Slice of GTD Life with Keri Hobert

John Forrister

GTD Connect
Staff member
One Saturday a few weeks ago I had a delightful talk with Dr. Keri Hobert. The recording is now available.

Keri is a physician who has worked for several community health organizations, and is currently with the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless in Denver. Her GTD journey began around 2012 with a search for a list manager. She has tried Things, Nirvana, Outlook, and now uses OmniFocus for her lists. In addition to hearing her describe her own system, you’ll find that she is dedicated to sharing about GTD with her colleagues. Beyond describing the benefits of GTD, she provides her staff with structured support to learn and apply the principles.

https://gtdconnect.com/multimedia/audio.php?titleid=856&trackid=1485
 

Jason Atwood

Registered
Great interview, really like her search for tools and coming back to OmniFocus 3.0.

As a GTD father of a 13 year old, I wanted to answer her question on handling GTD with Teens. First, I think buying the book is a good idea, I gave it to my 13 year old and she "read" it enough to get some of the high points.

The second thing I do is just build good GTD habits without labeling them. For example, on the weekends I have her make a list (capture) of all her things she needs to do one of them is to go through her school planner (review) and make sure she is up to date.

Lastly, I think helping a teen get to GTD is about setting a good example. She can see how I handle my work load, with little stress, how I don't miss things, that whenever the family needs something from me it is handled, and not forgotten. She knows I use GTD, I talk about my weekly review, and we openly talk about capturing tasks a lot to the point where the other day she said "Oh, I better capture that." Also, if things slip on their side, you can gently remind them that if that used some of things, it wouldnt' slip and wouldn't that be better?

Good luck though, teenagers are tough. :)

BTW: I have written a few blog posts about this topic as well as review of GTD for Teens, but not sure what the policy is for posting links.

JMA
 

thomasbk

Registered
I think the inbox is key to getting kids on board with GTD. I haven't read the new book, so I could be completely wrong. ;)

Kids often tell their parents something important when they're in the middle of something else. Strategically forgetting those things while acting on anything dropped off in Mom's inbox would reinforce a core GTD element.
 

Keri

Registered
Great interview, really like her search for tools and coming back to OmniFocus 3.0.

As a GTD father of a 13 year old, I wanted to answer her question on handling GTD with Teens. First, I think buying the book is a good idea, I gave it to my 13 year old and she "read" it enough to get some of the high points.

The second thing I do is just build good GTD habits without labeling them. For example, on the weekends I have her make a list (capture) of all her things she needs to do one of them is to go through her school planner (review) and make sure she is up to date.

Lastly, I think helping a teen get to GTD is about setting a good example. She can see how I handle my work load, with little stress, how I don't miss things, that whenever the family needs something from me it is handled, and not forgotten. She knows I use GTD, I talk about my weekly review, and we openly talk about capturing tasks a lot to the point where the other day she said "Oh, I better capture that." Also, if things slip on their side, you can gently remind them that if that used some of things, it wouldnt' slip and wouldn't that be better?

Good luck though, teenagers are tough. :)

BTW: I have written a few blog posts about this topic as well as review of GTD for Teens, but not sure what the policy is for posting links.

JMA

All good advice! The good example is key, I think. Not always my strong point, because I’m not great about paper, and the stuff in the computer isn’t as obvious to my son. But I know my family appreciates the little things that keep us all headed in the same direction, like the shared calendar. They have been trained to look at it, add to it, etc., and now it’s becoming second nature to them both (spouse and kid). So I see that as a big first step. They also appreciate the checklist templates for going on vacation, etc. And we now have a capture tool in the kitchen (a whiteboard) for grocery items and other important reminders for my husband. So it’s happening, slowly but surely. I’ll look up your blog posts!
Keri
 

Keri

Registered
I think the inbox is key to getting kids on board with GTD. I haven't read the new book, so I could be completely wrong. ;)

Kids often tell their parents something important when they're in the middle of something else. Strategically forgetting those things while acting on anything dropped off in Mom's inbox would reinforce a core GTD element.

Ooh, sneaky! I kind of like it. For my teen, it is more a matter of getting him to tell me anything at all, so I’m not sure how well it would work now, but a few years ago definitely! LOL
 

John Forrister

GTD Connect
Staff member
BTW: I have written a few blog posts about this topic as well as review of GTD for Teens, but not sure what the policy is for posting links.

JMA

Jason, I found your review of GTD for Teens, and figured I could save you the effort by posting the link.
http://www.arkusinc.com/archive/2018/a-review-of-getting-things-done-for-teens

Please feel free to post other links about the topic. Our policy is that we keep the forum non-commercial, so we moderate/delete posts that are clearly advertising from someone who benefits from promoting the product or service.
 
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