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By Laura Milligan

The popular “Getting Things Done” principle is a valuable tool for organizing, prioritizing and actively completing all of the tasks and responsibilities that weigh us down each day. Invented by David Allen, this “groundbreaking work-life management system” relies on four methods of clearing the brain of endless to-do lists so that it can focus more effectively on the job at hand. These methods are: “capturing anything and everything that has your attention, defining actionable things discretely into outcomes and concrete next steps, organizing reminders and information in the most streamlined way” and “keeping current and “on your game” with appropriately frequent reviews…of your commitments,” according to the David Allen website.

In order to implement the GTD system in your life, we’re helping you out by listing over 100 links to articles, guides, information about special events and other resources related to “Getting Things Done.” Read below to find out more.

Resources from David Allen

Refer to this list for links connecting you with the official GTD resources, company background information and more from inventor David Allen.

1. The Definition of David Allen’s Getting Things Done: Read this extended definition of the GTD system to understand all of its principles and methods.

2. The David Allen Company: This link will bring you to the homepage for The David Allen Company, the organization that teaches individuals and businesses “a smarter way to work and live.” Learn more about the history of the company and GTD, shop for helpful tools and other GTD-related products and find out what other special services the company offers.

3. Productivity and the Bottom Line: The David Allen Company offers businesses special training seminars and coaching sessions to teach the principles of GTD in professional settings. Find out more by visiting this link.

4. Your Life is an Investment: This site shares GTD information “for individuals at work and home.” Learn about how you can make simple, personal improvements in your life each day.

5. GTD Connect: This members-only networking group is made up of GTD enthusiasts who want to stay “on track and at peak motivation with daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly features.” Receive special access to unique tools, articles and other resources when you sign up.

6. Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity: Purchase David Allen’s popular book at Amazon.com by visiting this link.

7. Between the Lines: David Allen no longer updates his personal blog, but readers can visit the archives to find helpful tips for organizing and prioritizing.

8. Interview with GTD’s David Allen on Procrastination: Watch this podcast for an interview with David Allen and the 43 Folders team to learn what he has to say about procrastination.

9. Roundup: 17 Interviews with GTD Master, David Allen: Visit this great index of David Allen interviews to get some insight into how you can make GTD work for you.

10. The Oracle of Organization: This Time Magazine article chronicles the history and success of GTD inventor David Allen.

11. Getting Things Done Guru David Allen and His Cult of Hyperefficiency: This article from Wired Magazine explores David Allen’s intense popularity and how his “work has become the touchstone of the life-hacking movement.”

12. Lecture by David Allen: View this YouTube video for a broadcast of one of David Allen’s lectures.

Organization

Follow these links for tips on organizing your life the GTD way.

13. Projects and GTD: This forum post from 43 Folders has great ideas for tweaking David Allen’s official principles for small, medium and large time management projects.

14. Minimize Your Inboxes: Lifehacker has several great solutions for minimizing stacks of papers and at-capacity e-mail inboxes.

15. GTD Cheatsheet: The Workflow: According to LifeDev.net, the workflow method of GTD is “the hardest one to put into practice.” Use this cheatsheet to help you make sense of the workflow so that you can more effectively organize your to-do lists.

16. GTD Desktop Image Keeps Me on Track: Once you’ve mastered the workflow, add a diagram like this one to your desktop for optimum organization.

17. How to Fail at Getting Things Done: This post urges GTD followers not to forget about doing weekly check-ins and reviews, or else their entire GTD system could come crashing down.

18. DIY Planner: This website is “a community of people who see the value of paper as a medium for planning, productivity, creative expression, and exploring ideas.” Read articles on GTD, journaling, time management and more, and reviews and learn about products that help productivity.

19. The 5 Reasons Why the Weekly Review is Difficult: If you’re feeling frustrated about doing your weekly reviews, read this article to help you get back on track.

20. Kinkless: Learn more about organization, GTD software, shortcuts and more great topics that will make your life easier by visiting this website, which promotes “productive creativity.”

21. Don’t Manage Time, Manage Yourself: The key to getting things done is knowing how to manage your unique lifestyle. Read this article for tips on how to do just that.

