We recorded this episode almost two months ago, and while so much has changed since then (look for an upcoming episode on DEI and BLM), the challenges we face sitting down at our computers every morning have not. They've only intensified. How are we supposed to move our work forward with everything that's going on out there in the world? And what is productivity when it's not defined by economists but by us? In this episode, we speak with David Allen, author of Getting Things Done, about how to define and achieve progress in a period of chaos and distraction.

Learn more about Getting Things Done at https://gettingthingsdone.com/ and find David on Twitter at https://twitter.com/gtdguy

Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com

We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to podcast@theready.com

Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com

David Allen is a productivity consultant and an author.

Today I speak to the grandfather of the modern productivity movement. David is the creator of Getting Things Done - the most famous productivity system on the planet.

Expect to learn David's 5-step process for organising your life, why your brain is a terrible library, what apps & systems David uses to enhance his own life, where he sees the future of productivity going and much more...

Sponsor:

Shop Tailored Athlete’s full range at https://link.tailoredathlete.co.uk/modernwisdom (FREE shipping automatically applied at checkout)

Extra Stuff:

Buy Getting Things Done - https://amzn.to/3hWk5Vh

Check out David's Website - https://gettingthingsdone.com/

Get my free Ultimate Life Hacks List to 10x your daily productivity → https://chriswillx.com/lifehacks/

-

Get in touch. Join the discussion with me and other like minded listeners in the episode comments on the MW YouTube Channel or message me...

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/ModernWisdomPodcast

Email: modernwisdompodcast@gmail.com

BASED ON A TRUE STORY ~ Colton Burpo was just a normal 4-year-old until his appendix ruptured. While in the hospital, he had a near death experience and visited actual Heaven, but came back to Earth to tell us about it. His story captivated the world, leading to a best-selling book that would eventually be adapted into this film in 2014. Our friend David of comedy team Loose Meat is an expert on this film because he once completely re-edited it in a way that turned the inspirational tearjerker into an ominous piece of claustrophobic family horror. Today June 7 2020 at 5PM PST we will be livestreaming this re-edit for all Boys' Bible Study patreon subscribers.

Check out Loose Meat's vast collection of video and podcast work at http://loosemeat.biz/

and check out the music video they directed for "Processed by the Boys" by Protomartyr

View our full episode list and subscribe to any of our public feeds: http://boysbiblestudy.com

Unlock bonus episodes and invitations to monthly livestreams: http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy

Subscribe to us on Instagram: http://instagram.com/boysbiblestudy

Subscribe to us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/boysbiblestudy

David Allen, master personal productivity specialist, joins us to explore the intersection between his famous Getting Things Done Method and KonMari.

“Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them. We should be looking toward a world of no problems, only projects.”

After decades of in-the-field research and practice of his productivity methods, David wrote the international best-seller Getting Things Done.
Published in over 28 languages, TIME magazine heralded it as “the defining self-help business book of its time.”

Today, David is considered the leading authority in the fields of organizational and personal productivity. The David Allen Company, run by David and his wife Kathryn, oversees the certification academy and quality standards for Global Partners offering Getting Things Done courses and coaching around the world.

We want to hear from you! Tell us your burning tidying questions or share stories about how KonMari has impacted your life. Find us at www.sparkjoypodcast.com and click “Ask Spark Joy” to leave a question or comment for a chance to be featured on next week’s show.

While you’re there, sign-up to join our Spark Joy podcast community and get notified when each episode airs. You can also join the Spark Joy podcast community on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter at the handle @sparkjoypodcast.

Book a custom Virtual Tidying Experience with For the Love of Tidy

Join The Spark Joy Club today!

In this episode, you’ll enjoy:

-David's journey to becoming one of the most important names in increasing productivity

-Learn what the Getting Things Done (GTD) method is all about and how you can use it to increase your productivity and gain more time that spark joy

-Practice with David using the GTD method to something as simple as receiving a wedding invitation

-David has worked from home since the early 1980's and he shares his tips for WFH that sparks joy

-David shares what is meant by "ambient anxiety", an "external brain", and the "two minute rule"

-What are Open Loops and how they impact your productivity

-Find all of David's books and guides here: David Allen on Amazon

-Learn some of David's time honored tips to increase your ability to Get Things Done with joy!

David's favorite productivity tip:
"Your head is for having ideas and not for holding them. Stop using your head as your office."

What sparks joy for David:
David's new video series "Two Minute Tips for Turbulent Times" coming soon.
And, walking his little Cavalier Springer Spaniel in the park!

To connect with David, you can find him at GettingThingsDone.com and on Twitter at GTDGuy

Gems:
"If you think about something twice, then you are paying it to much attention."

"You have to decide what the thing means to you to decide what to do with it."

"You need a discreet space to do your work, answer your email and focus. It's best if there is no other activity in that space . And, it should be a place where everyone in the home knows you are "on the job" even if you need to put yellow caution tape around your workspace!"

"What has your attention?"

"Your head is for having ideas, not holding them. Stop using your head as your office."

You can find Karin Socci at The Serene Home
You can find Kristyn Ivey at For the Love of Tidy

Special Guest: David Allen.

