Getting Things Done

About five years ago I read the book "Getting Things Done" by David Allen. A lifelong list junkie, I am always looking for ways to be more efficient and effective, not to mention feel more in control of the chaos around me.

The book is a bit like an onion, the first time through it might not make a lot of sense. You latch on to the concepts that make sense at the time, then later you're able to latch on to a bit more. I think it's somewhat like studying a martial art.

Here is the official definition of "What is GTD?".

Here's the Wikipedia page on GTD "GTD rests on the principle that a person needs to move tasks out of the mind by recording them externally. That way, the mind is freed from the job of remembering everything that needs to be done, and can concentrate on actually performing those tasks."

In the spirit of getting everything out of my mind, I make extensive use of Remember the Milk. It's an online task management system. It is actually free unless you opt for the pro membership which is $25.00 per year. It's completely configurable and amazingly powerful. I can access my lists from anywhere on my iPhone or on any computer. I can slice and dice my tasks how ever I would like to look at them.

Tomorrow I will be participating in a guided mindsweep via Twitter. I've never done it before and I'm looking very forward to it. Basically, the facilitator will tweet questions designed to help you remember all of the things lingering in your mind competing for your attention. Then you can put them in your system and get them done.

And, isn't that really the point?