Ep. 364: GTD Office Hour with David Allen

In this recording of our Long Lists webinar, we had a lively discussion about how lists get to be long, how long they "should" be, what lists to review when, and how to narrow your focus on any given day.   This audio is one of many available at GTD Connect, a learning space and community hub for all things GTD. Join GTD practitioners from around the world in learning, sharing, and developing the skills for stress-free productivity. Sign up for a free guest pass. Knowing how to get the right things done is a key to success. It's easy to get distracted and overwhelmed. Stay focused and increase productivity with GTD Connect—a subscription-based online learning center from the David Allen Company. GTD Connect gives you access to a wealth of multimedia content designed to help you stay on track and deepen your awareness of principles you can also learn in GTD courses, coaching, and by reading the Getting Things Done book. You'll also get the support and encouragement of a thriving global community of people you won't find anywhere else. If you'd like to try GTD Connect free for 14 days, read on for what's included and how to get your free trial. During your 14-day free trial, you will have access to: Recorded webinars on a wide range of productivity topics Extensive audio, video, and document library Slice of GTD Life series to see how others are making GTD stick David Allen's exclusive interviews with people in his network all over the world Lively members-only discussions sharing ideas, tips, and tricks Note: GTD Connect is designed to reinforce your learning, and we also recommend that you take a course, get individual coaching, or read the Getting Things Done book. Ready to start your free trial?

2019 GTD Summit: David Allen, Russell Bishop, and Dean Acheson David Allen is reunited with the people who inspired GTD: his mentor Dean Acheson, and friend Russell Bishop. Reflecting on nearly 20 years of GTD, the three of them explore their own learning trajectories, as well as what's next for GTD. To watch this conversation and the entire GTD Summit from 2019, please visit GTD Connect. Sign up for the GTD Newsletter This audio is one of many available at GTD Connect, a learning space and community hub for all things GTD. Join GTD practitioners from around the world in learning, sharing, and developing the skills for stress-free productivity. Sign up for a free guest pass. Knowing how to get the right things done is a key to success. It's easy to get distracted and overwhelmed. Stay focused and increase productivity with GTD Connect—a subscription-based online learning center from the David Allen Company. GTD Connect gives you access to a wealth of multimedia content designed to help you stay on track and deepen your awareness of principles you can also learn in GTD courses, coaching, and by reading the Getting Things Done book. You'll also get the support and encouragement of a thriving global community of people you won't find anywhere else. If you'd like to try GTD Connect free for 14 days, read on for what's included and how to get your free trial. During your 14-day free trial, you will have access to: Recorded webinars on a wide range of productivity topics Extensive audio, video, and document library Slice of GTD Life series to see how others are making GTD stick David Allen's exclusive interviews with people in his network all over the world Lively members-only discussions sharing ideas, tips, and tricks Note: GTD Connect is designed to reinforce your learning, and we also recommend that you take a course, get individual coaching, or read the Getting Things Done book. Ready to start your free trial?

In the opening of the 2019 GTD Summit, MC Ben Hammersley introduces David Allen and asks him about the "why" and his vision for the two-day event. To watch the entire GTD Summit from 2019, please visit GTD Connect. Sign up for the GTD Newsletter This audio is one of many available at GTD Connect, a learning space and community hub for all things GTD. Join GTD practitioners from around the world in learning, sharing, and developing the skills for stress-free productivity. Sign up for a free guest pass. Knowing how to get the right things done is a key to success. It's easy to get distracted and overwhelmed. Stay focused and increase productivity with GTD Connect—a subscription-based online learning center from the David Allen Company. GTD Connect gives you access to a wealth of multimedia content designed to help you stay on track and deepen your awareness of principles you can also learn in GTD courses, coaching, and by reading the Getting Things Done book. You'll also get the support and encouragement of a thriving global community of people you won't find anywhere else. If you'd like to try GTD Connect free for 14 days, read on for what's included and how to get your free trial. During your 14-day free trial, you will have access to: Recorded webinars on a wide range of productivity topics Extensive audio, video, and document library Slice of GTD Life series to see how others are making GTD stick David Allen's exclusive interviews with people in his network all over the world Lively members-only discussions sharing ideas, tips, and tricks Note: GTD Connect is designed to reinforce your learning, and we also recommend that you take a course, get individual coaching, or read the Getting Things Done book. Ready to start your free trial?

Sara tells about implementing GTD so well that she was able to smoothly delegate her job during maternity leave. She describes how she encourages her staff to apply GTD best practices. She has interesting things to say about adapting contexts to current reality. And she shares about the tools she uses to manage her lists in a very full life.

Our recent Office Hour discussion had a surprise visitor ? David Allen! He caught us up on the dual celebrations for the 25th anniversary of the publication of Getting Things Done and his 80th birthday. We talked about where, and whether, to keep reminders for various household tasks, the shifting "weight" of areas of focus over time, and how paper capture endures.

David has a conversation with Dr. Julie Flagg, who discusses her GTD journey, including her significant decision to retire. Julie has been a GTD enthusiast since 2000, when she met David in Boston. She talks about how she has adapted her system to the change from a busy medical practice to an equally busy retirement. Julie still applies all the GTD best practices, including the two-minute rule. Introducing Julie for this interview, David mentions her presentation at the GTD Summit in 2019.

We explore how categorizing your GTD next actions lists by context will help you accomplish more with less effort. Context is critical, because it filters what you can do before you factor in time, energy, and priority. We discuss what contexts are, how they have and haven't changed over the years, misconceptions about contexts, and examples of ways people use them in today's world.  

David has a fascinating conversation with Charles Duhigg, whose new book is Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection. Charles says, "With the right tools, we can connect with anyone."

In this wide-ranging conversation, David and Gina DiRoma cover a variety of GTD topics. They even get around to GTD and improvisational comedy. Gina is the Corporate Events and Sales Director at SAK Comedy Lab, where the motto is "we make stuff up." That's a perfect complement to David's phrase, "Make it up, make it happen."

When asked how a company does GTD, David Allen's answer is, "Holacracy." It's a self-organizing management framework that has GTD built in. The David Allen Company has been running on this framework since 2011. This recording on how GTD is incorporated into Holacracy's governing structure is from a presentation for the Holacracy community of practice. You can click this link to download the PDF that has GTD comments on the Holacracy constitution.