When you open the book for the first you are instantly met by a small font, meaning that there is far more detail in the book than originally expected in it’s 259 pages.

David Allen has split the book into three distinct sections. He starts by giving a detailed overview of the whole Getting Things Done ethos. This is followed by a natural expansion of the techniques giving the reader a thorough education following a step-by-step approach . Finally, section three expands on the key principles in much greater detail turning the reader into a GTD expert once the book has been read from cover to cover.

From the moment I started reading the book I was hooked. I read it continuously for a whole weekend. I felt like I was reading the solution to my productivity problems! It was during this marathon session that I discovered my only concern about this book. The first section covering why the world needs GTD and an overview of the techniques could be condensed into a smaller section. I felt on several occasions that I had already read some of the points earlier in the section. My concern is that some sceptical readers could miss out on the true benefits of GTD because they ditch the book during the first section. Please stay with it!

Get through the first section and the book is like throwing a light switch. I could relate to the observations made and felt a rush of adrenaline. This book requires dedication and patience, it is not an overnight cure. David Allen holds your hand throughout, gently pushing you in the right direction. To benefit long-term you need to change the way you do things and adopt the strategies day after day!

I would recommend this book to anybody looking to push their life in a new direction. Increase productivity and decrease stress. Enjoy the journey - let me know how you get on.

If you have done the job properly you may well find that, like me, you have somewhere between 60 and 200 items in your inbox. Our task now is to work through the pile from top to bottom, deciding as we go how to allocate each item.

Following the techniques detailed in Getting Things Done by David Allen. The following sections cover all of the options available to us.

Trash

If it is clear from further investigation that the item is unwanted and of no further use then it simply gets chucked into the trash bin. You might be surprised just how much stuff ends up this way. Remember this is a clean start so be honest.

Waiting For Someone Else

You will undoubtedly find that a number of the items in your list are simply waiting for some response from a colleague, your family or a tradesman. In this case you need a folder labelled ‘Waiting’ and move all of the items across into this folder. The idea is to then review this folder during a review session and move any items that need action into your Next Actions list - see below for more details.

Less than Two Minutes

If you find that an item is straightforward, such as a quick phone call, sending an email and it can be completed in less than two minutes then stop now and do it. If for some reason it can’t be done immediately but will still only take two minutes then add it to your Next Actions list so you can action it when the time is right.

Other Actions

Actions that will take longer then two minutes also get placed on the Next Actions list. At this point it is possible to create multiple Next Action lists for particular resources you have. By this I mean if you have actions that are phone calls then add them to a Call list. If you need the Internet then create a Computer list.

Projects

Sometimes a task in your inbox is actually better described as a Project. Let’s take an example of building a garden fence. This cannot be accomplished by adding a single task to the Next Actions list. You need to plan this a bit. Planning may include deciding exactly where to position it and long it needs to be, the height, the style and colour, the cost and whether to build it yourself or to get a fence specialist in!  Decisions, decisions - decide what you need to do next to progress it and add this single task to the Next Actions list. The other actions along with any planning information can be put in a project folder.

Reference Information

As you go along you will stumble across items that don’t require an action, are not waiting for someone but are not trash. These are for information and need to be kept! These may include a helpful email, a menu from the local Chinese or an invitation that requires you to make a decision in the future. These items get stored in your reference library. This can be a filing cabinet or folders, but must be at hand to be useful.

So armed with the above information you can go away and start to get your inbox emptied and your life much more organised. once you reach the bottom of the inbox the real work begins, but the feeling is great! Your head starts to feel less cluttered and you feel like things are much more under your control. You may even start to stop forgetting things.

We are lucky! Why reinvent the wheel when a proven technique already exists. Our productivity interface will use the techniques and guidelines adopted by David Allen in his book Getting Things Done.

I will be covering the Getting Things Done philosophy in a category called ‘Getting Things Done’. So all you need to do is follow the posts.

But I have to say it is something that needed to happen. The last few weeks have really taken it out of me and my wife. We have had to concentrate on steering our lives through a difficult period, and to make matters worse my wife has not been well. It has done us both a world of good spending the weekend walking around Munich, with the first sights of a spectacular German Christmas. We were also able to rest and meditate a lot.

The only drawback is that weekends go all too quickly and it is always emotional parting our separate ways at the airport. My apartment seems strangely quiet tonight ….

I am however constantly reminded as to why I am over here! My wife bought stories of the major financial problems from within the UK. Shopping chains going bust who have been around for a long as I can remember, people losing their homes and rumours that the government is decreasing VAT for 12 months. Strange old times at the moment.

