Black Belt Productivity

Black Belt Productivity would like to welcome in Allen Hall, Graduate Student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and blogger at searching4arcadia. He brings us the perspective of a student who has implemented GTD. There is a lot of talk about who GTD is good for profession-wise. We are trying to bring views from a number of professions that have successfully implemented GTD.

We thank Allen for his post, and we look forward to see more from him in the future.

- Michael

What state of affairs was like pre-GTD?

This is the last chapter of Part 2 of Getting Things Done^®. Part 2 was all about getting into the nuts and bolts of GTD^®. This chapter tackes projects and getting them situated into your GTD System.

- Michael

Chapter 10: Getting Projects Under Control

We have covered getting our day-to-day actions under control, so let’s look at getting our projects straightened out. Allen states that we all need to plan our or work and our lives so that we can ease the stress that we put on ourselves every day. He also states that a side effect of more planning would be the increase in “creative output with minimal effort.”

One of the most frustrating problems that I have personally had to deal with in life management is learning to say “no”. And as I get older, I realize more and more, that it is OK to say “no” from time to time.

Once, almost ten years ago, I found myself completely over extended. I was a full time employee, a part time student, a deacon, the discipleship director and the treasurer of three different not-for-profits (this happens to you when people that are in not-for-profits find out you are an accountant). I had been married less than a year, and I traveled almost every week on my job. I could not say “no” to anyone…and my life was miserable.

This is the last chapter discussing the 5 Phases of Getting Things Done^®. It is time to take our lists and make some things happen.

- Michael

Chapter 9: Doing: Making the Best Action Choices

There are many different ways that you can get things done…once you have a system in place to tell you what needs to be done. The methods described here were briefly mentioned in Chapter 2, but I did not go into any detail then, knowing that they would be covered in depth here.

This week, we welcome in Matt Cornell, of Matt’s Idea Blog. Matt has taken the enviable task of turning his love of GTD into a possible second career as a Productivity Coach by earning a (self-defined) Master’s Degree in Personal Productivity.

We are excited that he agreed to write for us (as we are with all of our Black Belts).

- Michael

GTD: Space + awareness = *major* action

Introduction

I missed the Thursday posting of Chapter 8 and then I was out helping my in-laws move on Friday, so this post got put in the @Waiting list.

- Michael

Chapter 8: Reviewing: Keeping Your System Functional

This is the chapter that details the hardest step in the process to actually complete…the Weekly Review. A recent poll from 43Folders stated that 32% of the respondents (75) found that reviewing was their GTD weakness. I believe that is how I voted in the poll.

MAN…I need a yard sale…BAD!!!

As I look around my garage, I see a hopeless looking mess.

However, this is another real opportunity for a GTD^® application.
David tells us that sometimes we just need to rent one of those portable dumpsters, and start chunking stuff. And yes…its ok.

How do we apply GTD to a natural disaster like my garage?

Let’s recap. Michael reminded us a few weeks ago in Chapter 2 of the primer that there are five stages of processing.

1. Collect all of our actions into one place,

Sorry this is getting out kind of late today. I am working hard this weekend to help prep for my best friend’s wedding tomorrow. So my time has been limited. Hope you enjoy this entry.

- Jason

Something that I have been thinking about lately is our purpose for Getting Things Done^®. Why do I think about such things? I have found that our purpose, in large part, determines the effectiveness of our efforts.

How GTD has Changed GTD Wannabe’s Life

I’ve been experimenting with David Allen’s Getting Things done for about 9 months now. I still consider myself a novice, hence the GTD Wannabe moniker that I use. I’m most definitely stuck at the runway level still, but that’s okay with me. I’m at a point in my life where I inherently know my longer-term plan, i.e., finish PhD in two years or less, get job, re-evaluate goals then. So, this essay is a collection of ramblings on how GTD has changed my life, from a wannabe, runway-level, 9-month-in practitioner. Hopefully there will a nugget or two in here for you gentle readers.

OK. Now you are down to one pile of stuff to mess with…see how easy this is! After today, you will have all of your stuff put ‘away’ into your trusted system and all of the pile will be gone. It will be a good day, I promise.

- Michael

Chapter 7: Organizing: Setting Up the Right Buckets

Today is the day that we really cement our system in our head and in practice. We will be setting up and filling all of the buckets that will be our trusted system. This is the part of the program that can be the most confusing while, at the same time, the most straightforward. We will be working on the outer part of the Workflow Diagram.