March 15, 2006
I'm halting my personal blog, for now...
'Twas a noble experiment, 270 Entries and 1,529 Comments later, and it was great for me to experience this medium from the inside out, in my limited way. I'd probably continue it in some form, if I didn't have a multitude of other things to do that are taking priority. It's another time I need to practice my own GTDing and renegotiate my own commitments with myself to stay up with my changing world. What with our Connect membership service coming out of the gate soon, our new Workplace Learning division getting a whole new GTD program ready for internal corporate distribution, lots of new educational and desktop products in the works, a full new RoadMap seminar tour, and expanded speaking requirements, I'm just too stretched to keep enjoying the luxury of late-night college-student-union chatting (blogging).
One interesting thing that I didn't expect was that many people were using my blog as their "intro" to our work. So, as my personal "between the lines" it was beginning to possibly misrepresent the value and nature of The David Allen Company. Another hitch has been that my site and blog have been so popular (in terms of hits), it got big time on the radar of the spammers, and we've spent countless hours filtering and finding the real comments in the spam-catcher, so they weren't lost.
I've reinstated a kind of What's New at DavidCo page on the web site, to assure everyone that we're real people, living our lives in real time, and for the more company-focused "between the lines" kinds of updates.
I'll leave this post and the blog functional for a while, to give everyone a chance to unhook and not be surprised if you're no longer receiving a feed. If you want to continue RSS feeds from updates and changes in the DavidCo site and other blogs, go to this link.
Thanks to all of you who have come into the "salon" and contributed to the dialogue. My apologies for not responding to them all - I would have loved to, had I had the time. I'm not going away - just reconfiguring the channels a bit...
Posted by David at 11:52 AM | Comments (24)
February 27, 2006
Our kitties make us laugh
Trying to clean up the yard before lots of business travel yesterday, I got reminded again about Oscar Wilde's quote, "The first duty in life is to assume a pose. What the second duty is no one yet has found out."
Cosmo Topper in one of his hangouts...
Posted by David at 12:10 PM | Comments (8)
February 24, 2006
Bonkers for bonsai...
Have been jammin' over the last two weeks with bonsai fever - this is the best season of the year for repotting and planting, because of new root growth coming. Just finished my first "forest" planting yesterday...five Japanese elms. I'm stoked. Sort of like golf (which I don't have time for either), it's a totally unnatural thing that can be elegantly natural.
Lost in the forest...
Posted by David at 09:22 AM | Comments (7)
February 11, 2006
Ah, spring...
Lovely warm morning today in Ojai. Irises waking up...
Posted by David at 11:12 AM | Comments (5)
January 25, 2006
How we all should be... at least a little bit
After taking our lab, Molly, for a late-evening walk tonight, I was just noticing and affirming how healthy it is when a dog - and a human - have at least ten minutes a day when the tail can't help being straight up.
Posted by David at 09:28 PM | Comments (7)
January 23, 2006
New member of the team
Meet June Bug - newest (rescued) member of at least our extended family (might be ours, might be Anne's - but you can bet she's not going back to the shelter!) Obviously I can't let Kathryn out by herself any more...
The pet recue folks she ran across are terrific, by the way, so if you're in southern California and you can afford a heartstring seriously plucked, check 'em out.
June Bug surveys her new and comfy digs
Posted by David at 11:56 AM | Comments (4)
December 31, 2005
Another decade done...
Sitting enjoying the rain out my windows this New Year's Eve afternoon here in my office, catching up on the outer world stuff which had accumulated while I played serious hooky for my birthday this week. We went to Las Vegas for three nights, with total permission for sleeping late, room service, steam baths, exercising, massages, great restaurants, and being entertained (saw Cirque's KA and O, and walked away from the blackjack tables to the good!). Nice to step back and thank myself and the powers that be that I actually made it through sixty years here. Interesting and handy illusion to assume that one's 60th is any different than any other day in the universe, but what the heck - any excuse to wrap up the past, bring forward lots of positive experiences glazed with some sweet nostalgia, and jump into new beginnings...
Posted by David at 02:06 PM | Comments (9)
December 19, 2005
Our sweetie...
Finally caught a photo, during our outdoor business meeting this weekend, that approaches a feeling/factor of our wonderful 9-yr-old yellow Lab, Molly - her incredible sweetness. Isn't it amazing how our animals can remind us of some of our priorities?
Molly, protecting our hearts...
Posted by David at 12:00 AM | Comments (5)
December 12, 2005
Asilomar
My retreat last week was at one of the lovelier retreat grounds in the U.S. - Asilomar. It was originally built and used in the early 1900's by the YWCA, and has some buildings done by famous architects. Now it's owned and run by the state of California. Right on the Monterey peninsula, the air is fresh, the grounds are stunning, the atmosphere is serene. Good place to re-treat oneself.
