David, Marc & Merlin’s Interviews with Wired on GTD

Robert Andrews has done quite a bit of homework when he was writing his article GTD: A New Cult for the Info Age. He interviewed David Allen, the author of Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity , Marc Orchant and Merlin Mann with some good questions.

The Wired article does not cover all of the content in those three interviews, but good news is that each one of them has posted their own email interview to their blogs. They are good read – like the answer in Marc’s interview should help the recent question raised by our reader:

Are there any core rules, processes or practises required if one is to live by the way of GTD? I’m interested in running a separate piece on the doctrines you have to abide by in order to simplify your life. What are the key workflows/procedures? I understand there are some PDFs showing this stuff. I’ve read about a five-step workflow and other methods, and what is the “natural workflow” method? What are the steps Wired News readers, new to GTD, should be taking to get things done?

The single most important discipline that is essential if you are going to be successful at integrating GTD principles and practices into your life is review. Daily and Weekly Review. If you review your action lists, your commitments, your Inboxes, your mid- and long-term goals – and you do it on regular basis – the system works. Regardless of how you choose to implement the particulars. I have a co-worker who does his GTD using nothing but a yellow legal pad and a file drawer. I know some people who are complete gadget and software freaks – constantly trying new ways to tweak their systems. It doesn’t matter which extreme you tend toward – if you review regularly the process works and if you don’t, it breaks down.
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David Allen’s GTD interview
Marc Orchant’s GTD interview
Merlin Mann’s GTD interview