The GTD® Virtual Study Group

Happy New Year! This was a great call with lots of engagement! A couple of concepts around focus and intentionality have been really hot topics in the productivity space lately, what with the new year approaching and all. A big one is Chris Brogan’s “My Three Words”. And, similarly, in Daniel’s latest interview for GTD® VSG with Timo Kiander, I was really struck with Timo’s approach to intentionality and focus. He explained how he made a conscious choice to gain hours in his day by getting up early to get his workouts in. And he was intentional in his other choices of what to do, or not do, in order to stay on focus. I thought with the new year upon us, why not have a conversation around focus, intentionality, Horizons of Focus, Areas of Focus and Responsibility, and how we can all benefit from building that into our GTD® systems to support us throughout the year. -Michelle Official GTD® Virtual Study Group website: http://gtdvsg.com

I had the pleasure of having Timo Kiander, the Productive Superdad in our virtual studio. You're really going to enjoy this interview! Timo is a full time blogger at ProductiveSuperdad.com, runs the Productive Superdad podcast, has written for Lifehack.org, Dumb Little Man, WorkAwesome.com, ProBlogger, IQTell, Think Traffic, he's been on other podcasts such as Entrepreneur Idea Dads, been interviewed by Time Management Magazine, and so many more. Most recently, he wrote a book called Online Business Productivity: How to Start a Productive Online Business and Get Sh*t Done - Even When you are Working from 9-5. On top of all that he spends his fee time running marathons and triathlons! What a great interview and I can't wait for you to listen to this latest exclusive podcast! -Daniel Official GTD® Virtual Study Group website: http://gtdvsg.com

In this GTD Virtual Study group live call, we talked about the conundrum of whether to use one productivity system or two. There was a lot of very good feedback and exchange on the call about whether or not to separate work and personal tasks managers and calendars. Thanks to one of our GTD VSG listeners, DeAngelis Bright, for suggesting this topic! Official GTD® Virtual Study Group website: http://gtdvsg.com

We had on the virtual studio, Ryder Carroll, the creator of a new way of taking notes and getting things done, The Bullet Journal. This Bullet Journal system is not only highly innovative, shows incredible entrepeneurialship on Ryder’s part, and reinforces a huge point for me, which is that if you are smart, hard working, believe in something passionately, and can develop a sound strategic business plan, you can make anything happen online. His website is gorgeous, his video is simply awesome and Ryder’s Bullet Journal has sparked tons of comments online, generated lots of fan-based blog posts, and overall, has absolutely gone viral! In this episode, I ask Ryder what prompted him to create this system. His story is truly personal and it reinforced a very important point for me - that productivity is so very personal. Yet, anyone can leverage his system as a framework and develop their own system with his as a foundation. In many ways, it is like what so many people have done with Getting Things Done methodology. We also talked about whether he is all analog all the time. You may be surprised by his answer! Lastly, I took many of your questions that you pre-submitted online to me. Official GTD® Virtual Study Group website: http://gtdvsg.com

In this episode of the GTD Virtual Study Group, we covered to big topics! The first is my big announcement regarding the format of the study group, and the second is our topic for our group discussion today on overwhelm. First, my big announcement! On the fourth Thursday of each month, I’ll be releasing an exclusive interview with another expert in the productivity space. I will have recorded that program over the weekend on my free time, which allows me to spend all of my focus during the week where it should be with my clients. And, on the second Thursday of each month, we will have the live call. And so, I have decided to bring on a co-host to help me with the live portion of the program. Who else better to have as a co-host then a GTD Virtual Study Group listener since 2009, an avid GTD follower, and someone who has spent her professional life in management, project management, and people management across multiple industries. Someone who is adept at listening to people and organizational needs to help build solutions. That person is Michelle Gunn. You're going to love this show! Michelle is an amazing moderator and in this first program with her co-hosting, she helped moderate an incredibly amazing and inspiring conversation on how to overcome that feeling of overwhelm. Please welcome Michelle as the new co-host of the program!! Official GTD® Virtual Study Group website: http://gtdvsg.com

You don't want to miss this incredibly engaging conversation with Mike Vardy, "The Productivityist" in this week's GTD Virtual Study Group. There are tons of wonderfully magnificent nuggets in this podcast. You'll learn about: the importance of every stage of GTD - from collection, to processing, to organizing, to reviewing, to the actual doing! what it takes to really understand how your body works to maximize your productivity. Night owl or early bird? how to become more self-aware so you execute successfully on every project how to determine which app is really right for you - or is it a notebook and pen? whether productivity principles change as technology changes? How do you define expectations? And, so, so, so much more ... like a great conversation, once again, about really great beers! Official GTD® Virtual Study Group website: http://gtdvsg.com

Erik Fisher, podcaster, blogger, and author joins us in the latest episode of the GTD Virtual Study Group. Erik wears many hats! In addition to being a husband and dad, he has a day job, runs a successful podcast called, "Beyond the Todo List", and recently co-authored a book called, "Beyond the Todo List: Goals - a step-by-step process to making and meeting the goals that matter". Erik and I had a great conversation about how he got into productivity, balancing both life and work, and why he continues to learn something new from reading Getting Things Done by David Allen during different periods in his life. Plus, you'll find really great tidbits such as why he believes his superhero name would be, "The Optimizer" and why he believes the perfect system is really about "self-management". There's so much more I really believe you'll learn from listening to this podcast. Official GTD® Virtual Study Group website: http://gtdvsg.com

Pascal Venier was our guest today. He is a Personal Kanban Trainer and Coach as well as the translator of the French version of the great classic by Jim Benson and Tonianne DeMaria Barry, Personal Kanban: Mapping Work | Navigating Life to be published with Modus Cooperandi Press in 2013. In this episode, Pascal taught us about the history of Kanban; how to setup a Kanban board, the benefits of Kanban and personal productivity, and how to take the system with you in both digital and analog formats. This was a very interesting show and one in which I know I learned a whole lot. Official GTD® Virtual Study Group website: http://gtdvsg.com

This was an awesome GTD Virtual Study Group! We learned how to get things done in Evernote with super productivity specialist, Lilli Weisz! You want to be sure to head over to the website to view the Google+ Hangout presentation and download Lilli's slides she shared with us. Seriously, what an awesome productivity session! Official GTD® Virtual Study Group website: http://gtdvsg.com

Dallon Christensen of Whiteboard Business Partners joined us on the live call. Dallon not only has an amazing personal story of how he has been using GTD, but also wears a whole lot of hats ranging from a full time day job and several side projects. Listen in as we learn his story and find out how he's able to get it all done! Official GTD® Virtual Study Group website: http://gtdvsg.com