David Allen Company Updates

60 en-us David Allen Company Updates Featuring company news, blogs, articles, and podcasts designed to help you win at the game of work and business of life. http://www.davidco.com/master_rss.php ℗ & © 1969 The David Allen Company Winning At The Game Of Work And Business Of Life David Allen & Company Podcasts on productivity and Getting Things Done®. The David Allen Company info@davidco.com no Podcast: Danny Bader - Taking Time to Think info@davidco.com (David Allen) --> Coach and Senior Presenter Danny Bader shares the value of the public GTD classes. When is the last time you had a day to think about how you think? Click here to listen now or click here to download. (mp3, 01:46). For access to all previous podcasts, check out our complete podcast feed.

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info@davidco.com (David Allen) http://www.davidco.com/podcasts/play/40.html http://www.davidco.com/audio/DavidonGoals.mp3 Mon, 18 Jan 2010 13:31:01 PST 4:25 Member Exclusive: I Think The Thing I Have Enjoy Most About GTD Is ... When I read the following reflection of life since adopting GTD I was immediately drawn to wanting to share it. Not only because I feel in a little way proud for sharing David Allen's material but because the thoughts were real, unsolicited and an excellent example of how peace and freedom can be fo...

]]> connect@davidco.com (David Allen) http://www.davidco.com/connect/forum_view.php?t=10942 Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:12:57 PDT forum GTD Getting Things Done Productivity http://www.davidco.com/connect/forum_view.php?t=10942 GTD Connect Member Exclusive: Describing GTD To Teens David describes how he explained the value of GTD to teens. This is a great clip for those of you who would love to share this with your kids.

]]> connect@davidco.com (David Allen) http://www.davidco.com/connect/multimedia/audio.php?titleid=286&trackid=820 Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:16:19 PDT audio GTD Getting Things Done Productivity http://www.davidco.com/connect/multimedia/audio.php?titleid=286&trackid=820 GTD Connect Member Exclusive: GTD For Creative Writers As an occasional creative writer, "stuff" has a very particular meaning for me, that is, it's all "raw material". And stuff can have a different meaning to what was originally intended. For example, I've used mathematics as a "perfect" alternative world-view to a troubled protagonist's love life...

]]> connect@davidco.com (David Allen) http://www.davidco.com/connect/forum_view.php?t=10940 Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:41:19 PDT forum GTD Getting Things Done Productivity http://www.davidco.com/connect/forum_view.php?t=10940 GTD Connect GTD Times: Tracking long-term tasks A GTDer asked: Do we write down only immediate tasks, or also long term tasks? How to track a long-term task? My reply: I am assuming that by long-term tasks you mean an action that cannot be taken now, but will need to be done in the future. One of the keys of GTD is to develop an action list comprised of only actions that are actionable now. If one places actions they know need to get done in the future - but cannot be acted on now - on their list, then every time they looked at it they would have to filter the actionable vs. the non-actionable. This would likely slow the person down, and in many cases cause them to abandon GTD. Understanding this, there are a few options: If the long-term action is part of a project (an outcome that requires more than one action) you may want to track the action wherever you are managing your project information. If the action is a long-term action that cannot be done now, but must be done at a specific time in the future, you may want to place it on your calendar either as an all-day event or an action to be completed on a certain day at a certain time. If it's a potential action, but you don't have a commitment to do it at any time in the future but want to consider the option again, consider parking it on Someday/Maybe. Danny Bader is a senior coach and presenter with the David Allen Company.

A GTDer asked: Do we write down only immediate tasks, or also long term tasks? How to track a long-term task? My reply: I am assuming that by long-term tasks you mean an action that cannot be taken now, but will need to be done in the future. One of the keys of GTD is to develop an action list comprised of only actions that are actionable now. If one places actions they know need to get done in the future - but cannot be acted on now - on their list, then every time they looked at it they would have to filter the actionable vs. the non-actionable. This would likely slow the person down, and in many cases cause them to abandon GTD. Understanding this, there are a few options:

If the long-term action is part of a project (an outcome that requires more than one action) you may want to track the action wherever you are managing your project information.
If the action is a long-term action that cannot be done now, but must be done at a specific time in the future, you may want to place it on your calendar either as an all-day event or an action to be completed on a certain day at a certain time.
If it's a potential action, but you don't have a commitment to do it at any time in the future but want to consider the option again, consider parking it on Someday/Maybe.

