GTD Digest 2007-12-30

Weekly recap of GTD highlights (news, views, tips and tricks) from around the web

How I get things done
By Sam Glover
Behind David Allen’s excellent Getting Things Done (GTD) system is the idea–essential to a law practice–that everything we need to do should be tracked in a trusted system. In the GTD philosophy, that system is a set of lists with ...

Countdowns and time boxing
By Dwayne Melancon
This is useful for time boxing and GTD (create a 2-minute timer like the one David Allen recommends), so you can keep projects or sub-projects from taking more time than you intend. Timeleft is very cool -- way better than I thought it ...

Lunch & Learn: Getting Things Done
The tips and techniques presented here are mostly from Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity (find in a library or buy from Amazon) by ...

David Allen: Priorities, Priorities, Priorities
By David Allen(webmaster@huffingtonpost.com)
... still be mapped to the third dimension of the important checklists and bullet points of life and work: projects, areas of responsibility, desired futures, key values, and core purpose. Come back every Monday for more from David Allen.

50 Tips From My Year of Change
By Peter
Read David Allen’s Getting Things Done: this really is a must own book for anyone interested in personal development. I haven’t fully implemented David’s system, but some of his tips are invaluable. If you would like to know more, ...

Turning the 80/20 Rule on its Head
By Jay White(Jay White)
When it comes right down to time management and getting things done, your to-do list basically falls into 4 distinct categories:. Pressing (demanding your immediate attention) and significant (meaningful to you). ...

Easy bookmarking links for your blog or website

Today I added a link to each post that allows you to quickly and easily add an article to your favorite social bookmarking site.

The link (icon) below is titled "BOOKMARK" and allows you to add these posts to just about any of the frequently used bookmark tracking website's.  This includes Digg, Del.icio.us, StumbleUpon or Google Bookmarks, to name a few.

This feature is provided by a free website called AddThis.  AddThis is a cool service that provides links to social bookmarking sites without you having to either link manually (with sometimes complicated HTML) or asking your readers to manually add your posts to a social bookmarking site.

I have been using AddThis for the past few months.  The BOOKMARK icon below is the latest incarnation of the AddThis "widget".  It provides a neat drop down list of the most popular social bookmarking sites or links to a complete list.  It also does a nice job opening the link to the bookmarking site in a smaller browser window.  AddThis works with most blog hosting sites (in my case blogger), any plain website page, or MySpace page.

For those new to social bookmarking, why would you want to join a social bookmarking website?  Social bookmarking in it's simplest form provides a venue where individuals can find groups of like minded people to share ideas and discuss different topics. It is very much like a small community or neighborhood.

For those bloggers or website owners new to social bookmarking, why would you want to provide a link to social bookmarking sites?  Social bookmarking sites can drive traffic to your blog or website (or MySpace page).

Related Links:
- What is AddThis.com?
- What are Social Bookmarking Sites?
- Which are the largest Social Bookmarking Websites?

GTD Digest 2007-12-23

Weekly recap of GTD highlights (news, views, tips and tricks) from around the web

GTD Tips and Tricks for Digital Nomads
By Digital Nomad(Digital Nomad)
These are not quite Google Grand Central Tips and Tricks, but both look like GTD productivity tools that you can customize and plug in where you like. I would consider these for my Digital Nomad bag of Tips and Tricks for their mobility ...

5 best posts(articles) about GTD in 2007
By Danil Negrienko(Danil Negrienko)
Getting Things Done: Recap for '07The Getting Things Done (GTD) FAQMinimize Your InboxesHow David Allen mastered getting things doneMicrotasks, Steve PavlinaHow to Get Things Done on Your Mac.

Free Software: Two Minute Timer for OS X
By brett
Many, many moons ago I wrote a tiny little two minute timer application for Windows as a free alternative to the $10 offering from the David Allen Company. I got more than a few emails asking for a Mac version. ...

Stephenotes: Become a Better Listener
By Stephen
The very first step in David Allen's productivity workflow is to Collect. This does not mean just papers and "stuff". Whenever you speak to and listen to another person, you are collecting information. But are you getting all of it? ...

Practicing Simplified GTD
Lifehacker Australia - Sydney,NSW,Australia
I've read David Allen's productivity bible a few times, and The David is onto something with his methodology. But as far as I'm concerned, full-on GTD is ...

Your GTD System Isn't the Problem
By brett
A couple of the higher-ranking people there had attempted to embrace GTD (with varying degrees of success) and were ecstatic to have somebody on-board who could attempt to convert the rank and file. I got a chance to talk one-on-one to ...