Our group about to go on a meditative walk on the beach, observed by the local fauna...
Posted by David at 08:22 PM | Comments (2)
December 05, 2005
Off to see the Wizard...
Kathryn and I are unhooking from our outer worlds, as we usually do about this time every year, to spend a week in retreat in northern California. So nothing here until afterwards...
Posted by David at 11:02 AM | Comments (6)
November 26, 2005
Evening light
One of the greatest things about where we live is that our one-acre property runs due east/west, as does the Ojai Valley. So we get incredibly beautiful early morning and late afternoon light. Especially in the winter, when the sun is lower. We also have a 100-yr-old 100-ft.-tall Aleppo pine tree in the front yard, that sometimes catches that light just right...
Evening light...
Posted by David at 09:57 AM | Comments (1)
November 14, 2005
Bonsai sunset
Twenty-four hours at home. Tending to the bonsai/life issue of what to leave, what to take away...?
Priorities...
Posted by David at 02:44 AM | Comments (6)
October 05, 2005
Eulogy for a good friend, one of our staff
Jesus Becerra Flores, who has done all of our Spanish translations for years and last year became a full-time workflow coach with us, passed on a couple of days ago, his body having contracted an uncommon lymphoma that progressed very rapidly.
Jesus was one of the most sophisticated, intelligent, sensitive, and caring people I've ever met. His Spanish translations of me and GTD material were the best - understanding the stuff from the core so that he could best communicate it in its own way in his mother tongue... just the best. We could share a glance across the stage while he was doing simultaneous translation that spoke volumes of what we understood about what we were doing together.
Jesus held a Light that always provided an important stake in the ground and reference point for us, he was a delightful and totally welcome participant in everything we did as a company. May his spirit continue into the next chapter with grace and abundance and all our blessings, for all he did for us and for just who he was and is...
"To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure." - Albus Dumbledore (J.K. Rowling)
Our dear friend and colleague Jesus Becerra...on to bigger and brighter things.
Posted by David at 07:57 PM | Comments (6)
September 25, 2005
The new kittie is fine
For any of you who care to follow the saga of our rescued new kittie, Nikos, he's alive and well. (Forgive another personal note from this weekend...48 hours at home before another two weeks on the road...just smelling some of the roses along the way.)
It is impossible to enjoy idling thoroughly unless one has plenty of work to do. There is no fun in doing nothing when you have nothing to do. Wasting time is merely an occupation then, and a most exhausting one. Ideness, like kisses, to be sweet must be stolen. - Jerome K. Jerome
Nikos and Finnegan in chill mode...
Posted by David at 09:43 AM | Comments (3)
August 29, 2005
Shameless self-promotion
Picked up my plates today...
Don't honk if you love "mind like water"...
Posted by David at 04:40 PM | Comments (14)
August 20, 2005
Bonsai in Los Angeles
Errands Saturday down in L.A., and managed to get by a small but incredible exhibit of bonsai downtown in Little Tokyo:
"Nan Pu Kai Bonsai; Members will exhibit their Bonsai Trees in Homage to John Naka; August 13-21 10:00am - 5:00pm; JACCC, Doizaki Main Gallery"
Kathryn, by an amazing crape myrtle bonsai
Posted by David at 10:21 PM | Comments (1)
August 15, 2005
Between the lines...
You may have noticed I changed the title of the blog. Originally I had thought that there might be more consistent dialog at a certain level. Hence, "the Salon," (the idea of which I've always loved since hanging out from time to time with my brother-in-law, John Clellon Holmes, many years ago, with conversation very rich and compelling). But it's really been my lack of bandwidth, given all the other things toward which I need to give my attention these days, that has caused this to morph more, indeed, to "between the lines" kind of stuff. Nice to have this, though, and it feels better to have the integrity of at least the name being more a reflection of what I'm doing here...
Posted by David at 12:14 AM | Comments (12)
August 04, 2005
This morning's IN...
Per an email I just got (cleaning up to zero, you know...!)...
Hi David, I thinks it would be great for us GTD fans to see (on your blog?) some pics of your personal inbox just before processing it, or your filing cabinets and other thing you personally use... another occasion to use your nice and new sony camera!! :) Anyway, thanks for sharing this amazing way of getting things done !! Kind regards, -- matt
...here 'tis at 11:15 AM PDT today. Last night it was two feet tall. (Second basket has support materials for things I'm working on today. File labels on the bottoms of the folders as well as the tops, so I can see them without open papers). Ask and ye shall (sometimes) receive.
