Episode

#384: David Allen — The Art of Getting Things Done (GTD)
listen on Spotify
1:43:56
Published: Tue Sep 03 2019
Description

"Your head's for having ideas, not for holding them." — David AllenDavid Allen (@gtdguy) is one of the world's most influential thinkers on productivity, and his 35 years of experience as a management consultant and executive coach have earned him the titles of "personal productivity guru" by Fast Company, one of America's top five executive coaches by Forbes, and among The American Management Association's top 10 business leaders.David's bestselling book, the groundbreaking Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, has been published in thirty languages, and the "GTD" methodology it describes has become a global phenomenon, being taught by training companies in 60 countries. David, his company, and his partners are dedicated to teaching people how to stay relaxed and productive in our fast-paced world.This podcast is brought to you by 99designs, the global creative platform that makes it easy for designers and clients to work together to create designs they love. Its creative process has become the go-to solution for businesses, agencies, and individuals, and I have used it for years to help with display advertising and illustrations and to rapid prototype the cover for The Tao of Seneca. Whether your business needs a logo, website design, business card, or anything you can imagine, check out 99designs.You can work with multiple designers at once to get a bunch of different ideas, or hire the perfect designer for your project based based on their style and industry specialization. It's simple to review concepts and leave feedback so you'll end up with a design that you're happy with. Go to 99designs.com/tim and get $20 off plus a $99 upgrade.This episode is also brought to you by FreshBooks. I've been talking about FreshBooks — an all-in-one invoicing + payments + accounting solution — for years now. Many entrepreneurs, as well as the contractors and freelancers that I work with, use it all the time.FreshBooks makes it super easy to track things like expenses, project time, and client info, and then merge it all into great-looking invoices. FreshBooks can save users up to 200 hours a year on accounting and bookkeeping tasks. Right now FreshBooks is offering my listeners a free 30-day trial, and no credit card is required. Go to FreshBooks.com/tim and enter "Tim Ferriss" in the "How did you hear about us?" section!***If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests. I also love reading the reviews!For show notes and past guests, please visit tim.blog/podcast.Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (“5-Bullet Friday”) at tim.blog/friday.For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.Follow Tim: Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss Instagram: instagram.com/timferrissFacebook: facebook.com/timferriss YouTube: youtube.com/timferrissPast guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, and many more.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Chapters
Tim Ferriss offers a personal endorsement of 99Designs as a global creative platform that enables easy finding of the perfect designer for your creative projects.
00:00 - 01:52 (01:52)
listen on Spotify
Business
Summary

Tim Ferriss offers a personal endorsement of 99Designs as a global creative platform that enables easy finding of the perfect designer for your creative projects.

Episode
#384: David Allen — The Art of Getting Things Done (GTD)
Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show
David Allen's book, Getting Things Done (GTD), has been published in 30 languages and has become a global phenomenon.
01:52 - 08:04 (06:12)
listen on Spotify
Getting Things Done, productivity
Summary

David Allen's book, Getting Things Done (GTD), has been published in 30 languages and has become a global phenomenon. Its methodology helps entrepreneurs, contractors, and freelancers to have more time to grow their business by focusing on running it efficiently.

Episode
#384: David Allen — The Art of Getting Things Done (GTD)
Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show
The key to being organized is to not keep everything in your head.
08:04 - 14:34 (06:29)
listen on Spotify
Organization
Summary

The key to being organized is to not keep everything in your head. Start by finding a physical entry point to collect your thoughts, ideas and to-do list.

Episode
#384: David Allen — The Art of Getting Things Done (GTD)
Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show
To prevent being overwhelmed by new inputs, it's important to keep a minimal backlog of unclarified, uncaptured, and unorganized tasks to make sure all agreements have been renegotiated with the self.
14:34 - 22:27 (07:53)
listen on Spotify
Productivity
Summary

To prevent being overwhelmed by new inputs, it's important to keep a minimal backlog of unclarified, uncaptured, and unorganized tasks to make sure all agreements have been renegotiated with the self. This includes organizing physical entries like receipts and digital entries like email.

Episode
#384: David Allen — The Art of Getting Things Done (GTD)
Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show
This podcast segment discusses the origins of the term "beat" and the influence of culture on various fields including art, philosophy, and science.
22:27 - 28:47 (06:19)
listen on Spotify
Beat Culture
Summary

This podcast segment discusses the origins of the term "beat" and the influence of culture on various fields including art, philosophy, and science. It also mentions the audio and cafe as a hub for European history and culture.

Episode
#384: David Allen — The Art of Getting Things Done (GTD)
Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show
The founder of GTD talks about the importance of clarity in his work and personal life, which was inspired by his training in martial arts and spiritual exploration.
28:47 - 39:00 (10:12)
listen on Spotify
GTD, clarity
Summary

The founder of GTD talks about the importance of clarity in his work and personal life, which was inspired by his training in martial arts and spiritual exploration.

Episode
#384: David Allen — The Art of Getting Things Done (GTD)
Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show
The labels and items on our to-do lists often need a reframe to truly reflect the next actions we need to take, rather than simply listing broad goals or projects.
39:00 - 42:07 (03:07)
listen on Spotify
Productivity
Summary

The labels and items on our to-do lists often need a reframe to truly reflect the next actions we need to take, rather than simply listing broad goals or projects.