TIME MASTERY: You Want it When?
By LauraStack
Good time management brings the rewards of results, recognition, free time, clarity, and focus. It gives you a purpose in life, structure to your day, direction, and reduced frustration. It brings you to the end of the day with a sense ...

GTD Cafe: Share Your Productivity
By thedailysaint
Is it when their work-flow is negatively impacting yours or when they are about to crash and burn? David Allen once said, "It would be rude not to share what I know with those who want to hear it." Let's look at this more closely. ...

A concise map of GTD components from a master
By ActivityOwner
I was struck by how his simple "Getting Things Done" map touched on many important concepts and is worthwhile for anyone trying to improve their GTD approach and context lists. This is clearly something he practices and studied and ...

Do Your Emails Suck? How to Write Emails That Get Results
By Skillful
Every email that you write should have a clear purpose. For example, your purpose may be to deliver key information, to request a follow-up action, or to persuade someone to your point of view. In a well-written email, the purpose is ...

Clear Your Mind, Clear Your Desk
By Brian Tanaka
Ever since getting serious about GTD though, I’ve become a “net desk” person without even meaning to. That is, I didn’t have to try to develop this new habit of keeping a neat, uncluttered desk; it just happened naturally. ...

11 Top New Web Apps of 2007
By Dustin Wax
GTD apps are a highly personal product — one person’s way of getting things done might be nothing but a series of obstacles for another — so it’s good to see so much competition and innovation in this space. ...

My system for e-mail follow-ups

One of the the biggest challenges I have at work is managing follow-ups;  Something I've asked someone to do for me.  Some information that I've asked for.  Something I need for that 10:00 meeting.

It's not always a challenge.  There are a set of colleagues I know will always follow-up in a timely manner with the information or task nailed.  I really appreciate these people!

For the others, I needed to create a simple and efficient system for tracking and following up on requests.  To be fair, I am sure there are a multitude of good reasons for people not responding to my e-mail requests;  People don't have the same sense of urgency.  People may not understand the request.  People have other higher priorities...  I completely understand.  On the other had, I have a job to do too and at times, it requires things from other people.  Thus my need for a follow-up system.

For me, Microsoft Outlook works best as most of my follow up items are e-mails.  My system is pretty simple.  It consists of a folder called @Follow-up and folders below it with the name of the person I expect to respond.  Simple, yet efficient.

For example, when I send an e-mail to John Smith, I save a copy of that e-mail in a folder called @Follow-up\John Smith.  Each week (during my weekly review) I check each of my @Follow-up folders and take action accordingly.  I detail this system in an article titled Effective Delegation Using Microsoft Outlook.

To automate things a bit, I created an Outlook rule.  The rule says; If I create an email with the text "/fx" in it, file it in my @Follow-up folder.  Each day, I open my @Follow-up folder and file the e-mails in the appropriately named sub-folder. 
 

To create this rule in Outlook follow these steps:

1. From the Tools menu, select Rules and Alerts...
2. Click the New Rule Button
3. On the next screen, select Start from a blank rule, click check message after sending, then click Next
   
4. On the next screen, check with specific words in the subject or body. Then, in the lower pane, click specific words.  On the specific words screen, enter /fx, click Add, and click OK.  Then, click Next.
    
5. Lastly, check the box that says move a copy to the specified folder.  Then, in the lower pane, click the word specified to select the @Follow-up folder.
   
6. Click Finish.

Now any message with the text "/fx" in it will be copied to the @Follow-up folder for review/filing later.  If I don't want people to see the "/fx" in the e-mail, I can change the color of the text to match the background.

Simple and efficient!

Super Cure for the Common Cold!

About a year ago I stumbled across an awesome trick for beating a cold (or the flu).  Hydrogen Peroxide!

I do not say this lightly...  IT'S ALMOST A MIRICLE CURE!

Here is how it works.

1. Lay down on your side.
2. Have someone take a small capful (or a few drops) of Hydrogen Peroxide and put it in your ear.
3. Let the solution bubble and fizz for 5 - 10 minutes.
4. Tip your head and clear out the excess (and gunk).
5. Flip your head over and repeat in the other ear.

Repeat every 6 hours (or so) until you feel better.  That's it!

It's worked for me.  It's worked for my wife.  It's worked for my kids.  I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV.  Just a simple guy that stumbled across a cold remedy that works well for me  ...Your mileage may vary. 

You can pick up a 16oz bottle of 3% Hydrogen Peroxide from your local pharmacy for less than a $1.