Posted by David at 11:09 AM | Comments (17)
July 31, 2005
Suddenly on a Sunday...
Have a few new and wonderful bonsai wannabe's in our screen house. Great way to take a break from thinking. And just looking and seeing and snipping and seeing and looking and...
Me and the kids today on a break...
Posted by David at 01:43 PM | Comments (5)
July 25, 2005
New family member
Inherited a stray kitty over the weekend. "Nikos" (below, on his comfy spot on my desk) watches now as I crank through my in-basket, which I've been deliciously ignoring but which now has a bit of a scuzz factor now causing me to get with it...
Posted by David at 10:47 AM | Comments (10)
July 10, 2005
Sunday garden moment
Still recuperating from my surgery, working in my home office, fine-tuning the new seminar, and a brief break walking the garden... Lovely to see daisies out now, in our perennial bed, as well as day lilies.
A garden moment...
Posted by David at 03:39 PM | Comments (2)
July 08, 2005
Is health care changing?
Had outpatient surgery yesterday at Community Memorial Hospital of Ventura, and it was a neat experience. Not the surgery, of course (I'm fine, BTW, just an inguinal hernia repair). But it's one of the few times in a large healthcare facility I actualy felt like a customer, not just meat in a cattle herd. Everything was on time, not rushed, though highly efficient. Each of the dozen people I interacted with was attentive and filled me in on what they were doing, and going to be doing. I found their CYA stuff pretty interesting, though - not only did I have to answer four different times to four different people who I was, what I was there for, who my doctor was, etc., I also had to initial on my own skin which side of my stomach the hernia was on. Boy, that's not taking any chances on them cutting the wrong part of the wrong person!
Anyway, compared to many other hospital events over the years, for myself and others, it was refreshing to experience healthcare as a real business, in the most positive light. Like I was actually paying their salaries and keeping them in business or something.
I had an interesting window into healthcare as it was beginning to rock and roll with changes and regulations coming down the pike, in the late 1980's. At one time I had as clients in Boston: Mass General, Mass Eye & Ear, Salem Hospital, New England Medical Center, Beth Israel, and Harvard Community Health Plan (I was something of a cult figure in that world way back then!) In the early days, patients were given all kinds of attention, because insurance companies just paid out the wazoo for as long as people wanted to stick around. Then the crunch happened because healthcare couldn't get it together as an industry to control costs in time, and Big Brother had to step in. Then it became get-'m-in-and-out as fast as possible, because we're getting paid for the outcome, not the time. Now, who knows, good ole capitalism might have created another spin - how do we attract and maintain loyal customers?
Posted by David at 11:29 AM | Comments (14)
June 29, 2005
Don't you just hate it...
Don't you just hate it when you finally do some dumb, dorky thing you've been thinking about for years, that might actually make something a little bit easier... and it does?!
Recently mine was this: Kathryn and I were at a Bed Bath & Beyond store, and I happened to notice a shower mirror. One that has suction cups to attach, with a sort of cheap, no-fog kind of reflector mirror. What the heck. $9.95.
Already paid for itself times 1000! I began shaving in the shower years ago, because it saved time. But I never could really tell where the sideburn line was. Always had to double check after the shower. As well as second-guessing and extra shaving, just so I didn't miss anything.(Ladies, I know, more than you ever wanted to know...)
Wow. What a difference! (Don't worry kids, when you're my age, small things can mean a lot!)
Posted by David at 10:18 PM | Comments (15)
June 14, 2005
Finishing a body project!
Seems there's always a couple of "body projects" on my Projects list, and it's usually a fabulous feeling to mark them off as done. Certainly true for the one I finished this afternoon, in between my Conference Board event and catching a plane in a few minutes to London. Had my final session in this six-month project with Brian LeSage, an outstanding dentist in Beverly Hills, fixing lots of stuff in my 59.457-year-old mouth. Had major resorations done twenty-five years ago, but they wore out (apparently that's about their life span). Anyway, more than you need to know... but I wanted to give Brian a plug. He's one of the country's top esthetic dentists, teaches this stuff at UCLA, is a super guy. Totally meticulous, and loves his craft. I understand that my totally consistent 16-micron occlusion is nothing to sneeze at! (And it wasn't even in my ideal scene...)
No web site yet, but if you or anyone in Southern California might be interested, he's at 310-276-2468.
Dr. Brian LeSage and I celebrate completion this afternoon!
