GTD anyone?

I read an article about GTD (Getting Things Done by David Allen) a few months ago but shoved it aside; however, with so many projects demanding my time recently, I started looking into it again (read: need better time management).

I have just barely started using Allen’s system, but have found it to be SO helpful (and quite easy to learn) that I’ve decided to spend more time incorporating it into my everyday life – see the GTD tab above? Sorry, it’s password-protected as it’s for my own use.

So, what is GTD anyway, you might ask? Well, let’s check out what Wikipedia says…

GTD is an action management method and it rests on the principle that a person needs to move tasks out of the mind by recording them somewhere. 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.

The premise of GTD, as I understand it, is do the tasks you’ve noted down (in the GTD way) based on the context you’re currently in (i.e., “In front of computer,” “In the car,” “At the office”). Of course, it’s not as simple as that, but it’s not very hard to understand and apply either.

Check out the diagram below to get a better understanding of this system.

Fig. 1.1 – GTD Flow Diagram (view top to bottom)

GTD Flow Diagram

If you have access to a LAMP server, I recommend installing gtd-php and jump right in – this was the fastest and only way I actually understood it.

To end, I recommend setting up some time to read up on it and give it a try. There’s nothing to lose and maybe a lot to gain… =0)

Too much in your mind, mind map it!

With the coming of the information age, comes information overload. If you’re like me who reads constantly to keep up with technology, your mind can get overloaded with so much – acronyms, concepts, theories, how-tos – you name it.

So the question is: what do you do with all that information stored in your mind (read: brain)? The answer is mind map it.

I’ve been fond of using mind map software because it helps me orgranize my thoughts and note them down. This gives me a lot of benefits, but the best one is it makes me see things clearer because I’m able to visualize it; it also affords me a knowledge-base of sorts, which I can later read again.

According to Wikipedia, a mind map is a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks or other items linked to and arranged radially around a central key word or idea. It is used to generate, visualize, structure and classify ideas, and as an aid in study, organization, problem solving, and decision making.

There are quite a few mind mapping software packages available (google it), but I use an open-source app called FreeMind.

Fig. 1.1 – FreeMind App

FreeMind App

Fig 1.2 – Sample mind map

Sample mind map

Check it out and start mind mapping and brain dumping all the stuff in your brain!