GTD

For most microISVs, the hardest aspect of the business isn’t developing, tech support or marketing, it’s managing your time and energy to accomplish all three of these activities and more. Getting Thing Done has grown from a single book by David Allen in 2001 to almost an industry, attracting along the way strong interest and support in the developer community.

Whether you’ve been running your software business for years and just want to do it in a less stressful way, or you’re looking for a means to find the time to bootstrap your microISV and get free of being a wage slave for someone else, I strongly recommend GTD as a core technology for achieving more, with a hell of a lot less stress.

Below you’ll find my recommended GTD resources for both newbies and experienced practitioners. Yes, there’s a few million other hits for GTD when you search the web; these are the resources that in my opinion yield the highest bang for the amount of time invested.

One quick note: The books below - each of which I bought for myself, read and re-read - include an affiliate link. Thank you!

Leo Babata’s Zen to Done

If you’re looking for the least amount of documentation to read before you start getting some results, I strongly recommend Leo Babata’s Zen to Done [non-affiliate link] ebook ($9.50 USD). Leo has taken GTD integrated in the goal-setting and prioritization methods that made Steven Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” so popular. Think of it as a lightweight implementation of the more powerful GTD framework.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction
• Why ZTD?
• Overview - What is it?
• Minimal ZTD - the simpler alternative
• Forming the 10 Habits
• Habit 1: Collect
• Habit 2: Process
• Habit 3: Plan
• Habit 4: Do
• Habit 5: Simple, trusted system
• Habit 6: Organize
• Habit 7: Review
• Habit 8: Simplify
• Habit 9: Routine
• Habit 10: Find Your Passion
• A Day with Zen To Done
• ZTD FAQ
• Resources
• Thank you

Key GTD resources

Not sure yet if GTD is worth the time to get to know? Start with the Wikipedia article on GTD.

[Feb 25, 2008] - Single most comprehensive page on GTD - The GTD Resource Motherload: 100+ Links - This is it.

Want to find a buffet of GTD sites, blog postings and blogs? Head on over to the Ultimate GTD Index. This - and its companion site, the Ultimate Personal Development Index will give you a good overview of the many bloggers in each of these areas.

David Allen is online at The David Allen Company.

A more advanced - and costly - resource I recommend as you move from GTD neophyte to practitioner is GTD Connect - David Allen subscription site of GTD resources.

Books

First off, If you haven’t read David Allen’s (currently 2, a third is in the works) books, you should. Allen is the founder of Getting Things Done - the methodology and the movement.

Start with:

“Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity” This first book lays out the principles and practices of GTD, but can sometimes frustrating as you try to apply his theory to your practice. While it’s now 7 years old, Allen maintains he would not change any part of this seminal book. All aspects of GTD are covered - from dealing with email to setting up paper files.

Next, there’s“Ready for Anything: 52 Productivity Principles for Work and Life” In this book, David breaks down GTD and applies it in five areas:

• Clear your head for creativity
• Focus productively
• Create structures that work
• Relax and get in motion
• Remind Yourself of the Fundamentals

Update: I interviewed David Allen on Feb. 6, 2008: work on his third book is proceeding nicely, with an expected publication date in January 2009. David said he is focusing his third book on helping people with the nuts and bolts of implementing GTD, using a good deal of the material he has developed for his GTD Roadmap seminars.

Related Resources

Here’s three other titles I recommend to microISVs interested in being more productive, although they are not GTD books:
“Rule the Web: How to Do Anything and Everything on the Internet—Better, Faster, Easier” (Mark Frauenfelder) When I first picked up this book, I thought, “I bet there’s not a thing in it I don’t already know”. Wrong.

Mark has compiled a highly useful guide to using all of the tools and resources out there on the net. The sheer comprehensiveness of this book is it’s biggest advantage: if you are 75% of the way to a digital lifestyle, this is the book that will help you define, implement and get up to speed on the other 25%. Think of this as the Survival Guide to living and working online - invaluable.

“The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles” (Steven Pressfield) By definition, you are in the business of creating something new. Whether you write code or write books, being able to be creative on daily basis is what separates the novice from the professional.

Pressfield’s book confronts - and shows how to beat - the roadblocks to creativity. And creativity needs to be your middle name if you want your microISV to succeed.

No psychobabble here - just good solid advice and insight on how to get up every day and do the (creative) work you need to succeed.

“The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick)” (Seth Godin) Running a microISV is not easy - and this book will help you recognize when to tough it out and when to find better uses of your time and energy. All too often in this business we climb the first mountain to getting 1.0 out the door, and then we’re stuck, unable to get across the valley to the next big thing. Seth’s advice is well worth taking on any subject; if you are a microISV and you wonder which of the dozen or so “seth books” you should read, this is it.

Blogs

Here’s six blogs I find extremely useful for new GTD ideas and new insights on staying productive:

Ian’s Messy Desk at http://www.ismckenzie.com/category/getting-things-done
The Cranking Widgets Blog at http://blog.crankingwidgets.com/
Getting things done (#1) at http://the-getting-things-done.blogspot.com/
Getting things done (#2) at http://gtd.marvelz.com/blog/
To Do or Else at http://ToDoOrElse.com (My GTD blog, currently on hiatus).
Matt’s Idea Blog ideamatt.blogspot.com

Software

There are many GTD-centric Windows, Mac and online applications out there, including mine (MasterList Professional at http://safarisoftware.com $24.95 USD, free 45 day trial)! Three things to keep in mind about these programs:

• You don’t need a computer program to do GTD. For many people, paper, or a combination of software and paper is the best approach.
• Learn the principles of GTD first. Too many people jump right into a GTD program, only to end up frustrated and confused because they don’t have even a passing familiarity with the theory of GTD.
• Find the program - or programs - that fit your style, your sensibilities and your needs. No one program fits all.

You’ll a find fairly comprehensive lists of GTD software at:

Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_GTD_software
Or with this Google Search: http://www.google.com/search?q=GTD+software

Hope this helps - please feel free to email me if you have any questions!

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