First impressions from a new GTD Connect member

[Conejo23]

I thought I'd pass this on here at the public forum, guessing there’s probably at least one other person in the same boat I'm in.

I was looking for some resources and help to further my GTD education and hone my processes and skills. The free podcasts are great and the company does a nice job of making a lot of free information available. I considered coaching and actually had a terrific free 20 minute call with one of their coaches to briefly discuss where I'm at with my processes and mindset, and how to best move forward. If money were no object I would just do coaching now, but given my circumstances I want to pluck all the low hanging and more affordable fruit I can before moving in that direction.

So, I bought a one month membership to Connect so I could really check it out. You can do a free trial but that doesn’t allow you to access the Connect podcasts or download materials, and I do a lot of such listening in my car, so that’s why I went ahead and bought a month of Connect.

Well, I can tell you that David and his team have done an unbelievable job of putting resources together on Connect. It’s almost unbelievable how much is there to help someone in my position. From the assessment tools to the Getting Started/Reacquainted series (terrific 4-5 minute videos on each step of the GTD process along with a 10-15 minute audio discussion between David and his coaches on that step), to the podcasts to the webinars to the various audio media like the In Conversation and Creative Questioning series, there is a LOT of meat on this bone. And I haven’t even really gotten into the forums there yet.

If you’re doing great and you’re happy with your workflow, then perhaps this is overkill for you. But if you’re like me and you needed some help, I can tell you I've seen few website offering more rich and useful content than Connect.

[Barb]

I thought I'd pass this on here at the public forum, guessing there’s probably at least one other person in the same boat I'm in.

I was looking for some resources and help to further my GTD education and hone my processes and skills. The free podcasts are great and the company does a nice job of making a lot of free information available. I considered coaching and actually had a terrific free 20 minute call with one of their coaches to briefly discuss where I'm at with my processes and mindset, and how to best move forward. If money were no object I would just do coaching now, but given my circumstances I want to pluck all the low hanging and more affordable fruit I can before moving in that direction.

So, I bought a one month membership to Connect so I could really check it out. You can do a free trial but that doesn’t allow you to access the Connect podcasts or download materials, and I do a lot of such listening in my car, so that’s why I went ahead and bought a month of Connect.

Well, I can tell you that David and his team have done an unbelievable job of putting resources together on Connect. It’s almost unbelievable how much is there to help someone in my position. From the assessment tools to the Getting Started/Reacquainted series (terrific 4-5 minute videos on each step of the GTD process along with a 10-15 minute audio discussion between David and his coaches on that step), to the podcasts to the webinars to the various audio media like the In Conversation and Creative Questioning series, there is a LOT of meat on this bone. And I haven’t even really gotten into the forums there yet.

If you’re doing great and you’re happy with your workflow, then perhaps this is overkill for you. But if you’re like me and you needed some help, I can tell you I've seen few website offering more rich and useful content than Connect.

I joined for a month too...three years ago! Since Kelly took over Connect, it's fantastic. Enjoy your time with us...and get in the forums (answering one of your posts next)

[NewbGTD]

Sound good. How much is it? And do you think its worth the money just for genuine GTD enthusiasts, or even just to keep the GTD-Saw sharp?

[Conejo23]

newbgtd.....it’s $48/month if you go month to month, and I think it’s $480 if you buy an annual subscription. I bought a month to check it out. Will buy an annual membership after the first of the year.

Is it just for GTD enthusiasts? My sense (and I'm just only scratching the surface and getting started with it) is that it’s a superb resource for those who have read the book and are serious about implementing this methodology but need more assistance and tools and references to assist in moving down that learning curve. I believe it will help ‘sharpen the saw’, but I won’t know until I use my saw enough to dull the blade so it needs sharpening to begin with!

I think if someone only has a passing interest in GTD, or if they’re perfectly happy with their implementation of it and have no desire to change or improve it, then maybe (and I stress ‘maybe’) these tools wouldn’t be all that necessary. One risk of a site like this is that it has such an abundance of resources that one (read ‘me’) can easily start spinning off and spending more time honing the processes and systems and start neglecting the actual business of doing stuff.

But if you’re in my position and looking to move up a belt, this is a great way to do it.

[kelstarrising]

Conejo23--heartfelt thanks from me and the team for sharing your experience. We so appreciate that.

The pricing for GTD Connect is $48 per month or $480 per year ($360 per year for non-profits, gov't & education.) If you are seeking non-profit pricing, please email us at connect@davidco.com from the account that would qualify you, and we'll send you a link to purchase it from our store. Regular monthly and yearly members can simply purchase it from our store: https://secure.davidco.com/store/catalog/Membership-p-1-c-248.php

You can join by month and cancel any time by emailing us at connect@davidco.com.

Here's an FAQ that covers lots of questions too. https://secure.davidco.com/connect/contacts/faq.php

We also have a 2-week trial that includes the full experience, except for downloading content: https://secure.davidco.com/connect/free/14days

I know I am biased, but Connect is a great value if you consider what you get per month: webinars, podcasts, articles, updates from David and input from the coaching staff.

