David Allen Round-up

Along with Howard Morgan, we hosted a terrific session with David Allen on July 8. Thanks to the magic of streaming recording, it’s not too late to access that discussion.

In David Allen’s own words, his presentation was a seminar in Advanced Common Sense. Of course, common sense is neither very common nor always obvious; and David’s observations and insights were frequently eye-opening and extremely helpful.

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Understanding What It Means To Be Overwhelmed

david_allen_small(Editorial note:  You and your company need to get things done – lots of things, and the right things. Are you maximizing your output? Are you getting critical things done with the least amount of effort and stress? Do you have a sustainable work style that supports your commitment to the organization and yourself? Are your activities, moment to moment, lined up with the strategic focus for viable expansion?  In this series of questions, we ask David Allen to talk about the strategic value of personal productivity and supply to answers to a few things on our minds.)

Q: What are the main reasons why people let themselves get overwhelmed at work?

A: People tend to both overcommit and to be inefficient. Few people know exactly how much work they actually have, and therefore must take everything on that they think about and that others ask them to do. Their integrity forces them to agree to take things on because, not being real clear how many projects they already have on their plate, some part of them thinks they actually MIGHT be able to do it. And most people are inefficient because they don’t force themselves to decide what things mean and what they are actually going to do about them when they first show up. So they are constantly rethinking the same things over and over and not making any progress in doing so–only adding to their stress.

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Test your “Getting Things Done IQ”

How is your personal productivity level today? What has your attention? Do you know what you are committed to, and why?

In the words of productivity guru David Allen: Self management is all about perspective (focus on the right things) and control (the ability to effectively manage all the things coming at you).

David is going to discuss productivity principles and behaviors during his presentation on Wednesday, July 8. He invites you to take this brief survey to instantly determine your GTD IQ and receive some suggested behavior prescriptions. You can read this article for more information on the behavior quadrants, and there are other links to free articles on that page as well.

Editor’s Note: Personal score — Visionary / Crazy Maker. See desk and wall for supportive evidence.

The challenge of choosing

david_allen_small2(Editorial note:  You and your company need to get things done – lots of things, and the right things. Are you maximizing your output? Are you getting critical things done with the least amount of effort and stress? Do you have a sustainable work style that supports your commitment to the organization and yourself? Are your activities, moment to moment, lined up with the strategic focus for viable expansion?  In this series of questions, we ask David Allen to talk about the strategic value of personal productivity and supply to answers to a few things on our minds.)

Q:  I have a long list of things I think about doing but am unable to commit to actually choosing one. Is this something you can address from your own experience and from coaching others?

Maybe there’s a good reason not to choose. There is probably a fine line between “intuitive holding”, though, and procrastination or resistance to making decisions. But before you think you need to do something about this, you might ask yourself which it is.

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Motivation meet Pain and Suffering

david_allen_small(Editorial note:  You and your company need to get things done – lots of things, and the right things. Are you maximizing your output? Are you getting critical things done with the least amount of effort and stress? Do you have a sustainable work style that supports your commitment to the organization and yourself? Are your activities, moment to moment, lined up with the strategic focus for viable expansion?  In this series of questions, we ask David Allen to talk about the strategic value of personal productivity and supply to answers to a few things on our minds.)

Q:  How do you get motivated to do things you don’t want to do? Yes, I can put pressure on myself. Yes, I know that I SHOULD do them, but the pain and suffering takes away my motivation to “do” them?

A: I have been in the state you describe, and I think I know the feeling that nothing seems worthwhile to do. It is just a feeling, however, and feelings can change. The problem is, when you’re in that feeling, you see the world through that lens, and nothing is attractive.

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