22. Getting Things Done!: This post from the MarkTAW blog outlines the dos and don’ts of productivity and organization as they are related to the GTD philosophy.

23. Getting Things Done with Google Notebook: This link takes readers to a review of the Google Notebook application which helps GTD users stay organized.

24. Getting Things Done in 60 Seconds: Writer Mike Elgan gives readers a quick and easy crash course in mastering the GTD principles in this informative article.

At the Office

Read below for links to articles and resources that will help you get things done in a professional environment.

25. 10 Tips to Help Keep Your Desk Clean: Tips like sort your mail, schedule filing time and “keep nothing on your desk unless you absolutely need [it] fall neatly into the Getting Things Done philosophy.

26. Getting Things Done on Office Zealot: Check out the Office Zealot website for articles, reviews and other resources about GTD. Recent posts include “How to end a productivity conference unproductively: and “iMac 24, or the world through another prism.”

27. How to: Fix Leaks in Your GTD System: How can you possibly manage your task lists, weekly reviews and other GTD tools during a hectic day at work? This guide helps readers make sense of their productivity plan and patch it up when necessary.

28. Getting Back to Work: A Personal Productivity Toolkit: If you’re having some trouble staying motivated at work, read this post for tips on staying focused and inspired.

29. Keep Getting Things Done - Slow Down the Queuing!: The staff at FreelanceSwitch urges readers to stop putting off simple tasks “that take up time and cause worry but don’t actually create value down the line.” Follow the link for advice on how to eliminate this unnecessary stress and remain productive.

30. Getting Things Done with iGTD: Find out how this simple tool can help “capture pop-up thoughts without disrupting [your] flow” at work.

31. Getting Things Done: This blog promotes various GTD tips, tools and systems to help you get more things done at work each day.

32. My Office: The Art of Getting Things Done: Watch this video of a GTD user’s office space to inspire you to get organized.

33. Actually Getting Things Done with Getting Things Done!: This post from Matt’s Idea Blog chronicles several “surprises and learnings from [his] implementation” of the GTD system, including the discovery of valuable productivity tools.

34. Getting Things Done with Palm Desktop: Bring your GTD system to the office by setting up this tool on your computer.

35. Getting Things Done Using Outlook 2007: If your office e-mail account is set up with Outlook, check out this guide to find out how to use it in accordance with the GTD principles.

36. Laura Stack, the Productivity Pro: Let the Productivity Pro help you “leave the office earlier” by reading her GTD and time management tips here.

Getting Things Done at Home

These tips will give your day-to-day responsibilities a boost by helping you increase your productivity.

37. Productivity @ Home: This blog is all about “personal productivity and getting things done at home.” Blogger Lisa M. Hendey discusses organizing, scheduling, running a household and other GTD-related topics.

38. Are Your Lists Really Complete?: This guest blogger writes about tweaking to-do lists in order to give your GTD system a boost.

39. Use Completed Task Lists as Motivators or Artwork: This article suggests tacking up completed task lists to give you added motivation.

40. 18 Tricks to Instantly Improve Your GTD System: Every individual GTD system can benefit from these 18 tricks, like “create your own shorthand or notational system” and “track down the bottlenecks in your setup.”

41. Top 10 Benefits of GTD: Follow this link to discover the many ways GTD can benefit every aspect of your life.

42. 15 Tips to Cope with a Demanding Life: GTD principles like taking charge of your own personal development and simplifying tasks are found in this valuable list of 15 “tips to cope with a demanding life.”

43. Getting Things Done in Apple Mail: Rework your personal e-mail account with the tips provided in this handy how-to.

44. Productivity Tips for the Home Office: Tips including “write goals down,” turn off your phone and instant messaging service, and maintaining a tidy office will help you be more productive even when you work from home.

45. Getting Things Done With Tracks: The Linux website posts this review of the smart GTD tool Tracks.

46. More Than a Chore: Getting Things Done the Right Way: This article demonstrates how parents can teach their children how to be productive and organized at a young age by implementing GTD principles into daily chores.

47. Challenges for Single Parents: Balancing Nurturing and Getting Things Done: Single parents have a unique set of responsibilities. Find out how to get things done on time so that you have more time for your kids.

48. The Difference Between GTD at Home and at Work: This post outlines why creating separate GTD systems for your professional and home life is important.

