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Today’s post is from Mike St. Pierre of The Daily Saint.

Imagine a school that allowed every student to grow, learn and prosper.  That was the initial desire behind the No Child Left Behind act of 2002 and while NCLB is controversial, it has proven successful in at least one area- keeping schools accountable.

Now imagine a school in which Getting Things Done was implemented.

Course units might include:

• Time management
• The weekly review
• Setting up a tickler file
• How to close open loops
• Capturing ideas, then integrating them into your system
• Mastering the projects list
• Life goals from 10,000-40,000 feet

Is this vision that far from reality?  My colleagues in education would laugh at the sight of such courses and yet I wonder how Algebra I prepares one for life any better than a course in life goals or time management.

The secret of course lies in integration.  It’s not that we need a school for GTD.  Rather, we need people who can integrate GTD into what they’re already doing.  Teachers and parents who see the value of putting ideas onto paper and out of the mind.  Administrators who actually maintain a healthy set of lists and projects.  Students who can actually remember a deadline because they wrote it down.

I recently had a friend ask how I got so much done in a week.  Surprised, I had to scratch my head and wonder if GTD had something to do with it after years of practice.  Would your colleagues wonder about your secret to productivity? As in any classroom, the moment when someone asks is of course the moment in which you know you’ve set an example.  Now that’s GTD!

If you found this post useful, please share it with your friends on Twitter using the tinylink http://tinyurl.com/5has3b. Thanks, I appreciate it! Feel free to comment below, I enjoy discussing these ideas. ~@Stephen

Liz Strauss just posted this list, and as I am always happy to spread the link-love, I am happy to reproduce it for your viewing pleasure:

• Cliff Atkinson
• Shashi Bellamkonda
• Chris Brogan
• Harry Brooks
• Anita Bruzzese
• Dave Bullock
• Mark Carter
• Brian Clark
• Tom Clifford
• Valerie Combs
• Chris Cree
• Lisa Cree
• Thomas Croghan
• Donna Cutting
• David Dalka
• Kevin Dixie
• Tim Draayer
• Monica Duncan
• Easton Ellsworth
• Kevin Ferrasci O’Malley
• Jonathan Fields
• Sarah Filipiak
• Mary-Lynn Foster
• Annie Galvin Teich
• Brian Gardner
• Chris Garrett
• Jon Gatrell
• Phil Gerbyshak
• Jared Goralnick
• Karen Hanrahan
• Joseph Hauckes
• Vicky Hennegan
• Scot Herrick
• John Hong
• Stephen Hopson
• Robert Hruzek
• Timothy Johnson
• Sara
• Pete Jones
• Todd Jordan
• Bob Kakoliris
• Christine Kane
• Adam Kayce
• Kristen King
• Jen Knoedl
• Stephen Koernig
• Bryan Kress
• George Krueger
• Amy L
• Tammy Lenski
• James G. Lindberg
• Eli Litscher
• Rick Mahn
• Sim Margolis
• Michael Martine
• Becky McCray
• Maria Meadows
• Cory Miller
• Ann Michael
• Dawud Miracle
• Debra Moorhead
• Matthew Murphy
• Paul O’Flaherty
• Tim Padar
• Jesse Petersen
• Melissa Pierce
• Wendy Piersall
• Sandra Ponce de Leon
• J. Erik Potter
• Karen Putz
• Susan R Quandt
• Levy Rivers
• Barbara Rozgonyi
• Jeff Sable
• Sheila Scarborough
• Mary Schmidt
• Derek Semmler
• Maria Sharon
• David Sherbow
• Steve Sherlock
• Brad Shorr
• Louise Silberman
• Sonia Simone-Rossney
• Julien Smith
• Stephen Smith
• Michael Snell
• Derrick Sorles
• Terry Starbucker
• Liz Strauss
• Jon Swanson
• Ruth M Sylte
• Windsor Tanner
• Michelle Vandepas
• Lorelle VanFossen
• Colleen Wainwright
• Denise Wakeman
• James D. Walton
• Randy Windsor

Meet us in Chicago!

If you found this post useful, please share it with your friends on Twitter using the tinylink http://tinyurl.com/6azjxl. Thanks, I appreciate it! Feel free to comment below, I enjoy discussing these ideas. ~@Stephen

It would appear that Allan Hoffman fell into the trap of looking for the perfect system, the perfect methodology, the perfect way to “do” GTD. That is not what it is about.

“Do” your stuff. Don’t “do” your GTD.

Productivity is the latest web craze - NJ.com

I’ve wondered about the latter claim. Is it possible the majority of GTDers gravitate toward the method because it taps into their already well-developed belief in the importance of staying organized? Or, even worse, is it possible GTD adherents really get nothing done, or not much, because they spend so much time perfecting their organizational systems, categorizing their tasks, trying out GTD software — everything, that is, except focusing on the task at hand?

That’s what scared me away from the book. As I embarked on GTDing my life, I was doing less, not more. But the experience doesn’t stop me from trolling GTD websites now and then to pick up the odd organizational tip here and there.

Allan Hoffman may be reached at netscan@allanhoffman.com

Do any of you have a suggestion for Mr. Hoffman? Leave a note in the comments, and I will send him an e-mail.

If you found this post useful, please share it with your friends on Twitter using the tinylink http://tinyurl.com/6e39hp. Thanks, I appreciate it! Feel free to comment below, I enjoy discussing these ideas. ~@Stephen

This post provides some context for the post I entered below.

Simply GTD with Kelly: What makes a good GTD list manager?

So what makes a good GTD list manager?

Key features to look for:

* Sorting lists by context - many programs have a “category” feature that will easily support this.

* Ability to assign a due date - not forcing it on all of them, but allowing it for those that need it.

* Portable for on the go access - can be synched to a handheld or printed.

* Easily accessible - less than 60 seconds to get something in/out.

* More attractive to you than repelling - you’ve got to like the system your entrusting your brain to.

* Doesn’t force priority codes - if you know GTD, you know that forcing priority codes is old news and rarely accurate anyway.

* Place to capture additional notes - attached to an item to capture relevant info related to the item.

* Ability to search and sort in various ways.

* Robust enough to handle all of your stuff.

Is there a perfect GTD list manager out there?

I do not believe that there is such a thing as a “perfect” list manager, just the best list manager for you and your current circumstances. That is the beauty (some would say the curse) of the GTD system. It is flexible enough to handle many styles of use, and robust enough to conform to most of your organizational needs.

What do you use to manage your lists? Do you make lists? Leave a comment.

If you found this post useful, please share it with your friends on Twitter using the tinylink http://tinyurl.com/5tj6fw. Thanks, I appreciate it! Feel free to comment below, I enjoy discussing these ideas. ~@Stephen