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When you apply the GTD methodology to the things you need to do, your work goes through five phases:
Do I know what I can take action on next for each of my projects, given the constraints of time, place, and ability?. Is everything that I need to do captured in a trusted system so that I can use my brain power to focus on my important tasks instead of trying to remember and juggle information and to-dos?. What Is GTD?Īs mentioned, GTD stands for “Getting Things Done,” and became popular after the book of the same name was published in 2001.Īt its heart, GTD helps you answer two questions: In this article, I’ll take you through some of the best GTD tools on Mac, Windows, web, and mobile.īy “best” I don’t mean which has the most features - I mean which tool will help you be in control and get your important work done. Thankfully things have changed, and we have the opposite problem: there are so many amazing GTD tools out there, how do you choose what to use? Things don’t have to be bananas at work after all!Īt the time there were very few digital tools, so I had to hack together my own system at first. The very first time I had that “mind like water” feeling, I couldn’t believe it.
I’m not overstating things when I say that Getting Things Done, or GTD as it is commonly called, changed my life and completely changed my career.
There must be a way to get the important things done during the work day. I wanted to be home with my new baby, but I found that I was going in to work earlier and earlier just to try to catch up.Įventually I realized that financial software client services isn’t rocket science. I’d receive phone calls, emails, and sit in meetings, but action items would either get missed or I’d write them down them somewhere never to be looked at again. Other than the 6-month-old-induced lack of sleep, I felt that my to-do list was endless. My wife wanted something for those late-night marathons.) (It was exactly six months after the birth of my first child, which explains all those Merchant Ivory DVDs.