Buying paving stones at the grocery store

Buying paving stones at the grocery store

David Griffin is a senior consultant at Cambridge based 42 Technology, which offers pragmatic engineering innovation, design and development services to clients in a range of industries. He first started with GTD in 2003, when Palm Pilot devices were no longer cool...
GTD at Christmas

GTD at Christmas

It’s that time of year when we start thinking about Christmas. For many, it’s not all red-nosed reindeer and fairy lights, however, because Christmas is in fact one of the most stressful times of the year – mostly due to the amount of planning that...
What about the middle bit?

What about the middle bit?

“The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft a-gley.” -Robert Burns, “To a Mouse” It happens about once per seminar. During the practice session, where people are clarifying their project outcomes and next actions, a hand goes...
How refined are your open loops?

How refined are your open loops?

It came to me, as many of my moments of inspiration do, when I was doing something completely unrelated. I was enjoying a beautiful walk in the hills with my wife last weekend, and it occurred to me: “we all have lots of things we need to do, our ‘open...
A penny for your thoughts

A penny for your thoughts

It’s a sun-filled summer afternoon and you’re strolling happily down the street when a flash of light catches your eye from pavement ahead. You instinctively tell yourself it’s probably just shiny litter but your eyes linger, widen and then sparkle with delight. Yes,...
The alarming drag of auto-nag

The alarming drag of auto-nag

Like so many of us, I have a love-hate relationship with the alarm clock on my phone. I often hate how early it wakes me up, but of course love that it does so reliably. Like the bookmark, whose simple virtues I extolled in a previous article, the alarm clock is...
On bookmarks and being

On bookmarks and being

“A truly good man does nothing, yet leaves nothing undone. A foolish man is always doing, yet much remains to be done.” – Lao Tse, from Tao Te Ching, Chapter 38, trans. Gia-fu Feng and Jane English I read a lot of books. To keep track of where I left...
Guest interview: GTD and the power of podcast presenting

Guest interview: GTD and the power of podcast presenting

This week we catch up with Andrew J. Mason: husband, father and host of the Getting Things Done podcast. He’s also presenter of The ProGuide Podcast and a narrator on Audible.com, and enjoys running, editing video, and helping others craft their communications....
Successful outcomes: the invisible tether

Successful outcomes: the invisible tether

Taking on a new goal can be easy when the path to get there is clear, and the steps along the way are fun. However, for those parts of life that are ambiguous or unpleasant, creating and holding to a vision of success is all the more important. I recently lost my...
You don’t have problems, only projects

You don’t have problems, only projects

Christmas is a time for sitting around and pondering.  So when my wife, Denise, asked if we should all go trampolining on Boxing day I should have said: “That sounds like an interesting idea, let me think about it ’till Easter”.  Instead, I said:...
Top 5 Ways to Improve Your GTD Practice in 2016

Top 5 Ways to Improve Your GTD Practice in 2016

So the decorations are back in storage, the leftover turkey is a memory, and we’re back at it in the office.  Here in the UK, winter seems finally to have arrived after a very warm autumn, but hey, the days are getting longer now and soon spring will be beckoning. As...
Top 5 Ways to Improve Your GTD Practice in 2016

Future? Possible

Back in September, my blog was a call to action. I wanted as many of our readers as possible to share with us their favourite reminders from their GTD systems. The goal was to turn over the microphone to you, to inspire, amuse, and reinforce the value of GTD...

How do you get started?

Back in September, I asked people to send in their favourite GTD Projects, Next Actions, and Someday/Maybe list entries. Loads of people have gotten in touch, and if that’s you then thank you very much for your support. Today I’ll focus on the Next Actions that you’ve sent in. 

A Simple Exercise to Help Make GTD Stick

A Simple Exercise to Help Make GTD Stick

Do you understand the basics of the Getting Things Done, but are struggling to find the time to implement it well? Have you been using GTD off and on for a while, but have recently “fallen off the wagon”? Here is a quick, simple diagnostic exercise that...
The List Exists (Whether You Write it or Not)

The List Exists (Whether You Write it or Not)

I’m no doctor, but here is something I’ve learned from experience: when a muscle goes into spasm and doesn’t recover properly, sometimes it gets to a point where it has been tight for so long that the brain simply stops registering the pain signals it is sending. It...
The Great GTD Safety Net

The Great GTD Safety Net

  You have a safety net. Whatever acrobatic manoeuvres will be required in the working week ahead, you can leap from platform to swinging trapeze with confidence. Someone down there is going to catch you if you fall. That someone, strangely enough, is you. As I...
The Great GTD Safety Net

What Cowboys Know about Productivity

Growing up in the American Southwest, I have long been acquainted with a familiar parable about the young greenhorn (inexperienced rancher) attempting to brand cattle. What I never realised is how relevant the tale is to twenty-first-century knowledge work. The story...
The Great GTD Safety Net

Invincible Summer

What a lovely warm summer we have had here in the UK. Too bad it seems to be over in August. As crisper weather returns, I recognise winter on the horizon. The cold, bleary days make me want to hibernate, and the lack of sun can start to get me down. Yet thanks to my...
The Great GTD Safety Net

RACIng Down The Pitch

Recently, I touched on how Areas of Focus can help you to keep areas that matter to you on track and in balance individually. This particular horizon of focus is also incredibly useful to teams. In the spirit of the current World Cup football matches, I’d like to...
The Great GTD Safety Net

Keeping it All in Focus

“If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am not for others, what am I? And if not now, when?” ― Rabbi Hillel Organisations have systems–from organograms to annual reviews–designed to ensure that the right people focus on the right...

How to Prevent World War Z in your Place of Work

For reasons way too complicated to get into here, it seems that as a society we have an obsession with the undead – you only have to look at the number of vampire and zombie movies to see that. Personally, I’m more of a zombie guy than a vampire guy. Although I really...