An absolute GTD core principle is to write things down.  “Capturing” your thoughts on paper (or via computer, voice recorder, etc.)  I’ve found that it’s too easy to let thoughts build up, each time under the guise of something like, “I’m sure I’ll remember that later.”  Unfortunately, that gem of  a thought rarely comes back home.  That’s why writing things down makes so much sense.

Check out Laura Stack’s article about the capture habit.  Worth a quick read.

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GTD Cafe: Writing it Down- Paper or Plastic?

Here is an interview with David Allen by the publisher of the Polish version of Getting Things Done.

Q: You developed the Getting Things Done Program because…
A: I had discovered that applying some rather simple techniques could have profound results, immediately, in people’s ability to focus, stay relaxed, and make positive progress in their work and lives

Q: What is the difference between GTD and normal task planning?
If you mean by “Normal task planning” that you make a list of things to do today, or this week, then the difference is that GTD recommends you keep track of every action that you might be able to take, plan as little as possible, and trust that you’ll make good intuitive decisions moment to moment from all your options. In other words, you need to remain flexible and open to all the new inputs and changes that are happening more and more frequently; and if you over-plan, it will get in your way.

Q: Order above all. That is the first rule of the GTD Program. What is the second one?
“Order above all” – not sure what that refers to (I never said it). There are not really any “rules” in GTD – only observations of principles. If you want to have a clear mind, you must capture externally whatever is keeping it from being clear, make executive decisions about what you’re committing to do about it, and park the results into some system that you can trust will reflect it back to you at the appropriate time.

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David Developed GTD Because…

In the previous posts we looked at how to manage your Periodic Reviews, starting with a high level of granularity and developing a personal method that works well for you.

In this post I am going to show you some of the tools that I use to manage my workflow.

I have tried and evaluated many different tools and applications, and changed everything more than once. Here are some things that I have learned about myself via this process:

Read more –>

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Working the List

I fear that Penelope Trunk is missing out on something. In case you don’t know her she is the author of Brazen Careerist, a thoughtful blog that is all about work and life. She’s intense, smart and very much to-the-point. So much so that some people love her stuff and others…well, you get the point.

I don’t always agree with Penelope but she speaks from the heart and does offer some truly brilliant career advice. This post of hers bothers me though.

She talks about parenting as difficult, occasionally boring and often unsatisfying. She cites evidence of this that she says backs her up.

The Missing Link

What I think Penelope is missing is a sense of contemplation. Contemplation cannot be easily measured just as parenting cannot be summed up in a Harvard Business Review article. I know of no metric that calibrates one’s contemplative(ness). Just as it is intuitive that a mom-dad family unit makes the most sense for kids, being a contemplative parent just seems right.  When you develop a pattern of screaming at your kids, you know deep down that there’s something that’s “off” about what’s going on.

I’ve witnessed three child births and while I did not have the “religious experience” that I’ve heard others dads speak of (I was much too nervous for that!), it was nothing short of mind-blowing. To later hold your child and have him/her stare back at you, no blinking necessary, is nothing short of incredible.

Ordinary and Contemplative Moments

Most nights, I will just wash up and go to bed but occasionally, I’m reminded of the treasures that await as I walk upstairs to the children’s rooms. I watch them sleeping for just a few seconds and see the face of God.

As Mother Theresa described the poor as “God in his distressing disguise”, I wonder if parenting provides us with a string of contemplative moments. Moments that allow us to see the very presence of God in something as innocent as a child.

Contemplation is good. It’s been described as “the long, loving look at the real” and it can apply to nature, to one’s work or to the face of a child. It’s probably what each of us can use more of- more frequent loving looks at what really matters in life.  So, for Penelope and any other parent out there who feels stressed or out of place spending time with your kids, see it as a contemplative moment.

Sometimes contemplation is the most important “work” we can do.

GTD Spin

So what’s GTD got to do with parenting and contemplation?  I think it comes down to one word- focus.  When your attention is wholly on one thing at a time, you’re more likely to really crank at whatever you’re doing.  I believe that this ability to focus chunks of attention is a very contemplative habit.

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GTD Cafe: How Parenting Teaches us to Focus

EffTD Interview Part One: David Allen
Written by Mike Vardy
Wednesday, 08 April 2009

David Allen

Right before last month’s GTD Summit, I had the opportunity to chat with the surprisingly reasonable and like-minded David Allen. I say this only because prior to contacting him, I’d been of the mindset that he was a staunch anti-supporter of Eventualism and EffTD. Quite the contrary, as you’ll read here - seems as if he’s given EffTD his own seal of approval!

For those of you unfamiliar with Allen’s work, I have two things to mention:

1. He is the creator of the popular productivity system and accompanying book Getting Things Done (or GTD for short - it’s an acronym). His latest book is entitled Making It All Work and it expands and refines what he’s been preaching for the past several years.

Read more –>

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Mike Vardy Interviews David Allen