There is some science behind this theory.  I have read a few studies that talked about viruses entering via the ear canal.  I have seen a bunch of "medical-ish" articles touting the power of Hydrogen Peroxide. 

If in doubt, Google it.  You will be impressed at the power of Hydrogen Peroxide (because everything you read on the Internet is true)!  All kidding aside, this Hydrogen Peroxide lifehack has worked well for me and my family.

Shortcut Key of the Week [ALT-TAB]

Today's shortcut key tip for Windows...

ALT-TAB - Cycle through all open Windows

...or said another way, ALT-TAB will allow you to quickly switch from the active application to any other open application.

This is the latest shortcut tip in my ongoing quest to share one shortcut per week; making keyboard shortcuts easy to digest, easy to remember.

Zoom Tip for Microsoft Excel

I use Microsoft Excel quite a bit.  I like the zoom function (View -> Zoom) to fit as much of the worksheet on my screen as I can.  For you Excel zoomers out there, I have a quick zoom trick for you.  This tip requires a mouse with a scroll-wheel. 

To make the worksheet magnification becomes smaller, hold down the CTRL key and scroll back (toward you).

To make the worksheet magnification larger, hold down the CTRL key and scroll forward (away from you).

This is a quick and handy way to find the optimum zoom magnification for your worksheet (and eyes!).

GTD Digest 2007-12-16

Weekly recap of GTD highlights (news, views, tips and tricks) from around the web

The Top Five GTD Resources for Windows Vista
By zac
For those who don't know, GTD is a common abbreviation for the "Getting things done" principle, outlined in a book by David Allen. The basic principle is that if you are constantly under the stress of remembering things you need to do, ...

David Allen Getting Things Done Guru Video Lecture FREE on YouTube
By Bruce Eisner
There is nobody held in higher regard by the the life hacking community than David Allen. We hear about various Getting Things Done systems quite regularly but it is rare that we get to actually hear what he says. ...

Your Favorite Productivity Books
By Dustin Wax
I half expected a string of responses saying the same thing — David Allen's Getting Things Done — but I was pleasantly surprised at the range of books people recommended. I (foolishly?) promised to offer my own favorite in my follow-up ...

David Allen: How To Change Old Habits
By David Allen
I've noticed that one of the hardest things for people to do is to change what they're doing to something better to be doing, when there's nothing really externally forcing them to change. But to unhook from whatever groove we're in, ...

GTD - Patching Leaks
By Keviny(Keviny)
If you still have stuff on your mind, you may not even have a system to clean up. Now, if you don't maintain the system, don't do it. Either your head is the system or it's not. Start with runway items to 10000 ft projects, ...

7 Mistakes to Avoid for the GTD Beginner
By Al at 7P Productions
Same goes for Getting Things Done… as you regularly use GTD, you will begin to develop your own rhythm and it will gradually become easier to fall into a productive routine. Along the way, try to avoid the following mistakes: ...

OutLinker: A new tool for draining your Microsoft Outlook inbox
By ActivityOwner
The holy grail of Getting Things Done (GTD) is routinely emptying your various Inboxes to zero and processing the context into projects and next actions. Tools like GyroQ can help you capture ideas and process your paper in-trays, ...

5 Quick Ways to Stop Paper Clutter
By Lily(Lily)
according to the popular organizing system GTD, if you can get something done in 2 minutes, do it. so if that fax takes only 2 minutes or less to scan through, do that before dumping it into your inbox. 3 one-spot ...

GTD for College Students
By Tracey(Mindworks' Blogger)
If you're a fan of GTD but you're not sure how to take the work day suggestions and apply it to college life or a non-structured work schedule, Study Hacks has a post for you: Getting Things Done for College Students - The Full System. ...

Software tools allow people to manage the clutter that threatens ...
Wall Street Journal - USA
A detailed description of how to organize Outlook for using the "Getting Things Done" system created by management consultant and corporate trainer David ...

5 Internet Distractions to Avoid When You Are Running After a ...
By McBilly
Getting things done is easier said than done. A lot of times, I found myself working on a project but not finishing it on my recommended time because of too much distractions. Yes. The internet is full of it. For the past few days, ...

Marc Orchant on GTD
By Armand Frasco
How much of GTD is about computers/technology? What kind of software is out there that people are using for GTD? Looks like it's not just about software - where do the Moleskin notebooks and Hipster PDAs come into this and how do they ...

