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!

346: Centralizing Capture

So much comes at us all day, emails, chats, screenshots, sticky notes, that keeping capture centralized can feel like a full-time job. In this episode we dig into how we each corral our inboxes down to a manageable few, and the automations (think Hazel, IFTTT, LaunchBar, and Krisp) that move things along without adding more thinking to our day. Enjoy!

Resources from the call:

• Cornell Notes

• Krisp (noise cancellation with meeting transcription and summaries)

• Dropbox Dash (cross-cloud search across all your drives and apps)

• LaunchBar (Mac quick-launch and file finder)

• Alfred (Mac productivity launcher, mentioned as an alternative)

• Hazel (Mac file automation and renaming)

• File Juggler (Hazel's Windows equivalent)

• IFTTT (automation for screenshot capture and follow-ups)

• Evernote (in-tray for capturing almost any data type)

• OmniFocus (task inbox)

• Trello (card capture via keyboard shortcut)

• TextExpander (template snippets for recurring emails)

• FoldingText (plain-text, markup-based note taking)

• Claude (pulling text and action items out of screenshots)

Download the podcast here!

345: Jumping Back In

Coming back is hard. Michelle's COVID brain fog sparked this one, and we dive into jumping back into GTD® after time away, whether that's a sick week, a vacation, or falling off the wagon entirely. We share tricks for taming the email backlog, doing a mind sweep, setting up out-of-office rules, and leaning into your GTD® strengths instead of your weaknesses. Enjoy!

Resources from the call:

• Post-it® App (for capturing paper notes digitally)

• Clear (the swipe-based to-do app one participant uses for on-the-fly lists)

Download the podcast here!

344: Getting Clear & Current & Overwhelm

Overwhelm happens to all of us. This episode we dig into what to do when everything feels like it's on fire at once: overflowing inboxes, taking on work that isn't ours, and why your GTD® system (not you) should be the thing absorbing the chaos. We talk prioritization, the WOOP framework, and giving yourself a real reward for getting through the crunch. Enjoy!

Resources from the call:

• Parkinson's Law

• WOOP (Wish Outcome Obstacle Plan) by Gabriele Oettingen (goal-setting framework)

• Implementation intentions — Peter Gollwitzer's research on planning around obstacles

Download the podcast here!

343: Daily GTD - What It’s Really Like

What does GTD® really look like on a messy, real-life day? In this episode we get honest about the ebbs and flows, the pull to reorganize your whole system when things get crazy, and why reprocessing your stuff (rather than rebuilding it) is usually what actually helps. Some great insights that might help tweak your own system. Enjoy!

Resources from the call:

• Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen

• The Nokbox

• David Allen's Productive Living newsletter

Download the podcast here!