Art of stress-free productivity

[care_save]

It seems to be an art, a technique and a practice...

David Allan, who wrote Getting Things Done, has this 22 minute TED talk on a straightforward process for creating the essential "psychic bandwidth" to being "appropriately engaged" with life unfolding around you. This has broad applications--not the least of which is approaching and calibrating ambitious creative projects (Cosmos' own development crossed my mind while watching, natch) or even more generally--consistently taking on and succeeding at crucial work amidst outrageously proliferating demands on one's precious time and attention.

As a creative producer (writer, filmmaker) for many years, and generally intense-thought-monger for even longer, I have developed several techniques for coordinating my time, thoughts and creative energies--as a means of survival as much as style. This talk boils down even simpler why what I do that works, works--and how go beyond, too.

Really curious to hear what others in this "scene" think about this talk, in reflection on their own creative processes, lifestyle pressures, and aspirations. <3

[DurwinFoster]

I HAVEN'T watched the video but have read Getting Things Done, and Making it All Work, and use it as best I can, which is likely not that well. To me, the only piece missing from Allen's approach is that sometimes I like to move from FLOW outwards, rather than his approach with is more outside-in. Inside-out and outside-in the way to go?

[madrush]

I haven't watched it either, but definitely have incorporated some of Allan's GTD over the years, and could probably use a booster shot.

His company, btw, runs on Holacracy...so there is definitely some compatibility between these methodologies, which operate respectively on personal and organizational scales.

[achronon]

Some good old structured commonsense here. And I would have been terribly disappointed if as a management consultant he hadn't come up with at least one two-by-two matrix.