Showing all posts tagged #gtd:


GTD Delegation = Leadership Context

Posted on September 7th, 2020

Getting things done is perhaps the greatest context for leadership development.

A couple weeks ago we put up our new design. It’s the first time that most of my team has ever used LED panels. It was also the first time that many of them had hung a new plot using traditional paperwork and lighting design theory. I have a person on my team with a lot of potential as both a leader and a designer.

This individual had the chance to run point in project managing the turn. Many successes as well as some challenges and learning opportunities along the way. The now have been figuring out how to lead making the most of it with weekend designs. They have some experience in the programming chair, however this is a larger plot than they are used to.

It’s great to see what learning in the deep end does to people. It prompts great questions and yields some fantastic epiphanies. The growth and development is encouraging. Pretty cool to to see them not only develop as a leader and designer on their own, but also with their volunteer team!

Here’s a really lovely walk-in look from yesterday:


Practice GTD in All Parts of Life

Posted on March 13th, 2020

I wrote the following response to a friend who just read the David Allen book Getting Things Done. I thought it might help this audience too.

Huge fan of GTD in all of my life. It has helped me to far better be the out-of-the-box thinking, spontaneous, creative leader that I’m actually wired to. Apply it to your whole life. Practice it. Make it true for you. Practice it more.
I’ve followed it for a dozen or so years. I keep getting better at it.

Last year I switched from digital to Bullet Journal. Integrating GTD methodology into the BuJo world has vaulted my creativity and productivity at a rate that I never would have even hoped. I wish I would've done so half a decade sooner.

I’m happy to share coaching...

My Thoughts About Dropbox Paper

Posted on November 18th, 2018

Great tool for creating proposals and reports; for managing and delegation of tasks and projects; and for collaboration and ideation with live editing by multiple users both inline and with comments. It’s simple, clean, and intuitive. I love the assignable tasks. The mobile apps are good.

I wish it had a computer app instead of simply web app. I wish the filing structure was better. I wish there was a handwriting/drawing feature for note-taking, diagramming, and annotating. I wish to-dos integrated with Siri/Reminders.

Minimalism Fuels Creativity

Posted on May 30th, 2014

Simplify and minimize - external order creates internal possibility

Use Evernote for everything

Posted on January 15th, 2014

I continue to have conversations with friends who ask me to teach them how I use Evernote. I'm certainly glad to; however I realize I should share the following (my endorsement of my friend Sandi's post about how she uses Evernote) that I copy/pasted from my facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/egwolfe/posts/10202889927640229

I wholeheartedly endorse Evernote as the #1 must-use (as opposed to just must-have) productivity tool. Sandi is right on when she says you can't overuse it. My exact workflow is different than hers, but general thought process is quite similar... Tags are great, text recognition is the jam - one of my favorite tips: take a photo at the at the end of your meeting - search by any word written on the board and the note will be recalled!

To start this year well, watch the #GTD video I posted last week; then start using Evernote. It is your catch-all file-cabinet that you take with you everywhere...and then some!

*Make sure to give it the time it deserves during your weekly review. This summer, you'll wonder how you ever lived without it.

Evernote is one of those programs that is weird to get the hang of, but once you do, it will change your life. The secret is to use it for everything. If you use it only for this or that, it will never really make sense for you. I’ve been using it for 5+ years and let me tell you, I hyperventilate a little bit without it. It’s the VERY FIRST THING I load onto a new computer. Over a better browser, over mail, over a calendar. The very first thing.

It took me a while to really hone my method - I tried various things and then discarded them like outgrown shoes. Occasionally I’d abandon it for something newer and shinier, but I always come back. And in the last two years, I’ve discovered a groove that is absolutely life changing. I hope that something here will resonate with you and make your life easier. Here’s how I use it.

1. Put EVERYTHING in it. You cannot overuse Evernote.

  • My daughter is at a swim meet. I open a note and call it "Waterford Swim Meet". It auto tags the date and location. I jot down which events she’s in. I take a photograph of the program. I take a handful of photos of her at the meet (terrible photos, I’m far far away) and one of the score board with her time on it when she broke a personal record. All go in the note. As she swims, I jot down her times for each race. On the way out, I throw away the program (no more, "where should I put this, maybe I’ll make a scrapbook someday") and can tell her what she placed, what her times were. I tag the note with three tags: "Leslie", "8th grade" & "swim".
  • I just acquired a microwave for over the stove. I open a note and call it "Microwave". I take a photo of the sticker with the model and serial number. I do a quick google search for that model + manual, download the manual and add it to the note. Finally, I photograph the receipt and add it to the note. Done. I throw away box, manual & receipt, knowing I’ll always have them if I need them.
  • I’m at Supercuts with my son and I open a note and title it "Boy haircut". In it I jot down which blade he likes for the sides and the top. We stop at the shoe store and buy sneakers. I take a quick photo of the label on the box. I label it shoes and tag it with his name.
  • I’m at the doctor with my daughter. I open a note and label it "Dr Adams". I jot down her height and weight, prescriptions and anything else valuable (shots, tests, etc). I tag it "Leslie" "Dr". Later when the bill and the EOB from the insurance company come in, I attach those to this entry.

