gtd

April 24, 2005 &bull productivity

In 2002 I attended a one day seminar called “Managing Action with Microsoft Outlook.” Somehow one of our IT managers had heard about a consultant who had a pretty interesting “programme” on how to manage one’s time and task list using Microsoft Outlook. The consultant turned out to be someone from a company called McGhee and Associates. In spite of the fact that I was dreading the seminar and thought it was going to be an utter waste of time (aren’t they all?), it actually had a pretty big impact. In fact, I adopted the methodology the guy was pushing and have been using it ever since. While I can’t say I’ve adhered to every aspect of the system, I have done my best. But recently I’ve felt like I needed a “refresher” or at least some new inspiration to help light a fire under my ass, so to speak. Enter divine intervention.

A few weeks ago I saw an entry on kottke.org referencing an interview with “life hacker” Merlin Mann. I had no clue who Merlin Mann was, but the term “life hacker” definitely caught my eye so I checked it out. The interview talks about personal productivity and a web site, called 43 Folders Mann created to discuss various “life hacks” and productivity stuff. The interview also references a book called, “Getting Things Done” by a guy named David Allen. The more I researched this guy and what his book was about, the more I realized this is exactly the stuff that was discussed in the “Managing Action” seminar. What’s weird is that, from what I can remember, the guy doing the “Managing Action” seminar never once mentioned that his company was completely ripping off this other guy’s ideas. While maybe not the best analogy, it’s sort of like attending a seminar on kindness, forgiveness, and living correctly, etc., which is being passed off as an original system developed by the consultant doing the presentation. Then, a couple years later you stumble across this book called “The Bible” that has all the same stories and information as the seminar. Weird.

Anyway, I got the kick in the ass I was looking for and have been reading GTD, along with 43 Folders and the 43 Folders wiki. If you get a chance, check some of this stuff out (especially 43 Folders). It’s well worth the time and if you are looking for help managing your ever-growing to-do list, read GTD.

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