Cheers,
Kelly

[apinaud]

I begin my GTD Connect subscription on a 3 month test.

I was on the first group of people that sign when the test for GTD Connect was open to the general public, my idea was to test for 3 month.

There have been a couple of times that I have evaluate the investment, but they always come at that time with something that make me change my mind. That was before Kelly, since then, I have never question this expense again, GTD is a great tool to bring your GTD to the next level.

Best,

[TesTeq]

I know I am biased, but Connect is a great value if you consider what you get per month: webinars, podcasts, articles, updates from David and input from the coaching staff.

Don't forget about the Weekly Review Reminder e-mail from David! It is a real GTD Police in action.

[Oogiem]

And do you think its worth the money just for genuine GTD enthusiasts, or even just to keep the GTD-Saw sharp?

I was going month to month for a while. I signed up for a year a while ago because of the cost savings. It's a big investment for me but I decided that it's more than worth it just to keep me moving forward and learning.

[Conejo23]

I'm enjoying seeing the feedback from those who have been members for awhile. For those folks, would love to hear which of the resources at Connect they have found particularly helpful.

[Barb]

I'm enjoying seeing the feedback from those who have been members for awhile. For those folks, would love to hear which of the resources at Connect they have found particularly helpful.

Well, the webinars, the "coaches chat"...the forums. Did you know the coaches answer questions in the connect forums? They are in there all the time. Occasionally I'll see a post from Kelly in the public forums, but not like Connect where she posts every day. Honestly, I almost never read the public forums anymore (I was attracted to this heading, though).

The discounts on merchandise...the freebies. Just today I got an email that Connect members get the David Allen 2 minutes downloadable timer free ($10 in the store).

We have a book club in the forum too. We "discuss", chapter by chapter, David's books. We are just finishing "Getting Things Done" and starting "Making It All Work" after the first of the year.

I sound like a commercial, I know. :) I keep logged in all day long and check in on breaks--that's how often I find value here.

[sdann]

I have learned a tremendous amount from forum members. Whenever I'm uncertain about something I post it here and/or look in the online resources. I really like the webinars. I cannot wait until we start the MIAW book club, since the GTD book club really let me fine-tune my system (I don't know why I benefitted so much from that, but perhaps my focus was sharper or maybe it was the questions Kelly posted for review.)

End of December, it'll be 2 years for me.

[Conejo23]

an MIAW book club starting after the first of the year? Seriously?

Wow, that’s awesome. I ordered and just today received MIAW with my plan to PhotoRead all 3 of his books over Christmas break, let them kind of percolate for a bit, then do an indepth study of MIAW after the first of the year. This timing sounds perfect.

[ekmorris]

I've been a member of Connect only since the end of May, but I've already gotten a huge amount from it. I joined right before 2 *big* events - one a complete surprise (my brother's fatal heart attack) and one long-planned (a 3 month stay in Vietnam for research, with husband and daughter staying in the US). GTD helped enormously with both.

I'm not ordinarily a forums sort of person, but for me they are one of the most valuable parts. I get so much out of what other people are doing, and the coaches contribute very thoughtfully. I'm also a big fan of the podcasts/webinars. There are parts of Connect that I haven't really tapped into yet, like the Intention Journal, but everything I've tried has been useful

Many, many thanks to Kelly and to everyone else who makes this such a great resource!

Best,

Evelyn

[Barb]

I've been a member of Connect only since the end of May, but I've already gotten a huge amount from it. I joined right before 2 *big* events - one a complete surprise (my brother's fatal heart attack) and one long-planned (a 3 month stay in Vietnam for research, with husband and daughter staying in the US). GTD helped enormously with both.

I'm not ordinarily a forums sort of person, but for me they are one of the most valuable parts. I get so much out of what other people are doing, and the coaches contribute very thoughtfully. I'm also a big fan of the podcasts/webinars. There are parts of Connect that I haven't really tapped into yet, like the Intention Journal, but everything I've tried has been useful

Many, many thanks to Kelly and to everyone else who makes this such a great resource!

Best,

Evelyn

Evelyn,

I remember when you posted about your trip to Vietnam. How about updating us in the Connect Social Forum? I'd really love to hear about it!

[Barb]

an MIAW book club starting after the first of the year? Seriously?

Wow, that’s awesome. I ordered and just today received MIAW with my plan to PhotoRead all 3 of his books over Christmas break, let them kind of percolate for a bit, then do an indepth study of MIAW after the first of the year. This timing sounds perfect.

What is PhotoRead? Sounds like something I need to hear about :)

And yes, the indepth study of MIAW is up in January. I didn't participate as much as I should have from the beginning with Getting Things Done book club--and I was sorry I didn't. This time I'm going to work harder at it!

