If you’ve been on the net as long as I have, you’ve most likely run into the “GTD” acronym before. But, do you know what it means?

GTD is a productivity and organization system that was created by management consultant David Allen in his 2001 national bestseller Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity. Allen calls his system the “martial art of life and work” and he lays out a framework for getting control of your life with his five stages of mastering workflow: 1) collection, 2) processing, 3) organizing, 4) reviewing, and 5) doing.

In October of last year, Allen gave an enlightening presentation at the Google campus on how to create positive results in your work and life by implementing GTD ideas. In a talk titled “GTD and the Two Keys to Sustaining a Healthy Life and Workstyle,” he explains that ‘work,’ in his terms, is anything that you have to get done, and the competitive edge in the information economy is the ability to deal with surprise. Using GTD allows you to focus your mental energies on the your priorities. Drawing a martial arts parallel, Allen describes how the system gives you “mind like water”: allowing you to have the appropriate response to, and engagement with, what is present.

“Your ability to generate power is directly proportional to your ability to concentrate. …Your ability to concentrate is directly proportional to your ability to eliminate distraction. …Distraction is created by mismanaged commitments. …Your mind is limited in its ability to manage commitments, because it is handicapped in its ability to remember and remind.”

That is the problem most of us experience: we constantly fill our minds with things to remember, giving our brain the task of repeatedly reminding us of important to-do items and other pesky little details that we need to remember. Your brain isn’t really suited as a good reminder system, but until it trusts there is a better system, it cannot let go of the job.

That’s what GTD is for–to get all those little pieces of information out of your brain and onto paper (or into your computer), and free up your brainpower for bigger, more important tasks (like problem solving and creativity). In order to get things off your mind, you must know that: 1) you have captured, clarified, and organized your commitments, and 2) that you will engage consciously with them as often as you need to.

“Your ability to refocus, rapidly, on the right things at the right horizon at the right time is the master technique of knowledge work athletics. Perspective is your slipperiest and most valuable commodity. Therefore methods for maintaining perspective are your most important tools.”

So what are these five stages of mastering workflow? As Allen explains it, the five keys to gaining control are to:

1. Collect everything that has potential meaning to you
2. Process the list and clarify the meaning of those things
3. Organize in someplace you trust you’ll see at the right time
4. Review the system to keep it alive and current
5. Do

And the different “horizons” of focus when you’re working out your projects and tasks are on six different levels of work:

• At 50,000 feet are your purpose and principles
• At 40,000 feet is your vision for your career & lifestyle
• At 30,000 feet are your long-term goals for what you wish to be, do, or have
• At 20,000 feet are your areas of focus and responsibility (your body, your relationships, spiritual life, personal development). Most of us have about 15 roles.
• At 10,000 feet includes your current projects (often 30 – 100 projects)
• And of course the “Runway” is where most of your daily progress happens with “next actions” (Allen says most people tend to have between 150 – 220 current to-do’s)

Much like my recent guide to setting meaningful personal and professional development goals, using these frameworks is a great way of brainstorming your personal roles and getting your life and business in order! I’ve discussed GTD here at Thrilling Heroics before, and my past guest and GTD guru “Duff” McDuffee has created a great GTD Mastery checklist if you’re already using the system. If you’re new to it, and considering getting on board with Getting Things Done, WikiSummaries has a useful and detailed GTD quick reference that summarizes the book and all of its principles. Good luck getting things done!

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: GTD: Is Stress-Free Productivity Really Possible?

Ah, blogging…

Okay I’ve been meaning to participate in Robert Hruzek’s latest meme since May 24th! That’s been over a month now (!), and I feel really horrible I still haven’t shared how I feel bloggin’ has impacted me since I started. What can I say? … I’ve been swamped with work, and interviewing authors and entrepreneurs, and calling San Diego business owners, and test-driving BMWs, and Toastmastering, and MasterMinding, and NetImpacting! It’s a hard life!

Oh well, I have the time now. Part of the reason it’s taken me so long to address is that I’ve been reflecting on the question for about three weeks! To quote Robert, “The irony is that while we bloggers are out changing the world, we’re also changing ourselves, you know? And by that I mean me, personally. To my surprise, I’ve changed in significant ways – directly as a result of blogging.”

I just had my first blogging anniversary in early June! (Although I started online journaling in 2003, I consider my blogging birth to be June 2006 when I started ThrillingHeroics.com and started writing for an audience, not just for my family members.) So how has it changed me in those 13 months? A LOT! That’s how.