2. Tag with three things: Who, When, What

  • You can get (and I have) crazy elaborate with tags but I’ve found that in order for them to be most useful, you only need those three pieces of info. The’ve never failed me. Who? What? When? I don’t always use tags and I don’t always use them all. But all my tags are one or more of those items.

3. Search here first

  • I get a phone call during rehearsal and the daughter says the director doesn’t want her to wear boots on stage, she needs flats, can I get her some black ones real quick? I head to Old Navy, pull up Evernote and search "shoes" and boom, there I’ve got her most recent size.
  • I’m filling out paperwork at the high school info night and need to know when a tetanus shot was. I pull up EN and search "tetanus" and get three entries - one for each of us. I grab the one tagged with the right kid, look at the date, and there you go.
  • I’m at Lowe’s and shopping for the little bulb in the microwave that illuminates the stovetop. Holy moly, there’s like a million sizes, what? I pull open EN, search for "microwave" and right there on my phone, boom, owners manual for my microwave that I can search through and find the secret code for the right bulb.
  • I’m talking to another swim mom about how the kids qualify for certain events and she tells me the time cut off. I pull out EN to see what my child got in that event with a 5 second search of "swim" and "50 back". There’s my answer.
  • I’m on the phone with student loan people and they need to know my AGI from line whatever in my taxes last year. Open EN, search for "Taxes" choose the right one and 20 seconds later, I have my answer.
  • I’m trying to find a new recipe for couscous and remember that I saw one in the magazine at the drs office a month ago. I open EN and search for "couscous" and there it is. I took a picture of it and EN found the word IN THE PHOTO.
  • What’s the name of that orthopedist I saw one time in Myrtle Beach? Open up EN and search for "orth" because I can never spell that word. Luckily, I only get hits for him and Collin’s orthodontist so we’re all good. I simply took a photo of his business card and then threw it away.
  • I’m talking to a friend who’s visiting Galveston and can’t remember the name of the pirate that we found who is buried there. Open EN, search for "pirate" and it finds the photograph of my kids standing next to the monument from the word "pirate’ engraved in the marble.

Evernote has replaced my recipe book, my filing cabinet and my filofax. It’s replaced 3 boxes of kid memorabilia in the garage. If I want a timeline, I put "leslie" 1st grade" and automagically I have samples of her work, her art, her schedule, her report cards, name and numbers of her teachers and photos of her…all in a neat timeline.

Because Evernote lives in the cloud, it doesn’t matter if my phone breaks or my house burns down, I’ll always have access. And I’ll always be able to find what I need quickly and not have a home cluttered with "I better not throw this away". It’s absolutely priceless.

my favorite place to #GTD at work is not at my desk, but rather a comfy chair in next to a 2...

Posted on January 10th, 2012

my favorite place to #GTD at work is not at my desk, but rather a comfy chair in next to a 2 story window in the lobby. Oh, and add some Pandora playing through my IEMs…


What's the best #GTD workflow for an iPad workflow?

Posted on June 19th, 2011

On the laptop, I was liking Evernote. I was also testing ActiveInbox for Gmail. My only problem was having two places for GTD. I was about to go back to just using my basic gmail stars to build triage for later review; and using Evernote as my sole GTD hub…

Then I got the iPad. So great in so many ways. Except for GTD workflow.

Evernote is not that great on the iPad. Certainly not for efficient workflow. It’s clumsy to move tasks from one folder to another i.e. Inbox->Referance or Action->Archive. Also, while I can check off to-do boxes, I can’t create them. It’s still great for capture into the digital "file cabinet" but I think I need a different GTD tool.

ActiveInbox is sadly a no-go, as it only works on a Chrome browser. Neither on iPad Mail, nor on Android for that matter. Plus, it doesn’t work off-line. At least Evernote does that…

I’m looking for a GTD solution that will fit an iPad heavy workflow. My requirements are:

1. Efficient email integration. Personal Gmail and work Exchange.

2. It would ideally also have a web interface.

3. Bonus too would be a cloud synced desktop app - especially if it didn’t cost additional money.

4. Android support, while currently it would be nice, is not a deal breaker. I really could switch to a dumbphone if I had the 3G iPad and didn’t need the Aria for tethering.

5. It must work if I’m offline.

6. Oh, and I would love for calendar integration. Google Calendar for sure, but also my Exchange calendar for anything in the Work Context.

Anyway, I would love your suggestion in this conundrum.

For what it’s worth, I was considering one of the top 3 apps on this list here.

- Pocket Informant HD $9.99*

- Next! $.99*

- OmniFocus for iPad $39.99

*the first two are on sale this weekend (normally $14.99 and $9.99)

I’m open to any suggestions, so please offer them. Thank you.


Eric G Wolfe

Creative Director | Process Architect. Design Strategist. Leadership Coach.