Implementation

Vox Pop: Implementing GTD for Creative Work?

Merlin — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 07:41:05 -0400

creativepro.com - Getting Design Done

Interesting article here by our old pal, Keith Robinson, introducing GTD to creative types. This is a fascinating topic for me, particularly since I sometimes find it difficult to "crank widgets" when it comes to anything creative.

Keith's an old hand with this stuff, so it's not surprising that he's developed his own tweaks for Getting Creativity Done. Here's a novel idea:

Create a creative time and space for yourself. Make sure it's free of distraction and get into the habit of going there as often as you can. When there, pull out your @creative lists and get to work. I find this is a great way to tackle smaller creative problems. It's how I come up with -- and get started on -- most of my writing. This article is a result of my @creative time.

That's an interesting way to think about contexts. Ordinarily, you'd think of contexts as representing access to a certain kind of tool or as a physical or temporal limitation, whereas Keith is using it almost like a project.

This is challenging stuff that my buddy, Ethan, and I end up talking about all the time. We both agree that you can use GTD to "clear the decks" for creative work -- to move aside all the mundane workaday tasks that might keep you from focusing on blocks of time for creative stuff. But we, like a lot of people, both struggle with how (or even whether) to put truly creative work into our GTD systems. What do you think?

How are you using GTD for creative work? What do projects and next actions look like for a painter, a screenwriter, or a dancer? What's your best trick for getting creative stuff done?

”Vox Pop: Implementing GTD for Creative Work?” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on July 27, 2007. Except as noted, it's ©2010 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

Productive Talk Compilation: 8-episode podcast with GTD's David Allen

Merlin — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 09:05:34 -0500

Download MP3 of "Productive Talk Compilation"

As promised, here's the single-file compilation of the Productive Talk podcast interviews I did with David Allen, the author of Getting Things Done. The final version's eight episodes clock in at a considerable one hour and twenty-six minutes, so this should give you plenty to listen to while you're in line at the DMV.

Some editing misadventures stole the time I'd set aside to write up my final comments on the series, but those will be coming along soon, I promise. In the mean time, as I said in the podcast ep., I want to sincerely thank David, Rick Kantor, Robert Peake, and Zircon Skye Studios for their participation and help with the Productive Talk series. David in particular was unbelievably generous with his time, and I'm very grateful to have had this opportunity to interview him.

Hope you all enjoy hearing the whole series, in order, all in one place. There's some nuggets of GTD gold in there, if I do say so myself.

You can download the MP3 version, or just listen from here by using the Flash player below:

Download MP3 of "Productive Talk Compilation"

”Productive Talk Compilation: 8-episode podcast with GTD's David Allen” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on November 28, 2006. Except as noted, it's ©2010 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

David Allen on GTD's future (and why it just works, as is)

Merlin — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 09:27:21 -0500

Productive Talk #08: GTD 2.0?

43 Folders and The David Allen Company present the eighth in a series of conversations that David and Merlin recently had about Getting Things Done.

Summary

In this episode, Merlin asks David one of the most popular questions about GTD; if he could write the book all over again today, what would he do differently? David addresses how people’s understanding of GTD evolves on repeated exposures, as well hinting at future plans for making GTD easier for people to start and maintain. He makes some great points on learning to pay attention to your "higher altitudes," and wraps up by underscoring the importance of not having to rethink every task throughout the day. (13:11)

Grab the MP3, learn more at Odeo.com, or just listen here (after the cut).

Merlin's comments

If you bend David Allen's ear for more than 30 seconds about GTD, you'll hear some variation of a phrase that I heard a lot over the couple days we hung out in Ojai: "It's all in the book!"

Say what you will about The David, but he is not a man who suffers from The George Lucas Complex. Much to the consternation of his publishers, his fans, and -- one suspects -- even some of his colleagues, David feels like he has already written the complete and definitive work on the Getting Things Done system. And he very clearly has no desire to futz with that basic system without a good reason; it's sound and complete, as is, and there you go. Next subject.

And, I have to say, in a lot of ways, I've come to really admire this.

For one thing, it was immediately clear to me that, although David heads up a smart and growing company that enjoys a ravenous fanbase, his interest in the strictly pecuniary aspects of his work sometimes seems hilariously modest. While he long ago could have flipped DavidCo into a Shake-and-Bake franchise of ghost-written paperbacks (an idea I apparently once thought was a pretty great idea myself), David and his staff usually have more interesting things in mind. And while I can't say that I think every idea is a guaranteed winner from my own perspective, I really respect the fact that DavidCo seems unwilling to sacrifice the quality of their product and their message for a fast buck. Not something you see every day.

I'll admit that there's still a part of me that thinks both David, the fans, and the system itself could benefit greatly from more examples of and options for sane GTD implementation and maintenance (and how to narrow the options to what's best for my particular hang-up). Funny thing, though: in talking to David, it became clear to me that, on some level, that dearth of "official" material on implementation options was an undeniable factor in the early success of 43 Folders. So, in retrospect, I probably shouldn't complain too much.