Learn how to get more accomplished while stressing less. These five steps will teach you how to achieve stress-free productivity!

In this episode, Alex Sanfilippo interviews David Allen on his Getting Things Done Methodology and the Art of Stress-Free Productivity.

They go over the 5 steps of Getting Things Done.

The Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology consist of 5 steps:
Capture
Clarify
Organize
Reflect
Engage
For full show notes visit: https://creatingabrand.com/the-art-of-stress-free-productivity-with-david-allen

Support the show (https://creatingabrand.com/join)

David Allen is the creator of GTD®, the popular Getting Things Done methodology.

David founded the David Allen Company, where he engineered Getting Things Done®. He is widely recognized as the world's leading expert on personal and organizational productivity. His 30-year pioneering research and coaching to corporate managers and CEOs of some of America's most prestigious corporations and institutions has earned him Forbes' recognition as one of the top five executive coaches in the United States and Business 2.0 magazine's inclusion in their 2006 list of the "50 Who Matter Now." Time called his flagship book, Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, "the definitive business self-help book of the decade." Fast Company called David "one of the world's most influential thinkers" in the arena of personal productivity, for his outstanding programs and writing on time and stress management, the power of aligned focus and vision, and his groundbreaking methodologies in management and executive peak performance.

David Allen is considered by many the king of productivity. He is best known as the creator of the time management method "Getting Things Done" or GTD. David has spent over three decades researching and teaching and is widely recognised as one of the world's leading authorities on how to get things done. His GTD program has received tremendous praise and is in widespread use across the globe. He was named one of the top global executive coaches by Forbes.

Want to get productive in 2020?  This book could be for you.

About the author
Productivity king David Allen is considered one of the world's leading authorities on getting things done.

He has spent over three decades researching, teaching and coaching, and has been
recognised as one of the top executive coaches by Forbes and the top 100 thought
leaders by Leadership Magazine. David has written three books, including the 2001
bestseller, Getting Things Done: the Art of Stress-Free Productivity, and his GTD
program has received tremendous praise and is in widespread use.
Source: https://www.thegrowthfaculty.com/onDemand/author.php?id=001D0000028npfcIAA

Click here to buy on The Book Depository

https://www.bookdepository.com/Getting-Things-Done/9780349408941/?a_aid=stephsbookshelf

About the book
GETTING THINGS DONE® is a personal productivity methodology that redefines
how you approach your life and work.
In today's world, yesterday's methods just don't work. In Getting Things Done,
veteran coach and management consultant David Allen shares the breakthrough
methods for stress-free performance that he has introduced to tens of thousands of
people across the country. Allen's premise is simple: our productivity is directly
proportional to our ability to relax. Only when our minds are clear and our thoughts
are organized can we achieve effective productivity and unleash our creative
potential.
Source: https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Things-Done-Stress-Free-
Productivity/dp/0142000280 

Links
Read more about the method here: https://gettingthingsdone.com/what-is-gtd/

BIG IDEA 1 (4:02) - Outsource your brain

The fundamental principle of this method is that your brain is not designed to remember much. Every one of us is holding many things in our brain and according to David Allen, our brains can only hold four to seven items as memories.

“Our brains are designed to generate ideas, not hold them”.  David wants us to free our brains from the shackles of remembering things and instead use them for what they are designed for; great ideas. Therefore we need to develop external systems to outsource and help our brains with the mental load of remembering things.  This helps avoid distraction and overwhelm.

BIG IDEA 2 (5:57) - Collect and clarify

The first step of this method is downloading everything. Clear our brains and download all the things we’re holding on to a piece of paper (or likely multiple pieces of paper!). The in-tray is an important part of his method, this is where all the collation happens as you put all the items from your brain into a physical in-tray.

Next we go to the processing stage. Once you get all the pieces of paper in the intray you need to process them one at a time. An important rule is that you only touch everything once so it gets processed straight away.  The next thing to ask for each item in the in-tray is “what’s the next action?”.

David sets out five specific lists which items are collated into.  These lists are; 1) projects (things which require more than one action), 2) reference materials (things you need to look back on at some time), 3) someday maybe (for those pipe dreams and big ideas), 4) waiting on (for things that you’re waiting on someone else to action before you can) and 5) next actions (the collation of all the ‘next actions’ you need to take).

This brings us to the point of processing, collecting and clarifying what needs to be done 

BIG IDEA 3 (11:28) - Your next action is key

A critical principle of GTD is that *everything* needs to be boiled down to the next action. In the book, David talks a lot about processing your next actions in between your fixed meetings or hard commitments in your calendar. He also argues that your calendar is ONLY for your hard commitments. So when you have time in between your meetings, you would start working on your next action plan on the list.

I didn’t love this specific element of the model as I feel that ‘doing the work’ (which may well be your next action) needs scheduling in your calendar, as relying on the cracks of time between meetings just won’t cut it.  The book was written in 2001 so this could be a reflection on how work has changed in the last 19 years.

Music By:  Through the Fire – Instrumental Version Song by Michael Shynes

Let’s Connect

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/steph-clarke

Instagram: @stephsbizbookshelf

Enjoying the show?

Please hit subscribe so you don’t miss an episode and leave a review on iTunes to help others find us.