Danny Bader is a senior coach and presenter with the David Allen Company.

]]> info@davidco.com (The David Allen Company) http://www.gtdtimes.com/2010/03/18/tracking-long-term-tasks Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:11:05 PDT GTD Getting Things Done David Allen http://www.gtdtimes.com/2010/03/18/tracking-long-term-tasks GTD Times GTD Times: New Year's Disillusions A Community Contribution from Mike Vardy As the first quarter of 2010 passes us by, I'm going to ask it: How many of you have stuck to your "resolutions" that you made at the start of 2010? I'm betting that some of you - perhaps most of you - have faltered on them in some form or another. It's to be expected. In fact, it can be preferred. I've heard David Allen say you need to make a bunch of resolutions - essentially goals - and the real challenge is making some of them stick. When I first heard this, I couldn't believe it. I mean - c'mon - surely we should have some focus on what we want to get out of ourselves and the year ahead. Why not hone in on a few resolutions from the onset? Then I realized that extreme focus on a few items might just lead to failure - and a more recognizable or definitive failure to boot. When you only pick one or two things to work on (or give up) you're only giving yourself one or two chances to succeed. However, when you give yourself a large number of goals to strive for, you're providing yourself with more opportunities for success. We all know that one success generally makes up for several failures - so why not gear yourself up for potential successes rather than set yourself up for failures that stand out? We go into a new year with more disillusionment than resolve in most cases because we're trying to do too much in a short period of time. Sure, you think it's going to be a year-long journey, but in the grand scheme of things one year is a short period of time when you're talking about goals and habits. If you did a retrospective at the end of last year, you're already ahead of the game. Just keep focused on the end result - and there's a lot of aspects of your life that you'll want to alter to hit that mark. So go for the changes you know you'll need to make to do just that. There's a good chance you'll miss more than you'll hit, but those who are the best at what they do have found success despite failing time and time again. Swing for the fences; you'll hit at least one home run if you give yourself enough chances at the plate.* *I had written five other sports metaphors before getting it right with this one. I rest my case. Mike Vardy is an accomplished, self-professed productivity and procrastination expert, as well as regular contributor to GTD Times. With his humor and wisdom, we hope you enjoy his perspective on doing things...eventually. Read more from Mike.

A Community Contribution from Mike Vardy

As the first quarter of 2010 passes us by, I'm going to ask it: How many of you have stuck to your "resolutions" that you made at the start of 2010? I'm betting that some of you - perhaps most of you - have faltered on them in some form or another. It's to be expected. In fact, it can be preferred. I've heard David Allen say you need to make a bunch of resolutions - essentially goals - and the real challenge is making some of them stick. When I first heard this, I couldn't believe it. I mean - c'mon - surely we should have some focus on what we want to get out of ourselves and the year ahead. Why not hone in on a few resolutions from the onset? Then I realized that extreme focus on a few items might just lead to failure - and a more recognizable or definitive failure to boot. When you only pick one or two things to work on (or give up) you're only giving yourself one or two chances to succeed. However, when you give yourself a large number of goals to strive for, you're providing yourself with more opportunities for success. We all know that one success generally makes up for several failures - so why not gear yourself up for potential successes rather than set yourself up for failures that stand out? We go into a new year with more disillusionment than resolve in most cases because we're trying to do too much in a short period of time. Sure, you think it's going to be a year-long journey, but in the grand scheme of things one year is a short period of time when you're talking about goals and habits. If you did a retrospective at the end of last year, you're already ahead of the game. Just keep focused on the end result - and there's a lot of aspects of your life that you'll want to alter to hit that mark. So go for the changes you know you'll need to make to do just that. There's a good chance you'll miss more than you'll hit, but those who are the best at what they do have found success despite failing time and time again. Swing for the fences; you'll hit at least one home run if you give yourself enough chances at the plate.* *I had written five other sports metaphors before getting it right with this one. I rest my case. Mike Vardy is an accomplished, self-professed productivity and procrastination expert, as well as regular contributor to GTD Times. With his humor and wisdom, we hope you enjoy his perspective on doing things...eventually. Read more from Mike.

