The premise of GTD is pretty straight forward. It is an action management method (not time management).  The principle is that you need to move tasks out of your mind and record it somewhere.  That somewhere could be a piece of paper, outlook, a PDA, etc…

I am not going to rewrite all the things that have been written about GTD but here is a quick reference to the process.

1. Collect
2. Process
3. Organize
4. Review
5. Do

How I do it?

I collect all my tasks in Outlook.  I categorize them with color coded categories.  I set dates and reminders.  I review and prioritize then I do.  My outlook calendar looks like this:

The cool thing I like about Outlook is that I can drag a task into the calendar area to create an appointment.  I can even drag an email into the task area or the calendar area to create a task or appointment respectively.  It is freaking cool.

The one thing I HATE about Outlook is that there is no easy way to synchronize your information across multiple machines without an exchange server.  I can sync my calendar with Google use Google’s Calendar Sync and my email is in Gmail.  The only problem I have is that there is no way to sync my tasks.  Sure I could use one of the billion online tasking sites but then I lose all the amazing things I can do with Outlook (try it and you will know what I am talking about).

As for managing my email.  I dedicate specific times (twice or so a day) to read and reply to email.  I do one of several things with my message.  If it requires no action, I delete it or archive it.  I might also label/tag/categorize it if necessary.  If it requires a couple of minutes to respond to it, then I do it.  If it is going to take longer the I put it on my task list and move on.  Later when I review my task list, I will process it accordingly.  My inbox is always empty.

What you should do?

1. Get the book – it’s available as paperback, hardcover, audio book and even for your Kindle
2. Read the book
3. Practice what you read
4. Share your tips, experiences and opinions in the comments area below

Videos

If you are too lazy to read watch these videos

GTD by David Allen

Outlook 2007 To-Do Bar

Interacting with Entourage

Tools

1. Microsoft Outlook 2007 for Windows or Entourage 2008 for mac
2. Google Calendar
3. Google Calendar Sync
4. A plethora of To Do list tools at lifehacker

Resources