Over the past few years, I’ve become aware of the idea of “cognitive load”. This refers to the extent to which your working memory is occupied by things your brain is processing. It has been a subject of study in the last 20 years or so, particularly with reference to...
April is Stress Awareness Month. Are you stressed? As you are reading this, there is a good chance that you are. I’m not clairvoyant and I haven’t hacked your phone. It’s an educated guess. I know this simply because if you get our blogs you are likely a knowledge...
It wasn’t a good look for a teacher of the art of stress-free productivity – sweating bullets as I balanced unsteadily at Gate 43 in Lisbon Airport with an open laptop clutched in one hand and the other trying to open a passport on the right page. I uttered some...
In this second instalment on persistence with difficult things that take a long time, we look at some more ways to help you get motivated to stay motivated. Let’s assume you have a clear and inspiring goal, and a plan on how to get there. All good, right? Not...
The approach is called ‘Getting Things Done®’. Some of those ‘things’ happen quickly and easily. Some are difficult and take much more patience and persistence. This two-part piece is about how to motivate yourself to go from twinkle in the eye to consistent progress...
Here we are. 2022. The fireworks are well done, this week some of us are moving beyond last week’s pretence of being back at work, and – as hope springs eternal in the human heart despite the headwinds of the couple of years – t’is the season for resolving. “Any...
I know this great guy–lots of potential, very well-intentioned, full of interesting ideas. I like him a lot. But he’s a bit of a fixer-upper really. He forgets things. He gets distracted. In short, he just needs a good companion to help set him up for...
In his book ‘A Beginner’s Guide to Japan’, Pico Iyer describes something unusual that happened on Japanese television during coverage of an important baseball game; “In the final game of the Japan Series, with the entire seven-month season on the line, suddenly, in...
The shirt had been white. It mostly still was, but the crisp pressed cotton now had a fan-like pattern of tomato guts sprayed across the front. Perfect if I had been heading off to film the climax of a horror movie, but my meetings that morning called for something...
Monika Danner has worked in corporate HR and leadership roles for more than 15 years. She has been a GTD® practitioner since 2014 and works as a certified GTD trainer for Next Action Partners in Germany. My personal Covid journey is marked by entering the world of...
“Not that way.” At the end of a brief meeting with a potential coaching client, I’d stood up to go for lunch with them, and headed for the door I’d been let in through. My error, apparently. “I thought we were going to lunch,” I said. “We are. I just don’t want to go...
Welcome back to GTD® from the Top. In this series I’m aiming to distil the core ideas behind the Getting Things Done® methodology into easily digestible bites. I’m hoping that you’ll use this series to reflect on how GTD might better help you or your organisation to...
At the start of this Covid time, there were many GTD® articles about reviewing your Higher Horizons. Suddenly the Projects you thought would be your focus for the coming months were on hold and Next Actions needed to be moved to new lists with names like ‘post...
When a business is in a cash crunch, collecting overdue invoices is one of the things you’d expect to be a top priority in the organisation. Strange as it might sound, that is not always the case. One leadership team I heard about recently was so busy fighting...
Hands up if you’re looking forward to the resumption of your commute…? Despite the fact that it’s April Fools’ day as this blog goes to press, it’s not a trick question. The commute gets a bad rap in popular culture, its imagery that of monstrous tailbacks on the M25...
Fasten your seatbelts. We are almost a quarter of the way into the year, and so far it looks like another odd one. Global pandemics and political shenanigans aside, the first months of a new year have always offered an opportunity for making long-desired changes. Or...
What happens in a GTD® Level 2 seminar? Todd Brown provides an insight into projects, planning and orienting maps to help you progress on your GTD journey.
I’m writing this blog post because it is due in two days. I could have written it two weeks ago, but I didn’t. I usually write my blog posts on the publishing deadline day. This one is different because there are other things also due this week: cards to write,...
“The highest-performing people I know are those who have installed the best tricks in their lives.” – David Allen One of the characteristics of GTD® compared to other content in the productivity space is that it is decidedly not just a collection of time management...
Feeling overwhelmed, with too much to do and not enough time? Do you feel like you have too much information coming at you from all directions, and too much to think about? Here are the three fastest strategies to reduce overwhelm, with guidance on how you can manage...
Enigma: a person or thing that is mysterious or difficult to understand (see Weekly Review®) Variation: a different or distinct form or version of something First, I should mention that many people who tell me they can’t stick with a Weekly Review habit are also those...
Tim Sismey takes us through a step-by-step guide to the GTD® Natural Planning Model®, designed for planning projects most effectively with the least effort – and the best chance of success.
