Getting things done?

Published Sat, Mar 26 2005 18:18 | William

The other day, one of my friends at work had brought up “Getting things done” and i went and http://www.davidco.com/products.php .  I guess a lot of people at Microsoft swear by it and it's supposed to be a great program.  My time management has traditionally been fairly decent although it's went to sh1t in the last 6 months.  I had read all of Steven Covey's books and First Things First was probably the best one in terms of time management. Basically I liked it b/c it was a “this is the way it is” sort of book about how we waste/manage time.  You can hate it or love it but it didn't change the facts of the book.  Between the Outlook template and all of the books, this stuff looks a we bit pricey and i was looking for some recommendations on it. If it's good stuff then it's probably not expensive at all.  Just wondering if anyone's used it, has any feedback, can recommend if I should buy it and if so, what all should I get?

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# William said on March 26, 2005 9:04 PM:

The 43 Folders Wiki at: http://wiki.43folders.com/index.php/Main_Page would be a good place to start. You can find links to all kinds of GTD stuff from there. I do recommend, however, starting with the book and getting a reasonable grasp on the underlying philosophy first before launching into the how of implementation e.g. outlook template, which is just one way. Lots of people swear by a wholly non-electronic implementation. Set yourself up a technorati watchlist or a pubsub subscription to GTD and the links and discussions will come to you daily.

# William said on March 26, 2005 10:39 PM:

I actuall just started GTD a couple of weeks ago, and it's been pretty great so far if you do it.

I have modified it a bit to my needs, mostly concerning "next actions" and "projects" because just the book doesn't really explain enough how that would apply to me, aka, a software developer. But other than that, I'm doing the inbox/sorting/2 minute rule/filing/reminders/waiting on/delegating and it freakin kicks ass. the inbox stays empty, I always have something I can do if I am in the mood to do something, I know where to find things, and my mind is clearer to deal with those things that "just come up". So I recommend it, but only if you are goign to do it...these things all work in some form or another if you actually commit to them.

# William said on March 26, 2005 10:54 PM:

jason haley just name dropped that book too http://dotnetjunkies.com/WebLog/jhaley/archive/2005/03/26/61428.aspx

that sucks for me, because how am i supposed to GTD if my friends keep coming up with books for me to read

actually, i already have a GTD program. chapter 1: turn off the tv

# William said on March 26, 2005 11:02 PM:

casey, book I read in an afternoon session at Barnes & Noble. Bought it just to have it to go over, and lend out, but the concept is simple, and really boils down to (once you know what all the stuff is) this right here: http://www.davidco.com/pdfs/gtd_workflow_advanced.pdf which I have taped up on the wall next to my desk at work and at home. Once you have the grasp of the philosophy, it's really just a flowchart. but a good one.

I still hate your captcha bill

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