Posted by David at 04:59 PM
June 08, 2005
Our favorite restaurant
Kathryn and I spent one of those errands-in-L.A. days yesterday (you know - teeth, hair, shoes, bathroom accessories - all the sexy stuff). But we did treat ourselves to dinner at our truly favorite restaurant in the universe. An unimposing place on Montana Ave. in Santa Monica, Vincenzo Ristorante is run by Vincenzo Nicoletta, a very Italian, very lovely friend, who catered our wedding fourteen years ago. His tiramisu - the best on the planet - was our wedding cake! I've eaten lots of places around the world, and his stuff remains a benchmark for the best basic Italian - the stuff we'd eat regularly. Treat yourself, if you're ever in the mood for really good (I mean, like, really good) food, plus understated neighborhood Italian style. Hint: penne vodka and rack of lamb with mustard sauce. Tell him David sent you. 714 Montana (just above 7th) in Santa Monica CA - 310-395-6619.
Me and Kathryn and Vincenzo last night
Posted by David at 01:28 AM | Comments (3)
June 04, 2005
Ever heard of the country doc?
A great feature of my lifestyle is our medical doctor - Rob Feiss - who does house calls. Rob's a great guy, trained as an emergency room specialist, taught at UCLA, had a growing practice associated with a large hospital. Then he just got tired of cranking as many people through the mill as fast as possible, wanted to create quality relationships and spend quality time with his patients, and just jumped out of the race to do a family practice in Ventura/Ojai area. He does house calls. Any time. (Shows up with pretty cool gear, too!)
Nice when good people buck the system to really do good work. His practice is quite successful, on his terms, as you might imagine.
My doc visits me on a house call
Posted by David at 10:32 AM
May 29, 2005
Sidewalk art in Santa Barbara
Kathryn, Anne Gennett and I unhooked from our crank-it-out rhythms yesterday and did one of our favorite things - hopping over to Santa Barbara to shop, eat, hang out...
There's a great Italianesque sidewalk chalk art festival going on up at the Santa Barbara Mission this weekend, benefiting the Children's Creative Project (CCP), a nonprofit program run by the Santa Barbara County Education Office.
Santa Barbara artists at work
Posted by David at 03:44 PM | Comments (4)
April 17, 2005
A spring day...
Ahhh, one of those days to be unreasonably joyful, spend time in the garden when it makes no sense, and be thankful I have a place like our place in Ojai to come back to...
Kathryn and Cosmo Topper this morning, amidst our exuberant roses...
Posted by David at 04:17 PM | Comments (2)
August 19, 2004
CoffeeBoy: our connection to drug of choice
[Warning: unsolicited infomercial] Andrew Whaley introduced himself to me as a bona fide Next Action Hero, and come to find out he owns a great coffee production and distribution company, CoffeeBoy, from which he supplies us now our favorite espresso beans (we love his LoFi Espresso Blend). In the old days, we used to talk about the "works" (drug paraphernalia). Here's the reasonably-OK current-day version thereof (that's a bag of Andrew's coffee in the picture):
Posted by David at 04:48 AM | Comments (2)
August 17, 2004
The kids
Had to take an hour with my kids, after finishing a great 5-day semi-annual staff meeting, cranking through a humungous IN-basket, catching up with mission-critical calls, etc. I'll be boring you senseless over the next years as I share each little fine-tune of their growth...! (Kathryn gave me a screen house for my bonsai kids a few weeks ago... Caution! serious zone space....)
Posted by David at 07:00 AM | Comments (1)
June 10, 2004
I´m a proud poppa...
My new baby! Gotta say, it's a winner...
Posted by David at 11:20 AM | Comments (17)
May 03, 2004
Kid at play...
Off on a cool spring morn in Ojai to play golf, on the Vespa...!
Posted by David at 10:52 AM | Comments (3)
March 23, 2004
I just killed one of my best friends
Well, I have several very interesting things to share about the last 72 hours of coaching with a CEO on the shore of Lake Tahoe, but I have to just insert a very personal update to keep the deck clear. Early this afternoon I had to put down Nika, our sublimely-connected-to-us German shepherd. As I returned from a flight to LAX from Reno, a very complicated and intense 24 hours with our dog (that Kathryn had to manage) turned into the necessity for me to drive to our animal hospital in Ventura (as soon as I drove in) and OK euthanasia for one of the best friends of my life (and probably many others).
So, forgive a pause in the conceptual/intellectual/results-oriented side of my existence, while I allow myself the luxury of falling apart emotionally... to dedicate my personal grief of this transition to the fabulous human qualities that Nika represented for me: freedom, elegance, power, sensitivity, loyalty, intelligence, and trust. May her Spirit expand and continue on its course, and may I garner the fruits of our experience together.... Kathryn and I have been wallowing tonight in the delicious pain of this loss and gain from such a life-reminding event... Please send your best wishes to her spirit, as it rests and moves on to the next chapter... Thanks.
Posted by David at 09:05 AM | Comments (17)
