GTD and Your Family

I arrived home today to faces filled with excitement.  A homemade "surprise" sign was on the bedroom door and I was eventually ushered in to see the Project of the Day.  New paint on the wall and an entire room appeared larger than when I had left it in the morning.

Call it a Father's Day gift or just a moment of inspiration; all I could think of was GTD as I applied the finishing touches on the room.  Apparently, my kids and even my wife are "getting it".  My wife said over dinner a while later, "it just feels good to finish the room and move on to the next project."

How are you teaching your family about Getting Things Done? A simple way of modeling is to practice GTD yourself.  Then, when approaching household projects, try to apply the one-thing-at-a-time rule as well as the art of finishing what you began.  To take it a step further, involve everyone in the project.  You'll get more done and the entire family will know who David Allen is.

What project can you involve the whole family in?

*photo by Kara Allyson

The Downside of Having an Open Door Policy

We've grown up in a culture of leaders with "open door policies".  Besides the closely related concept of MBWA (managing by walking around), an open door policy is generally a good idea for the following reasons:

  • It promotes communication- it at least symbolizes that you don't despise people.  I know, pretty basic but still relevant.

  • It represents interest in the organization- you can leave at a moment's notice to plug into whatever else is going on in your workplace.

  • It represents accessibility- simply put, someone can speak with you easily.


Open door policies are what good leaders foster among their subordinates as well.  In a cascading effect, leaders model good behavior and then encourage it in their direct reports.

The catch of course, is that open door policies just might inhibit productivity.

Let me explain: in an effort to be open to dialogue and accessible to those around you, an open door policy can also be terribly distracting.  As you work in your office/cubicle/desk space, it's easy to be distracted by small elements around you.  These can include hall traffic, noise and pedestrian traffic.

But are these enough to ditch an open door policy altogether? Not so fast. If great leaders are those who are also productive, then it's imperative to know how to manage the small distractions that can eat away at working time.

Some easy things you can do to keep both an open door for parts of the day and manage alone-time include:

  1. Practice closed door working for parts of the day. It's ok to close up shop and focus for 30--60 minutes at a time.  Doing this several times during the day can boost productivity.

  2. Use noise-limiters to minimize distractions. If you want to work and keep an open door, using a sound limiter can be helpful.  I use Ambience for iPhone for various sounds of waves and bubbling brooks.  I even find that those who come into the office enjoy the sounds.

  3. Make appointments with yourself. Simply schedule time for you to work on something of value and excuse yourself or tell others that you have an appointment.  Simple as that.  Sometimes you have to give yourself permission to work on what you want to work on.

  4. Know your own physical limits. I know that I'm pretty useless from 12-2pm every day.  If I have to get some important work done, I zero in on the early morning.  In the afternoon, I'll spend time around campus visiting with students and their parents.  It's a good way to get some fresh air and stay productive in a non-office kind of way.


What strategies do you employ to maintain both an open door policy and sustained productivity?

*photo by sillygwailo

A Simple Way to Get Your GTD On

You've read about GTD.  You've followed David Allen on Twitter.  You know someone who knows someone who has been to a seminar.  So what the heck is GTD anyway?

GTD stands for Getting Things Done and was created by David Allen, a California-based consultant who pioneered a new way of looking at productivity.  His approach starts from "the bottom up", meaning that vision and goals are great but without a clean, working system for daily stuff, they fall flat.  A GTD practitioner puts a lot of emphasis on managing email, filing with speed, and staying up to date on a projects list.  Once a person has those items under control, the mind is freed up to "upthink" about goals and purpose and vision.  Bottom line: GTD works.

THE TWO MINUTE RULE

A simple GTD principle is to deal with it when it shows up rather than when it blows up.  My neighbor and I were talking the other day.  I mentioned that I planned on taking some old chemicals to a recycling plant near my new place of work.  I then invited him to "donate" to my collection so that we could combine our efforts.  He thought about it, then scratched his head, then decided to get his driveway tar before he forgot.  I waited and he returned a minute later, tub of black goo in hand.  We struck while the iron was hot and I immediately thought of GTD.

Productivity doesn't just apply to a workplace office.  Sometimes it shows up in your garage standing next to a neighbor.

Question: When was the last time you felt truly productive?  What were you doing?

*Photo by Arnbor Snaer

7 Things the Church Can Learn from Luxury Hotels

Earlier this week I attended a David Allen seminar called "Making it all Work" and was blown away by the seminar.  David is as dynamic in person as he is online and really made it a point to relate to the audience.  He ate lunch with folks, he autographed books and took photos whenever people asked.  Very real and down to earth.  Strangely though, it wasn't only David Allen who shined on this particular day.

It was the hotel.

The seminar was hosted by a luxury hotel in Boston.  On the outside it may have seemed like any other big-city venue for a conference but I found the little touches to be impressive.  The church can learn from these small details, such as:

  1. Upon arrival, restrooms were clearly marked. After five hours in the car, a helpful detail.

  2. Signage was clear and bright.  They used big screen, plasma TV's for conference information.  Nice touch.

  3. Staff were helpful. I needed a letter mailed and of course they took care of it for me.

  4. Security was abundant. Two to three staffers were there for us at all times.  We felt comfortable leaving laptops and personals in the room if we needed a break.

  5. Food was stellar. We're talking about expensive bottled drinks, just-baked cookies and shining silverware.  Don't think it matters?  Reconsider the next time your restaurant provides spotted glasses.

  6. Technology was accessible. For a WEP key, I simply asked the concierge who of course obliged.  I needed to check Google Calendar so this was essential for the end of the day.

  7. Comfort was omnipresent. There were small seating areas around every corner and when traveling, these details make a big difference.


Imagine if your church listed these same details as part of its environment and overall experience.  Would you be able to make a seven point list similar to this one?  There are resources out there for evaluating a "church experience" which may be helpful.  The key is this: attention to detail and responsiveness to guests.

Takeaway: What can your church do to be more oriented to customer service?

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A Year Ago on The Daily Saint



If you haven't caught up with Leadership Journal in a while, their recent edition focuses on teams and how they lead.  I was especially fascinated by an article about how one church went from a one pastor model to a team approach of four men who lead together.

Can you imagine if every church was led by four instead of one?

The featured church, Next Level Church in Denver, explained how their model allows for deeper service, more humility, greater accountability and a healthy buffer in case one leader falls. It also allows for a community to get things done.  Maybe, just maybe, it decreases the amount of 'leadership complaining'.

All of us complain about our leaders.  I just wish they would do more of this… Why can't he be more like… It drives me crazy when… When you practice GTD, you are putting next-action thinking into play.  You stop looking around and wondering why it isn't moving fast enough and

you
start
making it happen.

This of course builds you up as someone who actually produces results.  You are then able to do the work of four instead of one.