How Blogging Has Changed Me

I’m addicted to the internet! I experience information overload firsthand. On a daily basis! But, the good side is that I’ve gotten really good at filtering what information I let in, what I care about and what I waste my time on. I read MUCH more (I’m almost done with my 5th book for the year — that’s 4 more than last year — in addition to the thousands of news articles and blog posts I read from week to week). I don’t let myself get as distracted by television (most of it is pointless drivel), video games, or other forms of laziness and distraction. I’m much more informed — I always know the latest trends in technology and business, and I often hear the headlines days before they get reported on your local TV news station. I’m addicted…but I’m always constantly learning and growing.

• Cody Recommends: Google Reader for organizing all those RSS feeds; and Suggestica for good book recommendations

I’m much more well connected. I’ve learned to appreciate the importance of and power of relationships. Considering myself a bit of a rogue journalist, I like to interview and talk to people in different businesses and I always enjoy reaching out to form new connections and learn from people who are doing it! I’ve somehow managed to build a global network of friends — a columnist in Wisconsin, a career coach in Arizona, a photographer in Pakistan, a student of design in Norway, an American student in Ireland, an executive in Palo Alto, a professor in India, entrepreneurs in the Bay Area, and so on. I’m a businessman, and what I’ve realized is that business is all about people. Relationships. You’ve gotta foster them before you need them, and you’ve gotta keep fostering them. You can never assume that you don’t need someone just because they’re not a customer! (They might be a future customer.) The best practice is simply to always look out for how you can help others and promote others, and it will come back to you, guaranteed. Think Karma.

• Cody Recommends: LinkedIn for business networking and asking questions to your professional peer group; and Facebook for connecting with old friends, coworkers, and classmates; also read Keith Ferrazzi’s Never Eat Alone

I have loftier goals. 13 months ago, I didn’t want to go to Stanford GSB. I didn’t want to run my own company. I didn’t think writers or CEOs would give me the time of day. But, through lots of patient persistence and trying to learn about my interests — in green business, career development, and tech startups — and through trying to get in contact with important people, I’ve become much more motivated to do BIG things. I’m more of a goal-setter. I’ve started a career development group. I’m trying to start a professional organization in Sacramento! And I’m learning how to rubn shoulders with the big guys — the ones who are doing what you want to do! I’ve learned that pretty much anybody is accessible. Even CEOs. They may not have a lot of time — but everyone, in their own private lives, considers themselves just another regular guy (or gal). Everyone LOVES to talk about themselves! If you have a sincere interest in what someone does, let them know. We all like to feel important and like our experience and knowledge are valuable to others.

• Cody Recommends: Start a MasterMind group (or join mine!) to excel your career and for goal accountability; and join a Toastmasters club to practice your public speaking

I take more initiative. Perhaps through trying to keep a clean email inbox, I’ve picked up the habit of attacking tasks more aggressively. I break down projects into actionable steps and I just go after the next goal. I didn’t always have such a proactive approach to getting things done — in fact I was quite a procrastinator. But procrastinating doesn’t work if you want to be a writer. You’ve gotta put out regular, good content. And that means you have to go out and chase it down! Now, if I see something that needs to get done, I try to just DO IT. When I want to accomplish some big goal, I call up those important people who I think can help. Just ask them (make it worth their while — frame it how it will benefit them). What’s the worst they could say? No? So what…you can’t lose what you don’t already have. So do it now, or else you won’t ever do it. Same with cleaning the house, starting that 401k, taking that vacation, saving the $10 service fee the bank tries to screw you for, reaching out to your favorite author, going back to school, and so on. Do it now, or you’ll never do it.

• Cody Recommends: David Allen’s Getting Things Done (this is the productivity Bible!)

Thanks go out to Robert for starting this little exercise! I’m not going to tag anyone for this meme because I’ve attacked all of my blogger friends with plenty of memes lately, but you readers out there who happen to blog, please feel free to continue this discussion and let me know how you’ve changed since you started blogging…

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: How Has Blogging Changed Me?

Ben (from Startup Spark) is hosting a group writing project at his Instigator Blog, and for each participating blog $5 will be donated to charity. The prompt is “What did you learn in 2006?” So here is my contribution to the project!

Ben’s call for participation in his group writing project offers me a unique opportunity to look back at what lessons I have learned, and what I can take and apply to the rest of my life. 2006 has been a big year for me. I’ve been in an amazing and rewarding relationship with Maria—my sharp, motivated girlfriend—for almost eight months now. A second close friend of mine from high school passed away before his time. I started working a full time job. I met Warren Buffett. Communication lines between my mother and me have been strained—something that I’m not exactly happy about, but that has freed me from unnecessary anguish in my life. I’ve completed my very last course to earn my Bachelor’s degree and graduate from college! And I think I’ve figured out what I want to do with the rest of my life.