In many ways, though, David's right; it is all in the book, even if you aren't yet at a place to understand how it potentially fits together in your world. So, in this episode, I really like how he highlights the way repeated readings and exposures to GTD inevitably lead to "getting" some part of the system that used to seem corny, pointless, or hand-wavey (God knows that's been true for me). So, I guess I do see part of the challenge from David's point of view; how do you get somebody quickly ramped-up into a system that may not reveal its best stuff to you for two or more years? Definitely tricky business.

But for those of you out there already doing GTD and feeling like you sometimes miss the "there," I think this particular ep provides some very sound insight into how these pieces down on "the runway" are inextricably and necessarily tied to "the higher altitudes."

Last planned episode....but wait...

Although this eighth episode of Productive Talk is our last in this series (yep, we're already talking about doing it again), I do encourage you to stop back by next week.

In addition to offering my own thoughts on the series and what I learned from it (hint: a lot), I'll also be sharing the (very very highly requested) single file download of all 8 episodes. Yes, it will have iTunes chapters. No, it won't have bonus footage or director's commentary. But it will make it a bit easier to take Productive Talk with you and listen to the whole series at a sitting. Subscribe via iTunes to receive the last last episode as soon as it goes live.

Listen to Episode #08 of Productive Talk

Grab the MP3, learn more at Odeo.com, or just listen from here:

powered by ODEO

”David Allen on GTD's future (and why it just works, as is)” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on November 21, 2006. Except as noted, it's ©2010 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

David Allen on best practices for implementing GTD

Merlin — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 11:31:34 -0500

Productive Talk #07: Implementing GTD

43 Folders and The David Allen Company present the seventh in a series of conversations that David and Merlin recently had about Getting Things Done.

Summary

In this episode, David and Merlin look at best practices for implementing Getting Things Done. David shares some great advice on firewalling review time and warns us how to avoid the perils of "cruise control." (9:37)

More at: http://www.davidco.com/ and http://www.43folders.com/

Grab the MP3, learn more at Odeo.com, or just listen here (after the cut).

Merlin's comments

My favorite bit in this one (jump to 1:38) is where we learn that some of David's best stuff seems to have had a genesis in an unlikely place -- from his tenure as the manager of a gas station, back in the day.

This is important, not just because we get a candid glimpse of a very fun guy who's too often pegged as just another business consultant -- I love that David demonstrates how most any job will benefit from firewalled time to do your meta work.

Note especially that, contrary to what one might call "worst practices" of GTD, DA is not suggesting you spend your day obsessing over GTD and trying to perfect your "system." You set aside time to clear the decks, as he likes to say, so that you can work -- really work -- and not just live in a perpetual twilight of productivity futzing.

Building those walls and really honoring them from day one may be one of the best ninja tips you can learn for responsibly implementing GTD.

Listen to Episode #07 of Productive Talk

Grab the MP3, learn more at Odeo.com, or just listen from here:

powered by ODEO

”David Allen on best practices for implementing GTD” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on November 13, 2006. Except as noted, it's ©2010 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

Fractal Implementation, or, On the Dangers of David Allen's Finger

Merlin — Tue, 31 May 2005 05:43:02 -0400

BnugWiki : GtDBackToBasics

While doing some file pruning yesterday, I ran across a printout of a page I’d visited (and linked to, via del.icio.us) back in January.

In it, BigNosed UglyGuy throws down a sobering bitch-slap on the impulse to tinker endlessly with your GTD system—to try and catch yourself as you start into the inevitably fractal “Cycle of Implementation.” All the better, one hopes, to stop your meta-work before your head slips—completely efficiently, mind you—up your butt. Quoting:

First, understand that the primary focus should always be the projects & tasks at hand, rather than the mechanics of the methodology.

Scrap (or freeze for the time being at least) the extant implementation - trying to retro-engineer is just backward tweaking…

Start again immediately with just tasks — a To Do list (minimal notes) and hard landscape stuff in Calendar…

Only when the basics are working smoothly, start reintroducing the elements of one’s preferred implementation…

Yep. Brilliant, and right on.

This is my stake in the ground about GTD: if you can stay focused on drawing from its best practices to get more of the important things in your life accomplished, then you’ll be a happy kid. For real. But if, like a seeming majority of people I encounter these days, you allow yourself to obsess endlessly over the minutest details of implementation and maintenance—well, you’re screwed. You’re wasting your time.

Not to rely too heavily on the Zen parables here, but keep checking yourself: are you gazing at the moon, or just staring at David Allen’s finger?

”Fractal Implementation, or, On the Dangers of David Allen's Finger” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on May 31, 2005. Except as noted, it's ©2010 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

Implementation

Vox Pop: Implementing GTD for Creative Work?

Productive Talk Compilation: 8-episode podcast with GTD's David Allen

David Allen on GTD's future (and why it just works, as is)

Summary

Merlin's comments

Last planned episode....but wait...

Listen to Episode #08 of Productive Talk

David Allen on best practices for implementing GTD

Summary

Merlin's comments

Listen to Episode #07 of Productive Talk

Fractal Implementation, or, On the Dangers of David Allen's Finger