356: Disruptions - How to Manage Them

How do you keep your system working when life throws a big disruption your way? We talk job loss and other curveballs, keeping a temporary situation out of your main system, letting go of what nags at you, and giving ourselves permission to start things we may not finish, with a nod to Becky Blades’ Start More Than You Can Finish. Enjoy!

Resources from the call:

• Start More Than You Can Finish: A Creative Permission Slip to Unleash Your Best Ideas by Becky Blades

• OmniFocus

• Evernote

• Obsidian

• Notion

• Fail Fast, Fail Often: How Losing Can Help You Win by Ryan Babineauxand John Krumboltz

• Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Download the podcast here!

355: Michelle's System

What does a working GTD® system look like day to day? In this episode I (Michelle) jump through mine as a GTD’er and a formal project manager. We dig into how I name and file things the same way everywhere, the templates I build for projects I repeat, and how I handle Someday/Maybe, and my weekly review. We share what works (and what doesn’t) for us. Enjoy!

Resources from the call:

• OmniFocus

• Dropbox

• Evernote

• Hazel

• TextExpander

• 1Password

• LaunchBar

• Harvest

• OneNote

• Google Keep

• Notion

• AnyList

• Clear

• Goodreads

• Sleep Cycle

Download the podcast here!

354: Middle of Horizons

How do you manage the big stuff that sits between your projects and your higher horizons? We kicked around initiatives, job searches, and whether you really need more hierarchy in your system or just a clearer view of the one you have. We share what works for us, from simplified areas of focus to a flower exercise. Enjoy!

Resources from the call:

• Making It All Work: Winning the Game of Work and the Business of Life by David Allen (Amazon)

• What Color Is Your Parachute? by Richard N. Bolles (the source of the flower exercise) (Amazon)

• OmniFocus

• ChatGPT

• Evernote

Download the podcast here!

353: Underwater

What do you do when the work is coming in faster than you can handle it? In this episode we talk about being underwater, from triage mode and the two-minute rule to blocking time at the end of the day, and how to tell whether the overwhelm is coming from outside or from inside. We share what works for us. Enjoy!

Resources from the call:

• Fancy Hands (on-demand virtual admin help)

• Basecamp

• Evernote

Download the podcast here!

352: Inbox Zero

How do you keep Inbox Zero when the email just keeps coming? We dug into what it really means in practice, why your in-tray may matter even more than your email inbox, and how to make clarifying and organizing feel less like a slog with a little gamification. Lots of great stuff! Enjoy!

Resources from the call:

• SuperBetter by Jane McGonigal (Amazon)

• Boomerang (the Chrome extension from Baydin, the company behind The Email Game)

• Pandemic (the cooperative board game)

• Microsoft Outlook (the emoji reactions in 365)

• Evernote

Download the podcast here!

351: In Case Of Emergency

Life happens, and sometimes it happens to a coworker. When one of us had to step in and cover a colleague's projects with no notes to go on, it got us talking about how to set up our systems so someone else could pick up where we left off. We dug into checklists, handoff docs, holding our boundaries on weekends and vacations, and that sneaky feeling of being indispensable. Enjoy!

Resources from the call:

• Time Off by John Fitch and Max Frenzel

• Becoming Supernatural by Dr. Joe Dispenza

• OmniFocus

• Asana

• Trello

• Basecamp

• Smartsheet

Download the podcast here!

350: Integrating Task Management Systems

What happens when a client wants the same work tracked in their system, a consultant's app, and your own? Denise brought us this one, and we dug into the friction of living in other people's tools, the case for a single source of truth, and where the line falls between managing your work and reporting on it. Enjoy!

Resources from the call:

• Smartsheet

• Trello

• Todoist

• OmniFocus

• Asana

• Full Focus Planner

• SharePoint

• Microsoft Dynamics 365

• ChatGPT

• Universal Control

Download the podcast here!

349: Finishing the Year Strong

Finishing the year strong isn't just a work thing. In this episode, prompted by Christine's topic, we talk about closing out the year well, both professionally and personally, and get into where GTD® draws the line between projects and the ongoing routines that never quite end. We also dig into layering new habits one at a time instead of overhauling everything at once. Enjoy!

Download the podcast here!

348: Forecast Workload

How do you actually forecast how much work you can get done in a week? Ray brought us this one, and we dug into building buffer for the unexpected, using milestones and monthly reviews to see further out, and leaning on tools like Gantt charts and defer dates to keep our systems honest. Enjoy!

Resources from the call:

• Occam’s Razor (a problem-solving rule stating that the simplest explanation is usually the best)

• OmniFocus (defer dates as an alternative to start/due dates)

• Asana (new built-in Gantt view, auto-scheduling)

• Tom’s Planner (free Gantt planner)

• Trello with the TeamGantt power-up (Gantt charting pulled from existing board data)

• GanttProject (free, open source Gantt charting tool)

• Todoist (using the due date field as a de facto start date)

• Microsoft Excel / Google Sheets (color-coded heat-map forecasting)

• Microsoft Project

• FastTrack Schedule (legacy master-schedule tool)

• David Sparks OmniFocus Ninja Screencasts (on defer dates)

Download the podcast here!

347: Transitions

Transitions are everywhere, and most of them are not on the calendar. In this episode we dig into the ones that repeat every year, like back-to-school and fiscal year-end, plus the ones that just show up, like onboarding a new hire or planning a move. We even get into end-of-life planning with the Nokbox, and how a GTD® system keeps it all manageable. Enjoy!

Resources from the call:

• Nokbox (a DIY estate-planning organizer box for end-of-life prep)

• Notion (used for house-hunting notes and planning)

• Trello (used to outline a move)

• 1Password (password manager)

Download the podcast here!