He keeps a to-do list, but says that when the GTD methodology is truly applied, it gives you a lot of space and freedom to quickly change course and redirect your focus when you need to.įor example, when David found out last-minute that a GTD training was happening close to where he was staying, he was able to move away from the work in front of him to go visit without worry. Plus, more than 300 apps have been developed (by third parties, none by GTD) to help give people a boost in accomplishing the GTD methodology.ĭavid says that for him, GTD means knowing his specific calendar commitments and planning as little as possible to make sure those things get done, so he can stay open to spontaneity. It’s a process that takes practice to identify you best practices for, because these things simply don’t happen automatically inside our brains.īut the book has been so effective for people and so popular that it’s turned into different audio products and they’re franchising their GTD training program around the world. GTD has a five-step process for getting things under control, and six different horizons of focus, from the biggest level of your life purpose, all the way down to menial tasks like the emails you need to send. It also means that you framework your thinking patterns to know how to get things under control, and how to be appropriately focused on the the right things. Getting Things Done: More Than a Bestseller Book & MethodologyĪccording to David, the GTD methodology is about two aspects: knowing what ‘done’ means, and knowing what ‘doing’ looks like. I really enjoyed talking with and learning from David: his productivity advice is timeless, and the fact that he’s nearly 70 years old and still wildly passionate about his work and his company is very inspiring.

Hey everyone, today’s interview is with David Allen, author of Getting Things Done and leader of the GTD productivity movement.

David allen productivity