged some to Someday/Maybe.
7. Get Support
A friend of mine has been working out with a trainer for nearly two years. By this point, she knows the proper form and has a good variety of workout options to stay fit, yet she continues to see the trainer for motivation. She knows the trainer is waiting for her at the gym at 7am every Monday and Wednesday. It keeps her accountable and showing up—for herself and the trainer.
The same idea applies to GTD. You can hire a GTD Coach to motivate you, or at least get a colleague or friend who is also into GTD to check in with. There are often people on our GTD Forums looking for Weekly Review buddies or who use the forums to report in and have others celebrate their successes. Bottom line—don’t white-knuckle this alone. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, get support. If you’re feeling bored or stuck, first see #4, then find someone who you can support and who can support you on your path of mastery.
8. Learn What Works for You
One of the areas I often see people struggle with is using tools that don’t work for them. There is no one perfect tool for GTD, but there are many that will work really well if you work them. If you are repelled in any way by the tools you are using for GTD (capture tools, list manager, reference manager, etc.), then switch it up.
9. Get Momentum
GTD is a mental game, but it’s learned from practical experience. Build some reference points through repetition for having a clear head, inbox zero, Weekly Review, complete projects list, and current lists.
Along the start small theme in #1, give yourself winnable goals for building those reference points, like trying for inbox zero at least once a week. Much like when you were a kid and learned that brushing your teeth felt better than not, knowing what inbox zero feels like will be a strong motivator.
10. Keep At It
Much like learning a sport, you’ll have some falls with GTD. It’s part of the game. In fact, David Allen has often said that if you’re not out of control regularly, you’re not playing a big enough game. The good news is that it’s easy to get back “on” with GTD if you feel like you’ve fallen off the wagon. Simple things can make a big difference, like doing a Mind Sweep to capture what’s grabbing your attention, doing a thorough Weekly Review, completing that one thing that’s been waking you up at 4am, or clarifying the next action on a project that’s been stuck. Don’t underestimate the power of these key behaviors. They are at the core of mastery with GTD.
David says it takes two minutes to understand the five steps of mastering workflow, two days to get yourself set up, and two years to make the GTD behaviors a habit. So wherever you are in this journey, be kind to yourself and acknowledge your wins.
–Kelly Forrister, Certified GTD Coach
April 5, 2017
Making Use of Weird Windows of Time
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 to do them.
Most everyone I come across in my clients’ organizations are up to their eyeballs in work, and feel overwhelmed. Strategy and triage are indeed required to address that, but at least as important is the requirement for people to set up their lives to get a lot more efficient about getting a lot more done in a day.
To steal from a Motorola strategy from many years ago, we need to “mine the bandwidth.” They developed technology utilizing the more discreet areas “between the lines” in the radio frequencies already in place. Similarly we need to be ready for, and take advantage of, the weird uneven time and energy spaces we find ourselves in.
Ever have the attention span of a gnat…either externally imposed or internally generated (like 4:30 PM on a day of six meetings, five of which were brutal)? Ever have a short (but still unknown) time period, with informal distraction, like waiting for a late meeting to start?
There are very few times and places we really have the appropriate energy level, tools, and uninterrupted time frames to work on some of our “most important” work. The rest of the day, we shouldn’t be feeling guilty that we’re not working on “job one.” Rather, we should be maximizing our productivity by picking things to do (that we’re going to do anyway, sometime) that match the situation.
Catch up on the FYI-type Read-and-Review emails while waiting for meetings. Water your plants and fill your stapler when your brain is toast. Call to make the appointment you’ve been putting off when you have ten minutes before you board a plane. Problem is, most people don’t have all those options already figured out and put in appropriately accessible buckets to rummage through when those situations appear. And mostly when those weird time slots happen they don’t have the energy to remember them or figure them out.
It’s a subtle and fine line between doing less important items as a way to procrastinate, and doing them because it is the most productive thing you can do effectively. At worst it’s an energizing way to waste time semi-productively. At best, it’s keeping the decks clear and optimally utilizing yourself as a resource.
This essay appeared in David Allen’s Productive Living Newsletter. Subscribe for free here.
April 2, 2017
Episode #28: GTD and Mind Mapping
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.
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March 23, 2017
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 – Torino
April 6 – Jyväskylä
April 12 – Los Angeles
April 15 – New Delhi
April 19 – København
April 25 – Oslo
April 26 – Minsk
April 27 – Hamburg
April 28 – Bratislava
May 1 – Sydney
Full schedule: http://gettingthingsdone.com/events/
March 20, 2017
March 14, 2017
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 will require, of course, making decisions on the front end that might not be perfect. Think about what might go wrong if you avoid decisions and action! (If you need a negative motivator.)
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