60 en-us Featuring company news, blogs, articles, and podcasts designed to help you win at the game of work and business of life. http://www.davidco.com/master_rss.php ℗ & © 2013 The David Allen Company Winning At The Game Of Work And Business Of Life David Allen & Company Podcasts on productivity and Getting Things Done®. The David Allen Company info@davidco.com no The David Allen Company --> Come on in to the mind of an investigative journalist with a GTD spin on it. Charles Duhigg, a multiple award-winning reporter for the New York Times and author of "The Power of Habit," talks with David about his career and how he does his work, his dedication to GTD, and the fascinating discoveries he has researched in the arena of habits and how we can change them. The David Allen Company http://www.davidco.com/audio/DavidAllen-CharlesDuhigg.mp3 http://www.davidco.com/audio/DavidAllen-CharlesDuhigg.mp3 Mon, 06 May 2013 16:29:14 MDT 01:12:52 g The David Allen Company --> Richard Rierson Dose of Leadership (www.doseofleadership.com) interviews David Allen on the core principles of GTD, including some tactical steps for getting started. The David Allen Company http://www.davidco.com/audio/Dose_of_Leadership.mp3 http://www.davidco.com/audio/Dose_of_Leadership.mp3 Thu, 18 Apr 2013 12:46:13 MDT 37:13 g The David Allen Company --> David Allen shares the common denominator among people doing GTD, in this episode of Two Minutes with David Allen. The David Allen Company http://www.davidco.com/audio/DavidAllen-Gravity.mp3 http://www.davidco.com/audio/DavidAllen-Gravity.mp3 Tue, 08 Jan 2013 17:38:40 MST 2:03 g In the next Productive Living Newsletter, David Allen talks about the "Strategic Value of Clear Space."  Here's a short excerpt: "How easily you can make a mess is how truly productive you can be. I don't usually work in a neat fashion. Whether I'm writing an essay, arranging flowers, or making guacamole, I wind up strewing stuff all over the place. If you were to walk into my office while I was working or thinking about something, you'd likely see notes, books, and files strewn around somewhat randomly; a mind-map on my computer screen; doodles and words scrawled on my whiteboard. When I really get involved in something and my creative juices start flowing, it's likely to look like something exploded in the middle of it. I have a singular focus, but it doesn't seem orderly until it's done. My best work happens that way. Yours will too."--David Allen To read the rest of David's essay about the value of clear space for making a productive mess, subscribe to his free Productive Living Newsletter. Next issue comes out the end of May. free Productive Living Newsletter. Next issue comes out the end of May. ]]> editor@gtdtimes.com (The David Allen Company) http://www.gtdtimes.com/2013/05/21/the-strategic-value-of-clear-space Tue, 21 May 2013 12:17:19 MDT G G D http://www.gtdtimes.com/2013/05/21/the-strategic-value-of-clear-space GTD Times Question:  I have been implementing GTD for approximately three years.  I read Getting Things Done and Making It All Work, and have gained a lot of respect for you, and the enormous sphere of knowledge and wisdom that you have shared with the World. As an architect, I run a design-oriented architectural practice, along with several job roles, and consistently attempt to balance work and a family life.  Over the years, I have found that organizing next action items by context is difficult for me to implement for the following reasons: 1.    I tend to be very intuitive and think about next action items by project in lieu of context.  Once I disconnect the next action from a project, it seems to lose some relevance and importance. 2.    The knowledge worker is now mobilizing the tools of his trade; his "office" is redefined and flexible to temporarily become the location that he is inspired to work in.  The knowledge worker is part of the mobile workforce; therefore, next action items organized by contexts, such as: @ work, @ home, @ computer, @ iPhone are becoming more and more interrelated, and less segregated. I agree with your theory in regard to deciding what next action item to accomplish by the energy level you have at the moment, or the time available.  I am also familiar with the work of Tony Schwartz on The Energy Project.  Have you given much thought to redefining contexts, organizing by project, and if so what do you recommend? What if you organize next action items by energy level, such as:  @ high energy level, @ medium energy level, or @ low energy level? Any wisdom or advice to share? I am very interested in your response. David's Answer: Great questions. In truth, the only reason to organize by context is for streamlining decisions about your focus. In other words, it doesn't make sense to keep having to consider options that are impossible. If something has to be done at your house, why include it in your options when you're not at your house? But context, to your point, could mean ANY context - time required, energy required, type of activity, etc. There are times when I need to segment some of my At Computer stuff into a Creative Writing category, because I have to be in a certain frame of mind and location to do that kind of work. Before I go on a big trip, I create a "have to do before the trip" context. I had a CTO once who had an At BrainDead context, for those kinds of tasks to do, when he was toast. Etc. Etc. Whatever works. Just doesn't make a lot of sense to NOT be able to see something you could be doing (if you only had actions you could see when you opened up project notes); nor does it make sense to have to sort through options when they're not an option. Otherwise it's all fair game. Question:  I have been implementing GTD for approximately three years.  