Prioritizing and Productivity

Get your priorities in order with these helpful links so that you can get more done each day.

49. Five Simple Hacks to Get Your Email Inbox to Empty: Be more productive at work and at home by emptying out your inbox. This post has five simple ideas that will do the trick.

50. Dumb Little Man: The Dumb Little Man site publishes all kinds of useful “tips for life.” Readers will find lots of articles about GTD and productivity.

51. Are Your Action Steps to Complex? Or Too Simple?: Give your GTD method a review after reading this article, which helps break down action steps.

52. Time Management, Simplified: This post teaches readers “how to be productive with no worries” by simplifying the GTD system so that it works for your life.

53. The GTD Mastery 100: Checklist for Greatness: Grade yourself on your GTD skills and successes to find out just how organized you really are.

54. GTD Palm-Oriented: Discuss your prioritizing and productivity ideas and success stories with other GTD enthusiasts on the GTD Palm-Oriented page at Yahoo!

55. You Can Do Anything, but Not Everything: Fast Company gets together with David Allen for this article, which “offers…unique advice on how to keep up the pace– without wearing yourself down.”

56. Don’t Take a Break Unless You Need One: You’ll never get through your task lists if you keep breaking for a snack, a nap or a walk around the block. Read this article for help on determining whether or not you actually need your next break.

57. How to Prioritize: If you’re having a hard time prioritizing all of your daily duties, use this guide to help you make sense of endless to-do lists and responsibilities.

58. How David Allen Mastered Getting Things Done: This article from CNN Money explores how David Allen has managed to transform the way individuals and companies organize, prioritize and of course, get things done.

59. 10 Steps to Better Meetings: Use this guide to plan more productive meetings at work.

60. 6 Types of Email and How to Deal With It: Don’t let your inbox run your life. Learn how to identify different types of e-mails so that you can more efficiently respond to the ones that matter and delete the ones that don’t.

GTD Blogs

Visit these blogs for more organizational and productivity tips related to the Getting Things Done philosophy.

61. Simple GTD: Organize Your Stuff Online: This blog offers members access to GTD tools and other Web-based resources that increase productivity.

62. Getting Things Done: My experiences with GTD: Visit this blog for a wealth of guides, reviews, products and other GTD-related items. Recent posts include “Results of 1 Year of GTD” and “My Weekly Review Checklist.”

63. The Getting Things Done: Check out this blog for advice on implementing GTD principles and methods. Visitors will get tips on software, time management, time tracking, workflow and more.

64. Palm Based GTD: Palm Based GTD shares links and ideas for maximizing GTD principles.

65. Productivity 501: If you want to be more productive, read the posts on this blog, which address everything from cleaning your desk to organizing your e-mails.

66. What’s the Next Action: Totally devoted to David Allen and his GTD principles, this blog discusses the perks and challenges of staying true to the methods, reviews and tools of the productivity system.

67. GTD-Tools.com: GTD-Tools.com publishes articles and reviews of the “best GTD tools and productivity software tips.” Readers can also catch up on the latest GTD-related news.

68. Ririan Project: This blog is great for checking out posts that help readers create “a brand new life that represents maximum achievement and inner peace” through personal development and task management.

69. Did I Get Things Done?: This blogger tracks his progress in mastering GTD by posting articles that review technology, share tips and provide other resources for upping your productivity.

70. David Seah: This popular blogger and inventor of The Printable CEO productivity series is all about making your life easier with simple hacks and organization tips.

71. Trizoko: Trizoko is “your business journal.” Read innovative, informative posts for tips and inspiration on organizing your life.

72. Matt’s Idea Blog: Check out this blog for a professional viewpoint on integrating smart productivity practices into your own life.

Tools and Resources

Utilize these clever tools to enhance your GTD system.

73. GTD Basic Bundle: This link connects readers to the official GTD toolbox, where you can find software, learning tools, books and other GTD resources that will enhance your productivity.

74. Getting Things Done on a Macintosh: This tutorial explains how Mac users can adapt their operating systems to GTD principles so that they are more user-friendly and productive.

