Wednesday Gathering in Rockville - Getting Things Done 11/4/09
Nov 3
posted by Michael Smith in
Sandbox
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This Wednesday Sandbox gathering we learn how to get things done. Are you stressed out about how much you have to do each day? Is your inbox overflowing? Would you like to be much more productive? Then come learn the Getting Things Done approach based on the book of the same name by Dave Allen.
- Learn how to have an empty inbox everyday
- Learn how to get rid of that nagging feeling that there is some important task you have forgotten
- Learn productivity tips to save time and stress
- Learn how to get old projects unstuck
Whether you are a homemaker or an executive, a graphic designer or an admin assistant it seems that people are getting more and more overwhelmed with the tasks they want to do. It might be work or home projects or dealing with bills. What ever your stuck area(s) with GTD you will get more done with much less stress.
PS There is no special PDA, calendar or software you must have to do GTD - pencil, paper and a sharpened mind are all you need to start!
The playshop begins after dinner at 8pm. I invite you to join us, though as always what ever choice you make you will be honored in.
Some articles on GTD
The art of the doable list
http://lifehacker.com/software/geek-to-live/the-art-of-the-doable-to+do-list-270404.php
Think of your to-do list as an instruction set your Boss self gives your Assistant self. Like a computer program, if the instructions are clear, specific, and easily executed, you're golden. If not, you'll get undesirable results, like fear, procrastination and self-loathing.
At any point during your work day you are in one of two modes: thinking mode (that's you with the Boss hat on) and action mode (that's you with the Personal Assistant hat on.) When a project or task comes up, the steps you've got to take start to form in your mind. Now you're in thinking/Boss mode - the guy/gal who gives the orders. Your to-do list is a collection of those orders, which your Assistant personality will later pick up and do.
So when you're wearing your Boss hat, it's up to you to write down the instructions in such a way that your Assistant self can just do them without having to think. GTDer Michael Buffington called this "writing tasks that you can follow as if you're a robot."
Separate your email from your to-do's
10 must-have Thunderbird Addons (+ 25 more)
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-must-have-thunderbird-addons-25-more/
http://email.about.com/od/outlookaddons/gr/email_follow_up.htm
http://www.summersault.com/community/weblog/2006/07/20/five-power-tips-for-thunderbird.html
http://blog.ianbicking.org/getting-things-done-tools.html
Header tool http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?t=279907
Planner Pad and GTD
http://rickyspears.com/blog/2007/07/goodbye-planner-pad-organizer-i-hardly-knew-ye/
Inbox Zero: What's the action here?
http://www.43folders.com/2006/03/20/action
inbox:
1. What does this message mean to me, and why do I care?
2. What action, if any, does this message require of me?
3. What's the most elegant way to close out this message and the nested action it contains?
Fifty percent or more of your mail may not make it past the ?rst question: delete. A majority of the remainder may not make it past the second (beyond perhaps a one- or two-line reply). And, God willing, you'll eventually get really fast at dispensing the rest with quick application of the third. The key is to get super-fast at turning valuable messages into actions or placeholders for action.
http://www.43folders.com/2006/03/13/email-cheats
Empty inbox with the Trusted Trio
http://lifehacker.com/software/top/geek-to-live--empty-your-inbox-with-the-trusted-trio-182318.php
· If it requires a response or action which will take less than one minute to complete, do it on the spot, then move the message to Archive.
· If it requires an action on your part that will take more than one minute to complete, move it to the Follow Up folder.
· If it's a piece of information or a promise you're waiting on from someone else, move it to Hold.
· If it's an informational message you may want to refer to later, move it to Archive.
· If it's of no use, delete it.