[Conejo23]

Barb, Photoreading is a VERY cool technology. There’s a company I'm a big fan of, Learning Strategies Corporation, www.learningstrategies.com.

Paul Scheele heads it up and has spent a lifetime learning how people learn. Photoreading is a way to read that uses the whole brain. What I find when I'm disciplined enough to do it (and I don’t do it with all written materials) is that I assimilate the information I desire from the book in greater depth and in a fraction of the time. They’re also big fans of mind mapping and it’s amazing when you utilize mind mapping with photoreading how much you learn from a book.

Here’s their site specifically for this course:

http://www.photoreading.com/

it’s also very cool to do what they call ‘syntopic’ reading where you take a number of books on a specific subject and photoread them all together. That’s what I'm going to do over Christmas break with David Allen’s 3 books.

[kelstarrising]

and I will be posting a quiz on the GTD book for those who followed the GTD Book Club (or not, really!) That will get posted today or tomorrow to the GTD Connect Forum for the Book Club.

[Conejo23]

FYI, meant syntopic, not synoptic reading.

For some reason I can’t edit a post, it just spins out and never saves it.

[Barb]

FYI, meant syntopic, not synoptic reading.

For some reason I can’t edit a post, it just spins out and never saves it.


when you can't edit, click "go advanced" and then make your edit. Problem solved.

[Conejo23]

thanks Barb, that worked like a champ.

[Barb]

Barb, Photoreading is a VERY cool technology. There’s a company I'm a big fan of, Learning Strategies Corporation, www.learningstrategies.com.

Paul Scheele heads it up and has spent a lifetime learning how people learn. Photoreading is a way to read that uses the whole brain. What I find when I'm disciplined enough to do it (and I don’t do it with all written materials) is that I assimilate the information I desire from the book in greater depth and in a fraction of the time. They’re also big fans of mind mapping and it’s amazing when you utilize mind mapping with photoreading how much you learn from a book.

Here’s their site specifically for this course:

http://www.photoreading.com/

it’s also very cool to do what they call ‘syntopic’ reading where you take a number of books on a specific subject and photoread them all together. That’s what I'm going to do over Christmas break with David Allen’s 3 books.

Very cool indeed! It's on my someday/maybe list!

[Conejo23]

Barb....cool! Photoreading actually has a lot of parallels to GTD. Actually, stuff that really works tends to have a lot of commonality with other stuff that works, I find.

One of the things I love about Photoreading is the intentionality of it. You don’t just pick up the book and think “this looks interesting, I'll now read every word the author writes”. You start with intention. WHY are you picking up the book, what do you want to get out of it, what would be a successful outcome from reading this book? Mind map that out. Just doing THAT is a very powerful exercise, no matter your reading style. Get very clear on your purpose for reading that book. Then the specific techniques of Photoreading will work very effectively.

Once I really *got* that concept, it was so liberating. I don’t need to read every word the author wrote just because he wrote it. Some books, absolutely. Other books, I use these techniques until I've satisfied my desired outcome, and then I'm done and I move on. I’ve taken books that would’ve taken me maybe 8-12 hours to read (I'm a reasonably fast standard reader, so this is a lot of material), spent 30-60 minutes up front getting really clear on my purpose and desired outcome, mind mapping it out, and then I spend maybe 2-3 more hours with the book and I'm done and I end up with a lot more information than I would’ve gotten with standard reading.

Fun stuff.

[Barb]

I do almost all of my reading on an Amazon Kindle. Currently, I scan the Table of Contents, create a Mindmap, then go through the book quickly. I go back to the Mindmap and add to it, this time asking key questions. When I go back to the book again, I go looking for the answers to my questions. I usually go through one last time to complete my Mindmap.

Is PhotoReading similar to that? Do you think it would work with a Kindle?

[Conejo23]

your process has some similarities, but when you get to the “go find answers” step, that’s where I think you’re going to see a number of differences. Another thing I like about this method is that it give you techniques to get your brain into an accelerated learning state where it’s literally more receptive to inputting information.

I think you could do SOME of this method on a Kindle but there’s no way you could do the actual photoreading step itself on one. I don’t think you could turn the pages quickly enough. I think it would also be a challenge entering the ‘photofocus’ visual state on a Kindle. I’d suggest asking this question on their forums when you get closer to checking it out.

A few quick suggestions, though: in addition to the ToC, review the index, then flip through the book quickly page by page, take no more than 5 minutes for a thick book, and scan chapter titles and sub titles or anything that your brain/eyes are drawn to as you flip. It will give you more information and key words for your mind map. Write down both your intended purpose and a list of questions you want answered from your time with this material.

Sounds like you’re well on your way there already though, awesome! Wasn’t it amazing when you started mind mapping a book and your intention with it BEFORE you began reading it? Powerful, powerful stuff.

[Barb]

Ooooh, I could never give up my Kindle! And I can turn pages faster on that than I can a physical book!

Thanks for the other tips. Great info. I'm going to be taking some graduate classes next year and I need to get my brain back in shape.