David Allen Shares Getting Things Done Obstacles and Secrets

David Allen is the originator of GTD, and founder of David Allen Co. GTD is the shorthand brand for “Getting Things Done,” the groundbreaking work-life management system by David Allen that provides concrete solutions for navigating uncertainty into an integrated system of stress-free productivity.

David is the author of Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress Free Productivity, Ready for Anything: 52 Productivity Principles for Getting Things Done, and Making It All Work: Winning at the Game of Work and the Business of Life.

David Allen Company is a global training and consulting company, widely considered the leading authority in the fields of organizational and personal productivity.

Covered in this episode:

• GTD Basics
• GTD hang ups – common places where the GTD process falls apart for people:

1. Failure to capture
2. Failure to decide the outcome you’re committed to, and the specific action steps
3. Failure to then act (2 minute rule) or capture the action, or reminder to act on in the future
4. Failure to review
5. 
   

• The one list most people do work well is their calendar.
• Anything that is a win that instills trust in your system helps.
• Simple processes to achieve mini wins to trust your system more
• Drawing on the right side of the brain
• Sometimes a trusted system can be people
• David Allen’s TEDx Talk: WHY do GTD, not just WHAT it is or HOW
• How David starts his day: Good coffee, and the right maps.
• Dealing with distractions and unexpected inbox deliveries
• David’s most powerful tools: The Physical Inbox and Notetaker wallet
• How GTD applies to “work/life balance/blending”
• GTD is a lifestyle
• A lot of Getting Things Done is about not getting things done. It’s about being appropriately engaged with what’s going on.
• GTD and personal relationships
• The relationship between David and his wife’s personal GTD systems
• GTD behaviors really need to be installed in a cooperate culture
• Click to tweet ->[tweetable]Bad meetings create huge emails, and huge emails create bad meetings. – @GTDGuy[/tweetable]
• Movings things from the someday maybe list into actions and tasks to bring them into reality
• How much time is too much time “investigating” productivity apps?
• The “official GTD app”

David uses:

• List function in Lotus notes
• Eproductivity add in for list and calender functionality
• Mind Manager for mind maps
• The Brain

For capture:

• iPhone 5
• iPad
• Gmail
• Nothing beats pen and paper!

Connect with David and the GTD System:

• gtdconnect.com
• gtdtimes.com
• davidco
• GTDGuy on Twitter

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