Episode
#384: David Allen — The Art of Getting Things Done (GTD)
Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show
Understanding your purpose is a vehicle towards achieving your vision, which is a picture of you being fulfilled five years from now.
42:07 - 47:53 (05:45)
listen on Spotify
Goal-setting
Summary

Understanding your purpose is a vehicle towards achieving your vision, which is a picture of you being fulfilled five years from now. Once you have these established, you can then break down and prioritize the projects and tasks necessary to achieve them.

Episode
#384: David Allen — The Art of Getting Things Done (GTD)
Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show
The process of obtaining legal residency in a foreign country can be challenging and requires jumping through many hoops.
47:53 - 51:35 (03:41)
listen on Spotify
Immigration
Summary

The process of obtaining legal residency in a foreign country can be challenging and requires jumping through many hoops. This can often complicate plans for living in another country.

Episode
#384: David Allen — The Art of Getting Things Done (GTD)
Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show
The hosts discuss their desire to rebuild a beautiful country property with glass and concrete but lacking the funds, chose to sell it instead.
51:36 - 55:24 (03:47)
listen on Spotify
Country Living
Summary

The hosts discuss their desire to rebuild a beautiful country property with glass and concrete but lacking the funds, chose to sell it instead.

Episode
#384: David Allen — The Art of Getting Things Done (GTD)
Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show
The speaker tells the story of a person who had an extra sensory perception ability which made him depressed as a child because he did not understand it.
55:24 - 1:08:11 (12:47)
listen on Spotify
Extra Sensory Perception
Summary

The speaker tells the story of a person who had an extra sensory perception ability which made him depressed as a child because he did not understand it. However, as he grew older, his outer life got simpler, but his inner life became richer.

Episode
#384: David Allen — The Art of Getting Things Done (GTD)
Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show
The speaker discusses how everyone is on a spiritual path, whether they realize it or not, and talks about the challenge of feeling overwhelmed during a big project.
1:08:11 - 1:13:50 (05:38)
listen on Spotify
spirituality
Summary

The speaker discusses how everyone is on a spiritual path, whether they realize it or not, and talks about the challenge of feeling overwhelmed during a big project. The episode also covers the benefits of sleeping with nasal breathing and the simple pleasure of walking your dog.

Episode
#384: David Allen — The Art of Getting Things Done (GTD)
Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show
David Allen discusses his morning routine, which involves checking his calendar and playing games to get his brain going, and highlights the importance of taking time each week to step back and reassess in order to stay organized with GTD.
1:13:50 - 1:18:26 (04:36)
listen on Spotify
GTD (Getting Things Done)
Summary

David Allen discusses his morning routine, which involves checking his calendar and playing games to get his brain going, and highlights the importance of taking time each week to step back and reassess in order to stay organized with GTD.

Episode
#384: David Allen — The Art of Getting Things Done (GTD)
Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show
Reflecting on your life's work is a good way to deal with ambient anxiety instead of depending on other means, especially if it's done weekly, according to a transcript from a podcast.
1:18:28 - 1:25:22 (06:53)
listen on Spotify
Anxiety
Summary

Reflecting on your life's work is a good way to deal with ambient anxiety instead of depending on other means, especially if it's done weekly, according to a transcript from a podcast.

Episode
#384: David Allen — The Art of Getting Things Done (GTD)
Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show
The speaker emphasizes that even creative individuals should have a certain level of structure in order to effectively manage their tasks and attention.
1:25:22 - 1:29:01 (03:38)
listen on Spotify
Creativity
Summary

The speaker emphasizes that even creative individuals should have a certain level of structure in order to effectively manage their tasks and attention. This structure can provide more room for creativity and unstructured thinking.

Episode
#384: David Allen — The Art of Getting Things Done (GTD)
Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show
The speaker discusses the categories used in a GTD framework, including projects, agendas, and errands, and talks about the usefulness of having a centralized system for organizing these categories.
1:29:02 - 1:34:38 (05:36)
listen on Spotify
GTD (Getting Things Done)
Summary

The speaker discusses the categories used in a GTD framework, including projects, agendas, and errands, and talks about the usefulness of having a centralized system for organizing these categories.

Episode
#384: David Allen — The Art of Getting Things Done (GTD)
Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show
The speaker recommends the updated edition of his book, which includes updated information and language.
1:34:38 - 1:40:10 (05:32)
listen on Spotify
Self-Improvement
Summary

The speaker recommends the updated edition of his book, which includes updated information and language. He also emphasizes the importance of relaxation and enjoying life.

Episode
#384: David Allen — The Art of Getting Things Done (GTD)
Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show
99 designs is a global platform that helps you find and create designs by connecting you with a talented designer.
1:40:10 - 1:43:47 (03:37)
listen on Spotify
99 designs, FreshBooks
Summary

99 designs is a global platform that helps you find and create designs by connecting you with a talented designer. FreshBooks is an invoicing software that simplifies business admin tasks and helps you focus on growing the business.

Episode
#384: David Allen — The Art of Getting Things Done (GTD)
Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show