This might sound selfish but I am pleased that at least my families Christmas looks like being ’safe’ this Christmas. None of us know what 2009 will bring - my plans to be home by August may be a bit ambitious! We will see.

Talk again soon. I hope your lives are happy as we approach this special season?

I had spotted a picture of my little lad and just thought about what he would be doing at home. One thing led to the other and my mind spiralled out of control. I found myself thinking about this website and the Life-Interface and thought …… I bet you can guess!

After gaining control again, I was left feeling that the Life-interface is just too much like hard work. Why would anyone want to work hard on so many fronts? Well having had an evening to think things through I realised that the prize at the end is the gift.

Nothing worth anything in this life is handed to you. The Life-Interface is hard, but the result is a mind and body completely in-tune with your life. Imagine in your mind your favourite location? One of my special places is a quiet meadow with beautiful green grass, flowing through the meadow is a sparkling stream. The sun is shining, cow’s are grazing - nice thought hey! Well imagine your mind and body being one, with life being effortless like the stream.

So I am pleased to say my moment of negativity has gone. I am sure there will be more along the way but I am completely dedicated to reaching the paradise to be found. My future is dependent on finding a new direction and this feels right. So see you again soon …

To be honest I had forgotten how much I enjoyed reading the book last time. I really get a sense that the ideas could seriously improve my productivity and clear a head that has had a huge amount to remember and handle recently.

If you are wondering why I didn’t maintain the GTD techniques last time I wouldn’t blame you - basically I had only just started when I got heavily involved in the offer of a contract job in Munich. I didn’t get chance to implement the system before I was thrown into having to organise the transition.

Even though I didn’t have access to my study in the UK, I still managed to empty my head of all the accumulated stuff from both Derby and Munich. At the moment I have created a digital record of my lists and projects so I can take them with me on my next visit home.

During the rest of the week I will finish the book and make sure that I have captured all projects and tasks. This time I want to keep going with techniques I have learnt. It actually feels good already to see so many things captured. I have already seen some outstanding tasks that I had forgotten!

So this is the start of implementing the Life-Interface. I will continue to update you on progress with GTD, plus I will be starting the next part of the interface - so watch this space.

So what do we need to do to start on our mission to master the art of Getting Things Done. First we need to identify somewhere that is our center of life. ideally this will be our study, or if you have no other options the corner of the lounge where the computer happens to be, or your office desk at work. Basically it is somewhere where you work from. It might be used for your day job, reading, emails or for writing and you could even have two - one at work and one at home!

If you are really committed to this then getting hold of the book Getting Things Done by David Allen would be a great start, I have, but you can simply follow the basics as I cover them if you prefer. You could even buy the book once you see the light, because the book covers GTD in minute detail.

We start by creating an inbox, something like a in-tray, a place to collect together all of the stuff that is about to pour out of our cluttered heads! Each item gets written onto a single piece of paper and placed in the inbox. We cover everything! Even physical things that need our attention are written on a sheet, such as that broken printer or the old rusty car at the bottom of the garden.

Once we have emptied our heads, we then need to work our way through our in-box deciding whether each item of stuff is trash, information, part of a project or an action. Here we need to keep everything organised. use folders for information, project data and even for your next action lists.

Having completed the task once, the battle is then getting into a habit of reviewing where things are on a weekly basis. Doing this at your center of life will allow you to utilise all of your resources. This may include your computer, PDA, phone, notebook and some kind of filing system. David recommends having a stack of plain paper and files available to help you empty your head and organise.

This overview of the GTD process should enable you to empty your head of the clutter known appropriately as stuff. The next post will cover what we do when our heads are empty and our inbox is full.

The first step I have taken on the path to self fulfilment is to adopt the techniques and ideas behind �??Getting Things Done�??, by David Allen.

David has over 20 years experience working as a consultant advising the worlds high flyer’s on how to get the most out of their time. He has streamlined these techniques into a strategy that he has detailed in his book also called �??Getting Things Done�??.

I can hear you all asking why? Out of all those interesting categories, like finance, he goes and picks productivity and in-particular Getting Things Done. Well the answer is one of priorities. I remember a simple saying my wife once told me - “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail”. Simple but very powerful and I have never forgotten it! My old approach to planning my life was the odd list. But to be honest most of my must do’s, things to remember, next actions were rattling around in my head. This is what David calls ‘stuff‘.

Getting Things Done starts of by getting the �??stuff�?? out of our heads and into lists of projects and next actions. The techniques used also demonstrate ways of storing information and project data in a way that makes it instantly available the instant we need it. This is a good excuse for clearing that study with the stacks and stacks of papers, documents and probably junk!

