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Allen's three most useful products?
- Thread starter Eutychus
- Start date
Howard;48116 said:1. The Book: No point in trying to implement the system without properly understanding the why and the how. A recent review in the British magazine "Management Today" said that just holding the book will make you more organised.
2. This Forum: Not only is it a rich source of personal experiences from many, obviously accomplished people but when you post a problem or a question (as I have done), the quality and sincerity of the responses is overwhelming - even humbling.
3. GTD Outlook Add-In: If you live in Outlook this piece of software will enable you to easily adapt your previous working methods to a GTD oriented system. Exceptional value for all that it does.
By the way, the real best product is David Allen's years of thoughtful, tested experience which we are all now able to use and trust. True wisdom.
I have to agree on the first two points and the fourth. All four points are in agreement with what I have seen in my own experience with the exception of the Outlook Add-In. And that only because I haven't really tried it.
I am interested that you qualied your endorsement... If you live in Outlook. Outlook for me is a mail program I coordinate with ACT!
Eutychus;48107 said:...outlook...
How does it work for you. In other words, you go to work, fire up your computer...then what?
I review my next actions list (the add-in give you a list of all next actions, sorted by category, of which I also print off a copy to carry with me each day...it is usually just one page long) and check off any that need to be checked off, add any that need to be added (I go through my papers from yesterday and my tickler file at this time as well), and move any to someday or wherever if appropriate.
Then I print off the list of Next Actions and put it in my 3-ring binder that goes with me if I leave my computer.
Then I print off today's calendar as a one page schedule from 6am-10pm, punch it, and throw it in my binder. This has any appointments I've already entered, and I just physically write down any other hard appointments for today in the open spaces. The right third of the sheet prints as a notes area, which is usually quite handy, too.
All day long, it's very easy to add/remove/re-categorize Next Actions, and tie them to projects as well.
Any email that comes in that suggests and action or project can be instantly marked as such, and it vanishes from the inbox and exists as an attachment to the new Next Action that is stored in the appropriate place. Or the email can likewise be attached to a time on the calendar.
When I'm viewing my next actions list, I can adjust the view to see it categorized by project, rather than by context. Also, the program allows for extensive notes within each action or project, that don't clutter up the title.
GTD Outlook Add-In transforms Outlook
Apparently, most Outlook users only use it as an email client. On the other hand, others are fully dependent on it (live in it) not only for email, but as their only diary/calendar and for daily task planning. I was in this category before I adopted GTD but still found Outlook to be a poor time management system; I didn't find it easy to use as a daily to-do list manager. Of course, GTD is anti-to-do lists and DA's system of "hard landscape" in the calendar and next actions by context precludes these.
David Allen recommends a style of setup for Outlook which makes it consistent with the GTD method of operating. I downloaded the white paper on this and was part way through implementing it but then when I got hold of the add-in this made all the changes for me.
As you probably know, you can synchronise your ACT! with Outlook so maybe you could get the best of both worlds.
Eutychus;48134 said:I am interested that you qualied your endorsement... If you live in Outlook. Outlook for me is a mail program I coordinate with ACT!
Apparently, most Outlook users only use it as an email client. On the other hand, others are fully dependent on it (live in it) not only for email, but as their only diary/calendar and for daily task planning. I was in this category before I adopted GTD but still found Outlook to be a poor time management system; I didn't find it easy to use as a daily to-do list manager. Of course, GTD is anti-to-do lists and DA's system of "hard landscape" in the calendar and next actions by context precludes these.
David Allen recommends a style of setup for Outlook which makes it consistent with the GTD method of operating. I downloaded the white paper on this and was part way through implementing it but then when I got hold of the add-in this made all the changes for me.
As you probably know, you can synchronise your ACT! with Outlook so maybe you could get the best of both worlds.