I read Getting Things Done and Making It All Work, and have gained a lot of respect for you, and the enormous sphere of knowledge and wisdom that you have shared with the World. As an architect, I run a design-oriented architectural practice, along with several job roles, and consistently attempt to balance work and a family life.  Over the years, I have found that organizing next action items by context is difficult for me to implement for the following reasons: 1.    I tend to be very intuitive and think about next action items by project in lieu of context.  Once I disconnect the next action from a project, it seems to lose some relevance and importance. 2.    The knowledge worker is now mobilizing the tools of his trade; his "office" is redefined and flexible to temporarily become the location that he is inspired to work in.  The knowledge worker is part of the mobile workforce; therefore, next action items organized by contexts, such as: @ work, @ home, @ computer, @ iPhone are becoming more and more interrelated, and less segregated. I agree with your theory in regard to deciding what next action item to accomplish by the energy level you have at the moment, or the time available.  I am also familiar with the work of Tony Schwartz on The Energy Project.  Have you given much thought to redefining contexts, organizing by project, and if so what do you recommend? What if you organize next action items by energy level, such as:  @ high energy level, @ medium energy level, or @ low energy level? Any wisdom or advice to share? I am very interested in your response. David's Answer: Great questions. In truth, the only reason to organize by context is for streamlining decisions about your focus. In other words, it doesn't make sense to keep having to consider options that are impossible. If something has to be done at your house, why include it in your options when you're not at your house? But context, to your point, could mean ANY context - time required, energy required, type of activity, etc. There are times when I need to segment some of my At Computer stuff into a Creative Writing category, because I have to be in a certain frame of mind and location to do that kind of work. Before I go on a big trip, I create a "have to do before the trip" context. I had a CTO once who had an At BrainDead context, for those kinds of tasks to do, when he was toast. Etc. Etc. Whatever works. Just doesn't make a lot of sense to NOT be able to see something you could be doing (if you only had actions you could see when you opened up project notes); nor does it make sense to have to sort through options when they're not an option. Otherwise it's all fair game. ]]> editor@gtdtimes.com (The David Allen Company) http://www.gtdtimes.com/2013/05/19/organizing-actions-by-context-faster-decisions-about-your-focus Sun, 19 May 2013 07:10:25 MDT G G D http://www.gtdtimes.com/2013/05/19/organizing-actions-by-context-faster-decisions-about-your-focus GTD Times This 3-minute sample is from a recent webinar about implementing GTD on the iPhone. [HTML1] (This video is streaming from YouTube, so it may take a few seconds to load.) Live webinars on GTD & iPhone are scheduled on these dates. Wednesday, May 29, 10am Pacific Time Thursday, July 11, 10am Pacific Time (This video is streaming from YouTube, so it may take a few seconds to load.) Live webinars on GTD & iPhone are scheduled on these dates. Wednesday, May 29, 10am Pacific Time Thursday, July 11, 10am Pacific Time ]]> editor@gtdtimes.com (The David Allen Company) http://www.gtdtimes.com/2013/05/18/video-sample-of-gtd-iphone-webinar Sat, 18 May 2013 12:38:42 MDT G G D http://www.gtdtimes.com/2013/05/18/video-sample-of-gtd-iphone-webinar GTD Times What does it mean to be organized? It used to be the definition was clean and neat. You know the offices--you walk in the door and it looks likes no one works there. The desk has nothing on it, except for a cool object and a photo. Is this what being organized really means? My answer is we need ... connect@davidco.com (David Allen) http://www.davidco.com/connect/coachs_connection.php?id=130 Mon, 20 May 2013 17:05:59 MDT c G G P http://www.davidco.com/connect/coachs_connection.php?id=130 GTD Connect Take a photo tour through the Making It All Work Seminar in New York City last week... connect@davidco.com (David Allen) http://www.davidco.com/connect/upclose.php Mon, 20 May 2013 16:54:44 MDT w G G P http://www.davidco.com/connect/upclose.php GTD Connect Hi GTDers! Word of warning. What follows is just me thinking out loud on a topic i feel has some gold to be mined. This is more theory oriented rather than practical. Still, it would be great to get your feedback. First here is a diagram of Csikszentmihalyi's flow model. http://www.mindtools.com/... http://www.mindtools.com/... ]]> connect@davidco.com (David Allen) http://www.davidco.com/connect/forum_view.php?t=14687 Mon, 20 May 2013 03:00:06 MDT f G G P http://www.davidco.com/connect/forum_view.php?t=14687 GTD Connect