{"id":3605,"date":"2016-07-26T22:14:35","date_gmt":"2016-07-26T22:14:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teachinginhighered.com\/?p=3605"},"modified":"2016-07-29T17:06:46","modified_gmt":"2016-07-29T17:06:46","slug":"sticking-getting-things-done-gtd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teachinginhighered.com\/2016\/07\/26\/sticking-getting-things-done-gtd\/","title":{"rendered":"Sticking with Getting Things Done (GTD)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img data-opt-id=1012890822  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3607\" src=\"https:\/\/images.coachingforleaders.com\/cb:ztCJ~31fd5\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/teachinginhighered.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Depositphotos_38239361_l-2015-2.jpg\" alt=\"Depositphotos_38239361_l-2015 2\" width=\"700\" height=\"347\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.coachingforleaders.com\/cb:ztCJ~31fd5\/w:700\/h:347\/q:mauto\/f:best\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/teachinginhighered.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Depositphotos_38239361_l-2015-2.jpg 700w, https:\/\/images.coachingforleaders.com\/cb:ztCJ~31fd5\/w:300\/h:149\/q:mauto\/f:best\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/teachinginhighered.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Depositphotos_38239361_l-2015-2.jpg 300w, https:\/\/images.coachingforleaders.com\/cb:ztCJ~31fd5\/w:700\/h:347\/q:mauto\/f:best\/ig:avif\/dpr:2\/https:\/\/teachinginhighered.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Depositphotos_38239361_l-2015-2.jpg 2x\" sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>One of the members of the Teaching in Higher Ed Slack channel shared of her struggles with sticking with the Getting Things Done (GTD) system, after she had read the book. It certainly can be challenging. I thought I would share a few strategies I've used for staying consistent with GTD practices and hope to hear what has worked for you, as well.<\/p>\n<p>First, if you aren\u2019t familiar with Getting Things Done, the following resources are highly recommended:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/2avbmYx\">Getting Things Done<\/a>, by David Allen<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/fivesteps\/\">Getting started with GTD<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Podcast:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/teachinginhighered.com\/32\">Lower your stress with a better approach to capture<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Podcast:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/teachinginhighered.com\/34\">Practical productivity in academia<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Podcast:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/teachinginhighered.com\/41\">What to do before you act on all you\u2019ve captured<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Podcast:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/teachinginhighered.com\/56\">Getting to zero inbox<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Podcast:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/teachinginhighered.com\/64\">The weekly review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Here are a few thoughts about how to better integrate the Getting Things Done methodology into your life and stay with it:<\/p>\n<h2>Separate capturing and clarifying from doing<\/h2>\n<p>It is easy to fall into this temptation when presented with something that needs doing. We can get distracted from whatever we were in the middle of working on and start trying to do the new thing that now has our attention.<\/p>\n<p>We need a system that every action item (task) goes into, so that we can better identify the most important work we should be doing at any given time.<\/p>\n<h2>Take time out to reflect<\/h2>\n<p>The busier our schedules get, the more we need time to reflect and review. I have a weekly review and a monthly review that I\u2019m faithful to about 90% of the time.<\/p>\n<p>Those practices help me identify areas where I need a better system, so that the next time I encounter a similar season in life, I am better prepared with tools to help me navigate.<\/p>\n<h2>Avoid taking an all-or-nothing approach<\/h2>\n<p>David Allen has indicated that it takes a few years to really get in the groove with GTD. That figure seems daunting, until you recognize that we\u2019re hardly ever \u201cperfectly\u201d GTD.<\/p>\n<p>I like has David Allen has grouped the entire GTD system into five distinct areas (http:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/fivesteps\/). Consider which area could use the most attention in your own productivity system and determine how to close any gaps that exist to having it work the way you want to see it work.<\/p>\n<h2>Ensure you have the necessary tools<\/h2>\n<p>Finally, be sure you have the tools you need to properly implement your GTD system. Here are what I consider to be essential tools, along with what I use in each area:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Calendar<\/strong> &#8211; I use <a href=\"https:\/\/flexibits.com\/\">Fantastical 2<\/a> on my Mac and the built-in calendar app on my iPhone.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Task list<\/strong> &#8211; The one I use is over-kill for most people, but in case you\u2019re interested, it is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.omnigroup.com\/omnifocus\">OmniFocus<\/a>. If you aren\u2019t accustomed to using a task list, a good place to start is <a href=\"https:\/\/en.todoist.com\/\">Todoist<\/a>, or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wunderlist.com\/\">Wunderlist<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Projects list<\/strong> &#8211; My projects list is stored inside my task management system. I review it, regularly, to determine if I have properly identified the various projects that I\u2019m responsible for\u2026<\/li>\n<li><strong>Archive<\/strong> &#8211; We used to call these filing cabinets. I keep most of my record electronically these days. PDFs and other reference information that I am unlikely to want \/ need to share with others goes into <a href=\"https:\/\/evernote.com\">Evernote<\/a>. I also have a file\/folder system set up in <a href=\"https:\/\/dropbox.com\">Dropbox<\/a> that keeps my general course resources separate from students\u2019 work from a specific semester.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>What advice do you have for others who are trying to stick with GTD? Are there any essential tools you use that I missed in my list?<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of the members of the Teaching in Higher Ed Slack channel shared of her struggles with sticking with the Getting Things Done (GTD) system, after she had read the book. It certainly can be challenging. I thought I would share a few strategies I&#8217;ve used for staying consistent with GTD practices and hope to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3607,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[45],"coauthors":[195],"class_list":{"0":"post-3605","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-productivity","8":"tag-gtd","9":"entry","10":"gs-1","11":"gs-odd","12":"gs-even","13":"gs-featured-content-entry"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/teachinginhighered.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/teachinginhighered.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/teachinginhighered.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teachinginhighered.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teachinginhighered.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3605"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/teachinginhighered.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3605\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teachinginhighered.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/teachinginhighered.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teachinginhighered.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teachinginhighered.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3605"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teachinginhighered.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=3605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}