Upgrade to Pro
— share decks privately, control downloads, hide ads and more …
Speaker Deck
Features
Speaker Deck
PRO
Sign in
Sign up for free
Search
Search
Getting Things Done
Search
Sponsored
·
Ship Features Fearlessly
Turn features on and off without deploys. Used by thousands of Ruby developers.
→
David Zuelke
March 10, 2017
Business
450
1
Share
Getting Things Done
Presentation at ConFoo Montréal 2017
David Zuelke
March 10, 2017
More Decks by David Zuelke
See All by David Zuelke
Your next Web server will be written in... PHP
dzuelke
0
170
Your next Web server will be written in... PHP
dzuelke
2
290
Your next Web server will be written in... PHP
dzuelke
3
1.2k
Kafka Will Get The Message Across, Guaranteed.
dzuelke
0
300
Kafka Will Get The Message Across, Guaranteed.
dzuelke
0
870
Heroku at BattleHack Venice 2015
dzuelke
0
140
Designing HTTP Interfaces and RESTful Web Services
dzuelke
6
1.6k
The Twelve-Factor App: Best Practices for Modern Web Applications
dzuelke
4
540
Designing HTTP Interfaces and RESTful Web Services
dzuelke
6
520
Other Decks in Business
See All in Business
GMOリザーブプラス|カルチャーデック "Way Book"
gmo_rp
0
740
AIエージェント時代のハーネスエンジニアリング Claude Code実装編
tame
0
200
(10枚)お客様のニーズ把握から商品説明までの5ステップ (戦略的ヒアリング研修用)
nyattx
PRO
0
110
コーポレートストーリー(新規投資家様向け会社説明資料)
gatechnologies
2
17k
SDVの真髄:Software First実現のためのHardware First(公開スライドのみ)
manji3
0
230
【APTO】Company Deck(2026年4月)
recruit_
0
140
株式会社ネオキャリア_新卒採用ピッチ資料_20260311
neo_recruit
0
810
8 quotes that sum up recent trading in the travel sector
marketingttc
0
170
AIを"組織の武器"にする方法
tamoryo
0
160
Sol Naciente_Try Out_質問項目
solnaciente
0
2k
イグニション・ポイント株式会社/採用エントランスBook_2026
ignitionpointhr
2
180k
Company Profile
katsuegu23
2
13k
Featured
See All Featured
Refactoring Trust on Your Teams (GOTO; Chicago 2020)
rmw
35
3.4k
The World Runs on Bad Software
bkeepers
PRO
72
12k
Fashionably flexible responsive web design (full day workshop)
malarkey
408
66k
[Rails World 2023 - Day 1 Closing Keynote] - The Magic of Rails
eileencodes
38
2.8k
A better future with KSS
kneath
240
18k
Gemini Prompt Engineering: Practical Techniques for Tangible AI Outcomes
mfonobong
2
340
Automating Front-end Workflow
addyosmani
1370
200k
Applied NLP in the Age of Generative AI
inesmontani
PRO
4
2.2k
Pawsitive SEO: Lessons from My Dog (and Many Mistakes) on Thriving as a Consultant in the Age of AI
davidcarrasco
0
97
What's in a price? How to price your products and services
michaelherold
247
13k
The Director’s Chair: Orchestrating AI for Truly Effective Learning
tmiket
1
140
Bootstrapping a Software Product
garrettdimon
PRO
307
120k
Transcript
GETTING THINGS DONE ConFoo Montréal 2017 Montréal, QC, Canada
David Zuelke
None
[email protected]
@dzuelke
MODERN WORK
open commitments
unanswered emails
personal responsibilities
you're never… done
"The hurrier I go, the behinder I get."
GTD
David Allen
None
None
“A vaccination against day-to-day fire-fighting.”
THE TWO PRINCIPLES OF GTD 1.Capture everything 2.Have next actions
... and you'll have a mind like water
YOU ALREADY HAVE THE SKILLS YOU NEED
(prioritize, organize, plan, focus)
when were you last in the zone?
can you get back into it anytime it is required?
1. CAPTURE
everything
the presentation to prepare
the email to write a lengthy reply to
the gift to buy your mother for her birthday each
December
the passport that needs renewal in six years
the fire extinguisher that will need maintenance every five years
the first aid kit in your car that needs replacing
before it expires
the bonsai tree that needs water, a lot, but only
every two weeks
the shed you want to build in your garden
that world hunger problem you want to solve
If you don't capture everything, things will remain on your
mind.
If it's on your mind, your mind isn't clear.
–Horace “Rule your mind, or it will rule you.”
write down the project/situation most on your mind right now
now write down, one sentence, the successful outcome you want
for it
now write down the next physical action required to move
it forward
–Ralph Waldo Emerson “The ancestor of every action is thought.”
2. PROCESS
"what is it?"
"is it actionable?"
"what's the next action?"
most "stuff" is really a project of multiple actions
If it takes less than ~two minutes: do it now!
Otherwise, delegate or defer it.
–Greek proverb “The beginning is half of every action.”
3. ORGANIZE
don't put tasks on your calendar, they will pile up
start dates and due dates are different things
"43 FOLDERS"
None
don't literally do that, we have software for that now
;)
CONTEXTS AND TAGS • Context: what/where you need to (be)
• @phone, @errand, @web, @mac, @office, @printer, @vpn, @home • Tags: so you can pick up related or wanted tasks • /programming, /car, /health, /taxes, /writing, / cooking, /paperwork, /quick win/
SOFTWARE
choose the one your brain trusts the most
THE HIT LIST
THINGS
2DO
TODOIST
OMNIFOCUS
pick the one that works on your platforms (mobile and
desktop!)
4. REVIEW
review your lists weekly (Friday afternoon works well!)
WEEKLY REVIEW • "loose" papers, notes, letters, email • empty
your head • review calendar • review upcoming actions • review "waiting for" lists
5. DO
CHOOSING WHAT TO DO (IN ORDER OF PRIORITY) • Context
• Time available • Energy available • Task priority
DEMO TIME!
PRODUCTIVITY TRICKS
BEND THE TWO-MINUTE RULE
25 & 50 MINUTE MEETINGS
NO MEETINGS W/O AGENDA
END MEETINGS W/QUESTION: "WHAT IS THE NEXT ACTION"?
The End
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING! Questions? Ask me: @dzuelke &
[email protected]