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Getting Things Done [GTD] on the Internet…

Today I’m announcing an epic series called Getting Things Done [GTD] on the Internet. Every Friday for the foreseeable future I will post on some aspect of applying David Allen’s classic work “Getting Things Done” to the basics of Internet marketing…

I’d like to start by thanking those of you who have not read David Allen’s book — you have given me a competitive advantage for years! Seriously, though, I’m continually surprised at how many people have not read this classic work. For me, it ranks among the three best business books I’ve ever read. It’s right up there with the seven habits of highly effective people and that is saying a lot for me. In fact, I think these two books go together like peanut butter and chocolate; Stephen Covey‘s book provides a strategic framework on David Allen’s book gives great insight on how to implement Covey’s framework…

Allen says:

THE CORE PROCESS I teach for mastering the art of relaxed and controlled knowledge work is a five-stage method for managing workflow. No matter what the setting, there are five discrete stages that we go through as we deal with our work. We (1) collect things that command our attention; (2) process what they mean and what to do about them; and (3) organize the results, which we (4) review as options for what we choose to (5) do. This constitutes the management of the “horizontal” aspect of our lives—incorporating everything that has our attention at any time.

Allen, David (2002-12-31). Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity (p. 24). Penguin. Kindle Edition.

In my practice, my emphasis is on what I call “practical, tactical social media“. Chapter 2 of Allen’s book gave me a tool that I apply in multiple was to the social media process…


In the next couple of weeks, I’ll be talking about how to apply this diagram to everything from email to social media management, including…

  • Getting Things Done with Gmail, Google Apps and Google Tasks…
  • Getting Things Done with Google Reader for ‘Personal News Aggregation‘…
  • Getting Things Done with WordPress for Business Blogging…
  • Getting Things Done with Twitter for social media…
  • Getting Things Done with social media management…

I’ll also entertain ‘how would I apply Getting Things Done [GTD] to ________’ kind of questions if you have one you’d like to ask. I’ll share theses posts each Friday so you can ponder them and implement the parts you like over the weekend so stop by next Friday for Getting Things Done with Gmail, Google Apps and Google Tasks…

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

English: Stephen Covey at the FMI Show, Palest...
Goodbye, Stephen Covey. Thanks for the gift you left us…

Habit 1: Be Proactive

Take initiative in life by realizing that your decisions (and how they align with life’s principles) are the primary determining factor for effectiveness in your life. Take responsibility for your choices and the consequences that follow.

Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind

Self-discover and clarify your deeply important character values and life goals. Envision the ideal characteristics for each of your various roles and relationships in life.

Habit 3: Put First Things First

Prioritize, plan, and execute your week’s tasks based on importance rather than urgency. Evaluate whether your efforts exemplify your desired character values, propel you toward goals, and enrich the roles and relationships that were elaborated in Habit 2.

Habit 4: Think Win-Win

Genuinely strive for mutually beneficial solutions or agreements in your relationships. Value and respect people by understanding a “win” for all is ultimately a better long-term resolution than if only one person in the situation had gotten his way.

Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood

Use empathic listening to be genuinely influenced by a person, which compels them to reciprocate the listening and take an open mind to being influenced by you. This creates an atmosphere of caring, respect, and positive problem solving.

Habit 6: Synergize

Combine the strengths of people through positive teamwork, so as to achieve goals no one person could have done alone. Get the best performance out of a group of people through encouraging meaningful contribution, and modeling inspirational and supportive leadership.

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw

Balance and renew your resources, energy, and health to create a sustainable, long-term, effective lifestyle. It primarily emphasizes on exercise for physical renewal, prayer (mediation, yoga, etc.) and good reading for mental renewal. It also mentions service to the society for spiritual renewal.

– Stephen Covey, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Rest in peace.” via Today’s Quotes: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

The Most Powerful Time Management Tool You Will Ever Need!

I always get excited when I see that Kute Blackson has posted again. Today is no exception…

The most powerful time management tool you will ever need:

Life is short.

Each moment is precious.

When it’s gone its gone.

You can make your money back, You can buy material possessions.

But not  your time.

How do you want to live each moment?

This really hit me many years ago as I sat in the back of an Indian taxi speeding down a country road in the Andhra Pradesh wilderness, at close to 115 mph. As I dozed off waiting to arrive at my destination, I looked up only to see a huge truck the size of a whale heading straight into our taxi.

This was not good.

In a matter of seconds everything turned slow motion, and I had one of those moments you hear so much about. My entire life flashed in front of me, including the images of those I loved,  and the regrets I had sat in my heart like a heavy weight.

I was sure I was going to die.  My destiny seemed certain.

I had often wondered how I would face death when that moment actually came. My moment had come. I closed my eyes, and strangely felt a deep calmness realizing there was nothing more I could do in that moment. I had lived a good life.

I prepared myself to meet my maker.

Then all of a sudden I felt the car spin around full circle and come to a screeching halt. Boom. I opened my eyes, and in a dazed state I was quite surprised to still be alive.

My life was never the same after that. It was like going through a death and the surrender that comes with it, only to find myself still alive.

We are all going to die.  You, me, Gandhi, Sai Baba, Mother Teresa, Hitler, Michael Jackson, Bruce Lee, your loved ones. All of us.

This is the bottom line. No one makes it out of this life alive.

The real question becomes “How are you going to live each moment of your life so that when that moment comes you will be ready with no regrets?”

Yet we often waste time on things that aren’t that important.

When you embrace death you embrace life. You embrace each moment as a precious opportunity to live fully and share your gifts with the world.

When you realize and fully accept that you will die. Then you no longer waste time on trivial matters. For each second wasted is a piece of life that if forever gone. Each second becomes more precious that gold. It frees you up to get on with living your life in a way that you have no regrets.

When that moment comes in your life, much of what you stressed about, worried about, fretted about, screamed about, argued about, gossiped about, cried about, fought about, controlled about won’t really matter.

When that moment comes what will matter will be “Did you love those in your life as fully as possible? Did you give your gifts as deeply as possible? Did you become the most authentic expression of who you were meant to be in this life?”

If you find yourself wasting time, being unproductive, or unsure how to allocate your time, ask your self. “Is this how I would like to die?”

And if not, then rearrange your time, your activities, your relationships, your state of mind and emotions in such a way that you can say “Yes” no matter when that moment arrives.

The time is truly now.

Source: The Most Powerful Time Management Tool You Will Ever Need! | The Official Blog of Kute Blackson

Live out of your Imagination, not your history…

“Live out of your imagination, not your history.”

– Stephen Covey, wrote the best-selling book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.

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