Getting Things Done

Would you like to get more done, have more successful outcomes, and feel more relaxed while doing it? I've spent the last 25 years researching productivity and how to accomplish more with less effort. The methods I'm going to share with you will help you manage all the details of your personal and professional life with more confidence, knowing that at any moment you are doing exactly what you should be doing from all the choices available to you. Let's start with the educational foundation for stress-free productivity, which I call "Getting Things Done®," or GTD® as it has become popularly known. It's a work-life management system that will help you go from personal stress and overwhelm to an integrated system with focus and control.

What I do is based on a radically common sense notion that with a complete and current inventory of all your commitments, organized and reviewed in a systematic way, you can focus clearly, view your world from optimal angles and make trusted choices about what to do (and not do) at any moment. Here are some of the things I can help you with:

• Capturing anything and everything that has your attention
• Defining actionable things discretely into outcomes and concrete next steps
• Organizing reminders and information in the most streamlined way, in appropriate categories, based on how and when you need to access them
• Keeping current and "on your game" with appropriately frequent reviews of the six horizons of your commitments (purpose, vision, goals, areas of focus, projects, and actions)

My column on the Huffington Post will explore each of those steps, in detail and with real-world examples, in the coming weeks, with simple advice for how to work (and live!), in that more efficient and productive way.

Why do we need this kind of help now?

We are faced with a world that changes overnight with the emergence of new technologies and lifestyles. We've gone from an analog world of top 40 hits on vinyl albums to a digital world of downloadable hits from every genre. We've invented new products, hoping to make our lives better -- the fax machine, personal computer, PDA, the internet, cell phones, and etc. - delivering data faster and faster to more people.

But it didn't necessarily follow that we became more efficient or that life changed for the better at broadband speed. While the world was being introduced to new hardware and software, no one had developed a mindset or the education to seamlessly integrate the new technologies with everyday life. We had a lot of new stuff - more channels, more podcasts, more text messages -- but not a new way of thinking.

Most everyone I talk with say they have far more to do than time and energy to do it. I'll focus on helping you get things done that are meaningful to you, with truly the least amount of invested attention and energy. I'll bring you the thought process for getting things done, that makes all the hardware and software more usable. Please join me here in the coming weeks as we explore how you can use my advice on Getting Things Done to make your life better.

You can find out more about David Allen and GTD at http://www.davidco.com/
The David Allen Company is a professional training, coaching, and management consulting organization, based in Ojai, California. Its purpose is to enhance performance and improve the quality of life by providing the world's best information, education, and products in the fields of personal productivity and work/life balance.

Comments

[JSBock]

ww is accidentally partially correct. Use your brain, but use it thoughtfully. If ww had done minimal research, s/he would realize that GTD is all about using your brain in a better way. Use your brain to pay attention to what's really important, instead of compulsively recreating your grocery list at 3AM when you're not at the grocery store. Use your brain for doing more of what really matters to you. My brain is off to read James Sallis and Terry Laughlin because my grocery list is right where it should be - out of my brain.

[LenEdgerly]

David Allen's system is clear, powerful, and well-suited to the constantly changing contraints and opportunities of my life. I love it. I look forward to seeing your posts here, David, and hope you will try out new perspectives, insights here to take advantage of the lively HuffPo community. IMHO, you (and we) will get the most out of this gig if you use it to enlarge your comfort zone by extending slightly the place where you draw the line between your public and your private ruminations.

[brian]

As a hopeless techie, and an aspiring GTDer (Getting Things Done-er) I began my foray into GTD by spending an inordinate amount of time setting up my system with my computers, PDAs and phones. It was a fun experiment! But I never followed through with actually using it because playing with all that technology kept my focus away from actually GTD. Then I pulled back and restarted. I found this:

http://www­.43folders­.com/2004/­09/03/intr­oducing-th­e-hipster-­pda/

and:

http://www.diyplanner.com/

Now I can go to town with my GTD and not have to touch any technology to do it (other than printing the cards). It helps me to focus on what I need to do instead of playing with my toys. Yes, I'm a kooky liberal, so I use recycled paper products and put them in the recycle bin when I'm done with them. And no, this isn't an advertisement, these tools are quite free.

Thanks, David Allen, for your wisdom and help in this crazy mixed up world. And for those of you who don't know it, yes, he has a book -- you can get started today! OK, I admit... I sound like an advertisement.

[ww]

Why people keep making zillionaires out of these guys I'll never know.

Hey, try this:

Use your own brain.

[Greendawg]

I meant to use my own brain, but I got too busy and forgot.

[Mort]

What a wonderful thing! Instead of feeding the frenzy of negativity here, your column promises to help us make positive changes. I truly hope many will take advantage of this opportunity. Thanks!

[Effective1]

Thanks, this is exactly what I (and many I know) have been looking for. I'll be watching for next week's post . . .

[SeanGardner]

Good post. What you do is so needed. Personally and professionally, people are not living the lives they want. I am happy you are here to help those who are trying to organize their lives.

After going to battle on the Huffington Post Political Page, I'll make sure to look for your posts when I need spiritual healing...LOL!