I found this an ideal starting point to build on. It�??s helps us get used to committing to our Life-Interface and more importantly gets our brains used to the idea of change. If you work through the ideas and techniques you will reduce stress and increase productivity.This has just been an introduction to Getting Things Done, also known as GTD, and will be followed by further posts which will cover the techniques in detail.

I suspect that like me you are finding areas where you are not happy. It is possible you hadn�??t even realised your life had strayed until I got you thinking about it! May be money is tight, or getting out of bed for the day job you hate is harder with each winters morning? As the day starts and the kids drive you up the wall, you start and end the day stressed out. It is possible that you have the dream job and the income to match but the job rules your life, endless stress and competition to achieve.

If you have been honest you will find a pattern emerging. Each area of concern fits into one of the life-interface categories �?? financial, productivity, mental, physical or spiritual well being.

Remember though that some of you won�??t have issues with all of the categories. For example some of you will be financially stable. It still means that financial well being impacts your life, but at the moment you have it sorted. This may change in the future so being open to improvements, new options or ideas is essential.

The aim is not to create the perfect life. That�??s impossible, things change so rapidly that perfect may just be for a day! Instead we are equipping ourselves with the necessary tools and techniques to interface seamlessly with our world. We will be in control, able to plan ahead, to change our direction with ease while maintaining the ability to live each day fully with a smile on our face. An example of change is the world credit crisis �?? not long ago bankers for doing very nicely! But not at the moment, and the fall out is impacting us all in various ways.

So relax, think back through your life to what you wanted, Now think about now, what you have, how you feel. Write down your thoughts in your notebook. Then identify which interface category they fit into. Over the coming weeks I will be discussing the techniques and resources available for each category. Lets enjoy the journey ….

The first thing I realised was that I have tended to drift with events. I don’t look ahead and say I want this from life. I read in a book once, about personal development, that most of us are trapped in the river of life going along with the current without any thought to the rapids and waterfall ahead - I liked that description! It perfectly summarised  my life. I could have reacted to events quicker and maybe been able to avoid being away from the family.

Secondly, I find life very stressful. For some reason over the years I have got more and more that I avoid socialising with work mates. I even hate having to shop for clothes! Sad I know, but the reason is I poor with sweat. It can be a freezing day and I walk into a gathering with work colleagues and I poor for ages until I settle down and relax. This reaction alone puts me off even trying! My wife calls it ‘emotional sweat’.

With the events of this year I have got more hassled, stressed and anxious, causing me to forget how to enjoy life and relax. I realised the other day that I rarely laugh. The saddest thing is the kids ask for Dad to play on the PlayStation, and you can guess what the response is ….!!

Thirdly, my health has suffered. High blood pressure, hiatus hernia and glucose intolerant. I am on pills for the first two and diet for the third. Not a good mixture I know!

So after a bit of self analysis I realised that things can’t go on. Four months ago I reacted by getting this job in Munich, but this is only temporary. One thing it does give me though is time and space, with peace and quiet. A good mixture to think! I have realised that I need to tackle my mental, spiritual, physical well being, get more organised and increase productivity, and finally increase my financial well being! Yes I know a strange mixture.

So let’s start with the odd one out - financial. I don’t mean get rich quick or becoming a millionaire, I mean stability. The ability to live life from multiple income streams. This removes the anxiety and stress of the bills and protects the family unit.

But this won’t happen without changing the way our stressful lives are lived. We need to plan more and become more productive, decide what we want from life and start to plan to reach it. We need to target all aspects of our well being, whether physical, mental and even spiritual. I have studied each of these areas separately and have already felt the benefits. All this has led me to believe that each of these entities interact to form a ‘Life-Interface‘. An interface between our inner state and the outside world.

So my plan is to actively pursue each area, but in parallel. Each step will be detailed in this blog. I will share the resources, the techniques and my own observations. If you join me I will listen to your thoughts and experiences. My aim is to be back home, permanently, in 12 months from the date I arrived in Germany. So by the 14th August 2009 the techniques I will cover on this blog will change my life, for the second time.

No I’m not mad! Just determined to change a pattern of events which I don’t like. A desire to see my three year old every day of the week! But even more I want to be alive for his 21st birthday, and a Grandad when my daughter becomes a Mum. Finally, smile at my wife when we walk arm in arm in our eighties knowing we changed things 40 years previously. Is it dream - yes! Can it become reality - yes! But first the hard work begins ….