Part I – GTD Mastery 100
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For this post, we are going to go through the first three steps to GTD Mastery 100.
1. I have read Getting Things Done from front to back.
This is recommended, as it’s a really good read! If it’s something you cannot afford right now, check out online book borrowing clubs here or make a trip to your local library. With the cost of gas these days, I’d check the library’s online site to either reserve the book or make sure it is available when you want to go get it.
2. I have a calendar, which is always on hand.
And I do. The only time it is not on hand is when I am away from my computer. At those times, I carry a Circa MicroPDA.
At work, I use my Outlook calendar for my meetings and appointments. I also use its task feature, which is MUCH more robust in MSO 2007. I got on our company’s beta testing team for MSO 2007 just so I could have this feature.
For home, I use Google calendar. I use it for all our appointments. What’s great about Google Calendar is that you can send it to someone that uses Outlook, and it will put the item in their calendar as well when they accept the invitation. My SO shares this calendar with the supervisor so that he is aware of when appointments are scheduled so he can have someone cover. I also share our appointment calendar with my Dad, and he shares their calendar with me. It appears right on our calendars in a color which we chose so we always know when the other will be away from the house. You can also set complete calendars or just specific entries to private status.
3. I use my calendar for appointments and day-specific items only.
This is an important one. A calendar is not a to do list: there are different applications/ methods for that. Calendar should include items that pertain to you not being where you usually are: if you are suppose to be at home and your not, or if you are supposed to be at your desk and your not. Meetings, doctors’ appointments, eating dinner out with your co-workers after work, etc. A calendar can get way to cluttered with items if you use it as a to do list.
We’ve covered three good points in this post. Do you have any suggestions at implementing these points? I’d love to hear them! Please comment below!
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Kris, An excellent start to the GTD Mastery 100 series. I think that knocking them out 3 at a time, maybe once or twice a week will be a good pace for everyone to keep up with. The first set is pretty easy to put a couple of points down for.
My take:
1. Of course you have to read the book, and I recommend it before taking on all the other sites that deal with GTD. I try to read it once every two years so that it can rejuvenate me and help me to find something that I was unaware of in previous readings. For those inbetween readings, I offer up the GTD Primer that I wrote for the Black Belt Productivity launching in 2006. It is at http://snurl.com/gtdprimer.
2. With the presence of so many online calendars, there really is no reason that people cannot have a calendar with them at all time. I am (probably) switching back to a paper based system so I am trying to find the right calendar for my system as we speak. Stephen Smith has a great looking one at HDBiz Blog [http://snurl.com/2ye5l] that I am contemplating using in conjunction with my Levenger Junior Circa [http://snurl.com/2ye6c].
3. Your calendar is sacred ground. If you put all different kinds of info on your calendar pages, the actual time/day specific events will get lost in the shuffle and therefore by lost to you. You might start missing appts (wish is the worst that can happen.
As always, great content, Kris. I look forward to reading the rest of your thoughts on the GTD Mastery 100.
Michael
Michael Ramms last blog post..Pre-Order the Next David Allen Book NOW!
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Thanks for the thoughts, Michael. I think I’m going to get a great deal of information about myself while doing this series, as well as being able to share my current knowledge and opinions with others. I do hope that others are journeying through this with us.
I’d love to hear from them!
Kriss last blog post..Ratings – Let me know what you like!
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Kris, great idea for a post series. I recently started reviewing the GTD Mastery 100 to see where I stand as far as implementing many of the suggestions.
1. In addition to owning the book, I also bought the audiobook to listen to on my iPod. I tend to review the book or listen to it every couple of months.
2. I primarily use Outlook for my Calendar everywhere other than work. I keep my Calendar on my Tablet PC and my desktop PC. I synch the with my Treo, which I have with me at all times. I sync my Outlook with Google Calendar for my fiancee can access it to see what I have going on, but more importantly, to see what family appointments we have. At work, we use Lotus Notes, so I have some double-entry to get the appointments into Outlook on my Tablet. While not the most efficient, this works best for me so that I can always have a complete Calendar with me at all times.
3. Agree with both you and @Michael Ramm. Too much clutter on your Calendar can make it easy to miss something.
Once again, great post idea, and I am looking forward to following the rest of the series.
Phil Stanochs last blog post..A Better Life Quotation
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Hi Phil!
I actually saw your post a couple days after I decided I was going to do this series. I’m glad that you have decided to review the list – it will be nice to follow everyones’ progress through this, and hear their thoughts and opinions.
Thanks for joining along with me!
Kriss last blog post..Ratings – Let me know what you like!
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@Phil
I would also recommend the GTD Fast! series of audio if you can find it. I have heard it once and it is amazing! it is 8 CDs of an entire David Allen lecture. I have seen them on eBay and heard that they might be rereleased or updated. But I have not followed up much on that.
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@Michael
I have seen many references to the GTD Fast series, but I have never really looked into it much. Have you heard anything about the GTD Live series?
Phil Stanochs last blog post..A Better Life Quotation
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