Review: Leo Babauta's Ebook "Zen to Done"
By Dustin Wax
David Allen's book Getting Things Done has become a classic of personal productivity, but not everyone finds his simple "what's the next action" philosophy fully compatible with their lives. Allen himself admits that the book is ...

GTD (Getting Things Done) Roundup - Time To Organize
By Daniel
Today I have decided to show you some free online (and one offline) GTD apps (Getting Things Done) so you can organize yourselves like true productivity ninja's. While I am not saying GTD is the best method for everyone (despite its ...

GTD Mastery 100: Step 5
By Chris Y.
To read my complete journey to GTD Mastery see the main post. Step 5 to GTD Mastery is: I have an email program, set up the way I want it. I use Gmail for all my email management. Entering university this year, I received a school email ...

Stepping Into GTD- Part 4: What Should I Be Doing?
By dnaphil
It is one of the great questions in GTD: What should I be doing right now? You now have control of your inputs, the ability to process your inputs to determine what do next, and expert filing skills and yet none of that actually tells ...

GTD: My Implementation part 2: How I process
By Mike Dolan Fliss(Mike Dolan Fliss)
For those that know GTD, you know what process means: take something, put it where it belongs, and leave an intelligently (and quickly!) filed reminder in a list system that I trust. Folks use lotsa things for lists... but for me, ...

Changing the start time of your Outlook Calendar

In Microsoft Outlook, the Calendar Daily display defaults to 8am thru 5pm.  I usually arrive at the office an hour earlier.  Wouldn't it be nice if my Outlook default calendar displayed 7am - 5pm for me?

It can!  In Outlook;

1. From the Tools menu, select Options
2. Click the Calendar Options Button
3. On the Calendar Options screen, change the Start Time and End Time to reflect your preferred workday.

I must admit, I had not known that this setting existed until today.  I found this to be a pretty handy adjustment to my Outlook calendar.

GTD for Educators

The best thing about GTD is that you can apply the principals no matter what your profession.  Manager, knowledge worker, homemaker, plumber, or teacher.  I am sure there are aspects of GTD that will help with managing your work and/or life.

I ran across a recent presentation on SlideShare.net called "GTD for Educators".  This is a nice introduction to GTD for teachers.

| View | Upload your own

 

Included in this presentation is a link to a more detailed online workshop on applying GTD for Educators (very Macintosh focused).  Check it our at: http://www.glnd.k12.va.us/resources/gtd/

Blog Site Update

Tonight I updated the layout of the web-site.  I like the more streamlined look and feel. 

I'm interested in your feedback, good, bad, or indifferent.  Leave a comment or drop me an e-mail with your feedback.  Thanks!

GTD Digest 2007-12-08

Weekly recap of GTD highlights (news, views, tips and tricks) from around the web

Get out of your meeting---make your cell phone ring
By LauraStack
This is hysterical. Have you ever been sitting in a boring meeting, wishing you had a reason to excuse yourself? Or on a disasterous blind date, looking for an escape? Before a potentially draining engagement, visit PopularityDialer.com ...

The Search for My Ideal GTD App
By Dustin Wax
What features are you looking for in a GTD app? What services do you use, and what would you change to make them suit your needs better? Is there a great out-of-the-box service out there that I'm missing? If you could design your own ...

Manage Outlook in a GTD-Friendly Sidebar with Trog Bar [Featured ...
By Kevin Purdy
Windows only: Free sidebar application Trog Bar keeps your email, tasks and calendar items within quick reach and organizes them into a personal favorite productivity system, be it Getting Things Done, Total Workday Control or most ...

Goal Management: The Art of Getting Things Done
By David B. Bohl
I think most of the time there is too much focus on "efficiency" and "getting things done." My problem is not usually in getting a certain number of things done. I can get fifty things done in one day if I try hard enough. ...

Getting things done: lacking discipline?
By Tyme
Getting things done is an easy concept but not easy to do. I found that the things I have to deal with fall into multiple categories:. Things I want to do that need to get done. Things I don't want to do yet need to get done. ...

Simply GTD with Kelly: Digging out from an email landfill
By kelly@davidco.com (Kelly)
I just got back from a week of being on vacation and had 1155 new emails waiting for me. I told my sister this and she gasped and said, "If I got to work and had that many emails I would just turn around and go back home!" ...

Time Management #8: Resources
By Mark McGuinness
My GTD del.icio.us bookmark is where I bookmark any web pages I find with useful material about time and workflow management. ('GTD' stands for 'Getting Things Done'.) If you subscribe to the RSS feed for this bookmark then you'll ...