Here are some of the most important lessons I think I have absorbed this year:

1. I need a muse. My goals and dreams have expanded far beyond what I would have first imagined since I’ve had a motivated girlfriend pushing me to great heights. Before, I had only modest goals for myself, but she has helped to encourage me to think big and realize that it is my duty to at least strive to reach my full potential. I am so fortunate to have all of my basic needs taken care of, and to be amongst the richest fraction of the human population (even though I only make 5 figures!), I owe it to the world to do as best as I can and give back to the community. It may come across as a weakness to some people to rely on a partner, friend, or community for encouragement, but I don’t believe anyone becomes a success without the help and community of others. Remember: no man is an island! Having someone else who believes in me and offers their positive reinforcement every time I have big dreams has helped me to add two new things to my list of life goals this year: to attend either Stanford or Columbia, and to start my own business within the next 5 years. Here’s an article about how important relationships are, and here’s my interview with the king of lasting relationships, Rajesh Setty.
2. Just DO it! At the same time, if you want things to get done, you cannot rely on others to do them for you. And you can’t just put them in the “to do” pile and ignore them and hope they resolve themselves. Successful people know that they create the quality of their lives, they are not victims of life. You can’t let life be something that just happens to you. Life is full of small, irritating tasks that most of us would rather not do, or things that we are afraid to do because we don’t want to fail, but you just have to buckle down and DO them! For instance: I’ve learned to just call my bank or credit card every time they try to charge me fees, and sometimes they reverse them. To just tell the boss my ideas about how to improve our workplace, and sometimes he thinks they are brilliant! To just contact that popular blogger or company exec, and sometimes they are willing to meet with me and give an interview or talk about business opportunities! Remember: you can’t lose what you don’t already have. Sometimes all there is is something to gain, and the worst that could happen is they say no. But, successful people are the ones that just DO what others don’t want to do or are afraid to do. You must work to create your own success. No one else is going to do it for you! Here’s an article about changing the way you think in order to be more successful.
3. Plan ahead for the unexpected. This is one thing I have learned attending and working for a university. A lot of students do not take an active role in their education–they attend classes, they do the homework, take the tests. But, they assume that all the administrative work–the course advising, transfer courses, the pre-requisites, the degree evaluations, the petitions to graduate, etc.–are on auto-pilot and will take care of themselves. The truth is that you must take an active role. You must know the due dates and get your paperwork in well in advance, know the requirements and whether you meet them, know who to speak to in order to solve your problems and actively seek them out, know what resources your college offers you and utilize them… If you are going to become an efficient adult, you need to learn to ensure these things get done, because again, no one is going to do it for you! And if you leave them on auto-pilot and wait until you recieve notice that something is overdue to take action, there will be consequences. You need to take responsibility. And that can be applied to a whole world of other things besides school. Here’s an example of how you should plan ahead and prepare for the unexpected when it comes to student loans.
4. Budget, budget, budget! Waiting on the lottery is not a retirement plan. I’ve learned that if I want to be wealthy, it takes planning and tracking. It takes being frugal, and allocating. You must make smart purchases. Every time you buy something, there is a real cost and an opportunity cost–the loss of the ability to buy something else. So, you must wiegh your options. Every time I choose not to go to the movies, I tell myself I am $10 closer to that Tesla Roadster I want! As Ramit Sethi of IWillTeachYouToBeRich.com says, you don’t have to be smart, you just have to start (early if possible) and be disciplined over the long-term, and you will become wealthy. Here’s a post I wrote all about the most important financial tips I’ve learned, and here’s my interview with Ramit Sethi.
5. Organize everything in your life. Organizing is something that helps tremendously with all of the above. I find that when I am organized, I know exactly where to find things (which saves me valuable time), I can complete projects much more quickly and efficiently (meaning I am more productive), I pay my bills on time (which saves me money), I get to things on my “to do” list sooner (and thus create better rapport with people who are waiting on me), and much more. Basically, I categorize things and either do them immediately, place them in my “next actions” pile, hand them off to somebody else who can do them better than me, file them for reference, or throw them out. This is a system that is based in part on Getting Things Done by David Allen, but here is a great post about using three all-important folders to keep your email inbox clean–and the same principle can be applied to your physical mail, your projects, and more. Lifehacker and 43 Folders are great sites for tips on staying organized and productive that have immensely helped me get control of my life.

Well, those are my insights from this year. I look forward to another year of learning and growing, and I thank Ben Yoskovitz for instigating this project and giving us a moment to reflect on 2006. Next week, I will try to post my resolutions for 2007!

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: Five Things 2006 Has Taught Me