Category Archives: Getting Things Done (GTD)

Brainstorming for One

I just went digging through some old blog posts of mine, and a found a few worth reposting. Here’s an excerpt of one from early 2004…

A colleague of mine gave a presentation yesterday about brainstorming techniques. For example, he talked about how an initial pool of ideas can be built up in the generation phase by pushing the boundaries, piggy-backing on the previous ideas, and inverting or negating the previous ideas.

I will never forget the first time I tried it. Continue reading Brainstorming for One

Not Taking Collected Thoughts for Granted (GTD)

A common stumbling point on the road to adopting David Allen’s Getting-Things-Done methodology is that we get too wrapped up in the mechanics of the system and fail to think about what we are doing. We stay bogged down in the trenches (at the airport runway level, as Allen puts it) for far too long, and don’t spend enough time at higher elevations looking down at the big picture of what we are up to and where we are headed.

One particular sticking point is when it comes to processing the thoughts that are captured with our “collection tool.” Continue reading Not Taking Collected Thoughts for Granted (GTD)

Now Reading: “Personal Kanban” by Benson and Barry

Last night, I obtained an autographed copy of Personal Kanban: Mapping Work | Navigating Life by Jim Benson and Tonianne DeMaria Barry. Jim gave an engaging speech in which he described some awesome success stories. The speech was about Kanban, in general, as applied in business settings.  So, now, I’m anxious to read the book to get Jim and Tonianne’s take on how to apply it individually.

When I spoke to Tonianne privately after the event, I told her that I’m a fan of David Allen’s Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity (“GTD”), and I asked her how their Personal Kanban compares to GTD. She said that PK actually plays nice with, and builds upon, GTD and that GTD is mentioned prominently in the book.  Now, I just need to see if I can remember how to read a book that’s printed on physical paper.