]]> info@davidco.com (The David Allen Company) http://www.gtdtimes.com/2010/03/16/new-years-disillusions Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:06:29 PDT GTD Getting Things Done David Allen http://www.gtdtimes.com/2010/03/16/new-years-disillusions GTD Times GTD Times: Diving back into the GTD pool I want to share this wonderful email I received from Gerald today. Not only because he shares about GTD Connect (which of course we think is terrific!)--but he shares a common experience I think some people have in trying to implement GTD. Some people try GTD, put it (kick it) aside, then come back to give it another go and it just pops for them. If that's you, give it another go. You may find you have fresh eyes and a deeper understanding to make it work for you. And if it's not for you, that's OK too (although I doubt you're even reading GTD Times if that's the case.) I want you know that since I have returned to GTD (over 2 months now), I have joined GTD Connect and listened to 38 podcasts out of the 145 from Connect that I have downloaded to my iPhone. I cannot begin to tell you how much they have helped and inspired me. Hearing you, David, Meg and others patiently go over and over the concepts, pitfalls, suggestions, etc. have helped more than anything. I not only feel like I have an intellectual grasp of the concepts, but I feel part of a support group that will be there with me over the long haul. I actually feel a personal connection with you, David and Meg especially. Plus, I am hearing it....really hearing it....if you know what I mean..... :-) The first time I got into GTD was a couple of years ago. I did not sign up for Connect. I didn't do weekly reviews. I did not use all the support available. I ended up with lots of un-reviewed lists and everything back in my head along with all the chaos. When I surrendered a couple of months ago, it was a deep surrender. I am definitely "ALL IN." GTD Connect holds the world's largest library of GTD podcasts, documents and articles. Note: Podcasts are only an option for monthly or annual members (not free trial participants. But the free trial will allow you to watch or listen to them on the site.)

which of course we think is terrific!)--but he shares a common experience I think some people have in trying to implement GTD. Some people try GTD, put it (kick it) aside, then come back to give it another go and it just pops for them. If that's you, give it another go. You may find you have fresh eyes and a deeper understanding to make it work for you. And if it's not for you, that's OK too (although I doubt you're even reading GTD Times if that's the case.)

I want you know that since I have returned to GTD (over 2 months now), I have joined GTD Connect and listened to 38 podcasts out of the 145 from Connect that I have downloaded to my iPhone. I cannot begin to tell you how much they have helped and inspired me. Hearing you, David, Meg and others patiently go over and over the concepts, pitfalls, suggestions, etc. have helped more than anything. I not only feel like I have an intellectual grasp of the concepts, but I feel part of a support group that will be there with me over the long haul. I actually feel a personal connection with you, David and Meg especially. Plus, I am hearing it....really hearing it....if you know what I mean..... :-) The first time I got into GTD was a couple of years ago. I did not sign up for Connect. I didn't do weekly reviews. I did not use all the support available. I ended up with lots of un-reviewed lists and everything back in my head along with all the chaos. When I surrendered a couple of months ago, it was a deep surrender. I am definitely "ALL IN."

GTD Connect holds the world's largest library of GTD podcasts, documents and articles. Note: Podcasts are only an option for monthly or annual members (not free trial participants. But the free trial will allow you to watch or listen to them on the site.)

]]> info@davidco.com (The David Allen Company) http://www.gtdtimes.com/2010/03/15/diving-back-into-the-gtd-pool Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:09:10 PDT GTD Getting Things Done David Allen http://www.gtdtimes.com/2010/03/15/diving-back-into-the-gtd-pool GTD Times