75. Leopard GTD Icons: This 43 Folders user shares productivity-oriented icons for Leopard.

76. Best Gmail Applications, plugins and extensions for GTD and Productivity: Transform your Gmail set up with these GTD hacks, including the GTDInbox and the Sent to Gmail application.

77. Behance Action Series: Lifedev.net reviews the Behance Action Series, which pitches a productive creativity for another way to get things done.

78. TaskToy: An Online GTD Tool: This Lifehack.org post reviews TaskToy, “a new task management web system” that will make your life much easier.

79. The Getting Things Done Phenomenon: An Update Primer: Follow this link to connect to a list full of great GTD tools, like the GTD Tiddly Wiki and the Nozbe.

80. List of GTD Tools: The Download Squad publishes this collection of links to GTD tools so that everyone can start their own productivity system.

81. Comparison of GTD Software: Use this guide from Wikipedia to learn more about different tools and software that enhance the practice of GTD.

82. TiddlyWiki: This link displays an example of the My Monkey GTD TiddlyWiki tool and provides another link to download it.

83. Productivity Toolbox: 37+ Tools for Taking Action and Getting Things Done: Smallfuel.com publishes this fantastic list of tools and resources that will help you get things done more quickly.

84. Top 5 GTD Computer Tools: Nozbe, Tracks, Thinking Rock and Stikkit are all on this list of the best computer apps for maximizing GTD.

Helpful Guides

For more ideas on how to develop your own GTD system, turn to these how-to guides.

85. The Ultimate Getting Things Done Index: Find all kinds of GTD articles and guides with the help of this inclusive index.

86. Getting Started with Getting Things Done: Allow this post from 43 Folders to ease you into the GTD system by sharing helpful tips and ideas.

87. Sylvia’s Getting Things Done (GTD) Resource List: Check out this collection of links to GTD resources if you need support or just want to learn more about the principles.

88. Four Tricks That Save You Time: This article from Fast Company reviews four of David Allen’s “tricks that save you time,” including make lists, remember the two-minute rule and always do a weekly review.

89. Managing Your Life with GTD, Online Tools and a File Cabinet: Whip yourself into shape by getting organized the GTD way. This article will show you how to utilize the right tools and software programs to transform your life.

90. CrankingWidgets.com: Find all kinds of “GTD, productivity lifehacks” posts on this great resource.

91. Getting Things Done on Wikipedia: For a comprehensive tutorial on the GTD history and principles, check out its Wikipedia page.

92. Time Boxing is an Effective Getting Things Done Strategy: This post outlines the ways in which time boxing can help increase productivity by “fixing the time we have available to work on a given task and then doing the best we can within that time frame.”

93. 5 Steps to Accomplishing Your Goals: Dave Cheong’s useful guide reveals the way to apply GTD principles to organizing and setting personal goals.

94. The Basics of Getting Things Done: GTD newbies can check out this simplified post to better understand the Getting Things Done movement.

95. How to Create a Personal Productivity Scaffold: The blogger Steve Pavlina documents the best way to create a simple set up that will support all of your productivity tools and resources “to redirect your time and energy back onto the “straight” course and away from the crooked one.”

Miscellaneous

Students, academics and environmentalists will find unique GTD solutions here.

96. Zen to Done: Addressing the Shortcomings of GTD: No system is completely fail proof. This post proposes a more Zen-like approach to productivity by keeping your organization system simple.

97. Tips for Environmentally Friendly GTD: Use this list how you can go green with your GTD system but using recycled paper, using both sides of each sheet of paper and more.

98. Getting Things Done in Academia: This blog helps graduate students understand and activate their own GTD systems that complement an academic lifestyle.

99. A Roadmap to Spectacular GTD Failure: This article tells readers what NOT to do if you want to implement a successful GTD system.

100. Getting Things Done for College Students: The Full System: Study Hacks provides this article to help college students stay productive, avoid procrastination and make better grades.

101. Microtasks: Steve Pavlina’s advice for procrastinators rests on the idea of microtasking, based on David Allen’s system for writing down simple action items and next items.

102. Profile of Getting Things Done Author: This BoingBoing article profiles David Allen, going into his background as a “junkie, mental patient, trainer, consultant,” and of course, “bestselling author.”

103. Getting Things Done with Automater and Spotlight: Check out this post for two more tools that will help your computer-based GTD system.