Personal Productivity, New Media, and Getting Things Done

This blog is a record of my Getting Things Done practice, as well as commentary on New Media, Web 2.0, and the Future of Work. Here are a few links that go back into the archives, discussing some of the basic features of Getting Things Done productivity:

* The complete set-up
* Tickler File
* Create your own Organizer
* Weekly Review
* Goal-setting
* Changing Your Habits

Guest Posts and Book Reviews

Productivity in Context is proud to be the host of Mike St. Pierre's GTD Cafe every Wednesday, and there is always room for additional writers who would like to get involved in the HD BizBlog community. Please send an e-mail ( stephen [at] hdbizblog [dot] com ) if you are interested in contributing.

I have reviewed a handful of books and productivity gear, you can see those efforts here:

* How, by Dov Seidman
* Made to Stick, by Chip & Dan Heath
* The 360 Degree Leader, by John C. Maxwell
* Everyone's an Expert, by Seth Godin
* Also, my thoughts and inspirations via The Cluetrain Manifesto, the most important business book of the past 20 years!
* The Bubble Planner, a new vision in planning and organizing.
* Rollabind Notebook

This is only a short list of what is available. Please take a look around at your leisure, and feel free to contact me with any questions or suggestions.

The Sidebars

There is an awful lot of information in the sidebars, including Microchannels on the assorted category tags, links to other productivity blogs, Resource pages, a list of books on productivity and personal growth (via Amazon affiliate links), and the GTD System lens at Squidoo. The lens has a Plexo with a list of top GTD and Productivity blogs where you can vote for your favorite, or add your own to the running. (There are also some ads in the sidebar, a necessary evil for defraying the hosting costs. Clicking the links helps me help you, it can't hurt!)

"Coming Attractions"

Some of the posts and projects that I am working on include:

* More on The Art of Productivity
* Project Planning in Context e-book
* A 2008 version of the GTD Calendar (full- and half-page) Ready!

Thank you again for reading and subscribing, I am looking forward to seeing the community continue to grow. Please, leave a comment, I would love to hear your feedback.

This is my current Organizer, as it looks at the end of the two-month beta-test of the custom Calendar Pages -

My strategy behind this design is to create a system for managing the Hard Landscape with a tool that is just as conducive to planning (putting information into the calendar) as it is to implementing (getting information from the calendar). Each section is deliberately placed, as follows:

* The header text on the new version will have the current month at the top left and a meta tag for the appropriate Errata page at the top right.
* "Big Rocks" are listed first, at the top of the left-hand edge of the page. This is where our eyes generally go first, and spend the most time. The goal is that we will look there first while planning, and while executing.
* Just below the Big Rocks is a section for notes, short quick-capture info that can be transferred to a more appropriate spot later.
* Appointments for the day go across the top of both pages, in the daily boxes. This is the second place our eyes will scan, giving us an "automatic" quick-review of what is coming up, and what has been accomplished. There is room in each daily box for the time and the name of the Appointment. Further information or an agenda will be found in the second Tab (Errata).
* The shaded section of lines in each daily box is for listing those Next Actions that must get done on that day.
* The middle of the left-hand page leads the eye to an area for focusing on open Next Actions in their proper @Project contexts. This acts as a guide for our eyes, again to be able to review which Next Actions are outstanding. There is a field in each box for the Context, and room for some notes. This space is for tasks that need to get done this week, but may not have been assigned to a specific day.
* This field also happens to be 3%u2033 x 4%u2033, which is just the right size for the Post-it mini cards.
* The small calendar in the very bottom left is dated for July in this example, the final PDF version will have a sheet for each month, with the appropriate calendar. I hi-light the current week, and draw a red line through the past weeks. Using the colors gives me a visual cue when I am looking for information like "what day is it?"
* The top half of the right-hand page is for planning Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
* The middle of the right-hand page contains a prompt for Weekly Review notes to be entered. Here is where I capture ideas that I want to think about creatively, informationthat I want to be sure to review, or a Tag/link to another page in the Organizer for meta-data.

The organizer itself is split into tabbed sections for planning and capture:

* Tab #1 is the calendar itself, with pages printed for this month and next month. There is a single blank page for each month for the rest of the year. This blank page is for capturing notes and appointments.
* Tab #2 - Errata: this is where I capture information that is related to entries in the hard landscape, such as directions to an event, the agenda for a meeting, etc. This is generally a larger amount of information that will just clutter up the calendar page yet may be useful for quick reference during the week. I made the Errata page with the DIY Planner widget kit. I printed it on colored paper, and it has grown on me.
* Tab #3 - Next Actions: one page for each context, currently @Work, @Computer, @Read/Review, and @Blog Posts. Again, the colored paper is a visual cue as to where I am.
* Tab #4 is for the @Waiting for list.
* Tab #5 - This tab is now home to blank forms for filling in the other sections, and for blank notes and agenda pages.