A while back I wrote about a nicely put together list comparing 100+ GTD software titles. The list is maintained by a company called Priacta. I had never worked with Priacta so I asked the readers of this blog if they had any experience with this company. The feedback was phenomenal. I received a number of e-mails and blog comments using words like "highly recommended", "invaluable", and "life changing". Click here to read the comments that were made on the original blog post.
Needless to say, my interest in Priacta was piqued. So what does Priacta do? Here is what their website has to say;
Priacta, Inc., is located in Richmond, Virginia. We are time management experts in the business of disruptive innovation. This is just a fancy way of saying that we produce radically new, dramatically effective software and time management systems to revolutionize the way the world works.
Shortly after my blog post about the Priacta software list, Kevin Crenshaw from Priacta offered me a copy of their "Coach Assisted Self Training System" to try out. The Priacta Coach Assisted Self Training System included;
- The TRO Field Guide self training system (printed manual and/or instant download)
- The Trog Bar software
- 21 days of telephone based coach follow-up & accountability
Although I did not take advantage of the 21 days of telephone coaching, I did spend some quality time with the TRO Field Guide and the Trog Bar. The TRO (Total, Relaxed Organization) system is based on David Allen's book, Getting Things Done. Whereas David's book focuses on the principals of GTD, the Priacta TRO system walks you step-by-step through implementing GTD.
It all starts with the TRO Field Guide. The TRO Field Guide is a self paced training manual. You don't need any background in GTD (or have even read David Allen's book) to follow the TRO Field Guide. It starts with the basics of how the training system works, why you would want to implement the TRO system, and the principles of GTD. Next, the training manual provides 18 "bite sized" chapters showing you why and how to implement GTD using the TRO system. The chapters are small and easy to follow. For the GTD newbie, this approach is invaluable. The cool thing about Priacta's approach is that they show you how to implement GTD, not just present the GTD concepts.
I have talked with many people who have either read "Getting Things Done" or have taken GTD training and have not been able to implement a sustainable system following the GTD principals. The Priacta system and approach would be perfect for those people!
I did mess a bit with the Priacta Trog Bar software. The Trog Bar is a neat piece of software that helps organize things. The Trog Bar works in conjunction with Microsoft Outlook. My favorite feature is something called "Task Sense". Using "Task Sense", the Trog Bar makes recommendations on the best task to work on next. The TRO Field Guide show many examples using the Trog Bar to manage your time and tasks.
Overall, I'm impressed with Priacta's Total Relaxed Organization approach to time and task management training. I would recommend it to anyone new to GTD or anyone who has tried GTD but "fallen off the wagon". The step-by-step approach with real examples, is an excellent way to get your arms around the GTD concepts and implement a system that will bring you closer to becoming a productivity ninja.
I struggled with the best time do do my weekly review for quite a while. Sunday night? Monday morning? Whenever I felt the need to? Mid-week? ...I finally settled on Friday afternoons. Friday afternoon allows me to clean up the loose ends from the week, plan my next week, and go into the weekend with a mind clear of work related issues. 