Delegating your way to success
Economic Times - Gurgaon,Haryana,India
Accept that in today's interdependent world, there is a shared responsibility for getting things done. It's not all down to you! ...

How to avoid being overwhelmed (GTD Tuesday)
By Craig Huggart
One of the wonderful things about Getting Things Done is that it helps you see how much you are really doing and have to do. In addition, it helps you keep your life in balance. Recently I read a great post over at Zen Habits that ...

GTD Cafe: How More GTD = More Salary
By thedailysaint
If David Allen has taught us anything, it's to be prepared for the items that come your way. Handle them well and good things will follow:. If you want to catch fish, and really enjoy the sport, you will maintain your lures and line in ...

Getting Things Done and Hating It: Productivity Paranoia
By Aaron at FullTiltBlogging
productivity.jpg. Do you suffer from productivity paranoia? For the uninitiated, productivity paranoia is the irrational fear of not using your time to the fullest. Those who suffer from PP spend their time anxious over what they didn't ...

Stepping Into GTD: Part 3- File This!
By dnaphil
This is the third in a series of articles designed to look at how to ease into the GTD system, using some simple tools and the essence of the GTD method. Last week I discussed how to Process your inputs, so that you could quickly make ...

how i get things done
By burnshead(burnshead)
There is a productivity philosophy called GTD, or "Getting Things Done". Lifehacker is particularly fond of this philosphy. The core concept is this: We have thoughts all day long of things that we need to do but we can't possibly ...

The GTD Setup for December 2007
By Stephen
It is, of course, time to update my "Killer GTD Setup" post to reflect 11 months of learning, practicing, working and tweaking. Some things have changed quite a bit, others have stayed the same. So let's get started! ...

Focus on Actions to Get More Done in Less Time
By FreelanceSwitch.com
... but then no actions come out as a result of that. By ruthlessly focusing on actions, you can do more without wasting time. Here's how. (Note: credit is due to David Allen's Getting Things Done for inspiration for the following.) ...

Michael Dolan: Getting the Water Just Right: The Someday Maybe List
By michael.dolan@davidco.com (mdolan)
I've noticed a broad theme about GTD both in my own practice and in the coaching I provide to others: Keeping your GTD system healthy is all about recalibration. In my own approach, I notice that it helps to always keep one eye on ...

Simply GTD with Kelly: No system is still work
By kelly@davidco.com (Kelly)
One of the perplexing things I run across in presenting GTD classes is people who want to defend their lack of system as taking less time and effort than the "work" it would take to maintain a system (GTD or otherwise). ...

Shortcut for Creating a Task in Outlook

 CTRL-SHIFT-K

This is one of my most often used shortcuts in Microsoft Outlook.  CTRL-SHIFT-K is a quick and easy way to create a new task in Outlook.

To finish creating your Outlook task without touching your mouse...

1. Type the Subject of your task on the task entry screen.
2. Use ALT-G to pull up the Category selection box. 
3. Arrow up/down to highlight the category you want.  The Spacebar selects the category.  Then ENTER to close the Category selection box.
4. Lastly, ALT-F4 then ENTER to save the task.

Back from Vacation!

I've been a little lax in postings this past week...  I've been on vacation.  The last thing on my mind has been to get anything done!

Just got back from a 4 day vacation in Cancun with Lori.  We had a great time.  A sunny 80+ degrees each day, a great ocean view, excellent food each day, ample amounts of drink and a ton of fun (and exercise!) in the water.

No work, no errands, no worries.  I knew everything was in a safe, trusted place, so with a mind like water, I was able to relax and forget about the world.  Simply perfect!

I booked this as a last minute trip on Travelocity.com.  I had never used an online travel site, let alone doing it at the last minute.  I must say I did have some initial angst about booking online at the last minute.  Once I selected my flight and hotel, all I had was an e-mail telling me I was good to travel in 3 days - Just go to the Delta booking desk at the airport and away you go...

It turned out just that easy.  When we got to the airport, we went to a Delta electronic kiosk, scanned our passports and out came our flight tickets.  Arrival at the hotel was just as simple.  We showed the e-mail from Travelocity.com to the clerk at the front desk and a few minutes later, we had the keys to our ocean-front room.  Very cool!

If you've never tried one of the online travel services (or even if you have), I'd highly recommend Travelocity.com.  Great prices on last minute fares (if your able to get away quickly), and flawless execution with the confirmation e-mail.

Leave a comment if you have (or have not) had similar experiences with other online travel services worth noting.  Thanks!