Recently on my long-time friend Mickey Mellen's "Stacking Knowledge" podcast, he and I discussed David Allen's influential book, Getting Things Done. We reflected on how the book transformed our productivity practices, careers, and businesses, particularly in the context of the last few decades and the onslaught of the digital age.

Here are the key takeaways from the podcast conversation (and book):

1. Trusted Systems: Establishing a reliable system for managing tasks is crucial. It should be trusted enough to allow you to offload mental clutter.
2. Mind Like Water: The metaphor emphasizes the importance of responding appropriately to tasks based on their urgency and importance, rather than being overwhelmed by chaos.
3. Weekly Reviews: Regularly reviewing your tasks and commitments, similar to how people prepare before a vacation, can enhance productivity and clarity.
4. Two-Minute Rule: If a task can be completed in under two minutes, do it immediately to prevent it from piling up.
5. Avoid Over-Planning: While planning is essential, spending too much time organizing can lead to procrastination. Focus on executing tasks instead.
6. Embrace Imperfection: A system doesn’t have to be perfect to be effective. Find what works for you and stick with it, even if it’s not the latest tool.
7. Inbox Management: Keeping your inbox clean (aiming for "inbox zero") helps maintain focus and reduces the mental load of constantly re-prioritizing tasks.
8. Reflective Thinking: To be fully present, it’s important to minimize distractions by capturing thoughts (like reminders for groceries) in a trusted system, allowing for better focus on current tasks.

Listen to the full podcast (21:01 mins) here.

You should also consider subscribing to Mickey's podcast to get insight into many great books! (I also appeared prior talking about "The Business of Expertise" by David C. Baker.)

Your business tech,

—Joshua

P.S. Looking to have AI help to make your business more be productive? Checkout my AI Opportunity Assessment.

Disclaimer: I use AI to help write emails like these. I review & edit all AI-assisted work I publish.