I work very hard to stay in the zone. It’s worth mastering; the zone is where we all do our best work and derive great satisfaction. Focused, flowing, executing your world…cranking those widgets. Whether at work, home, or at play you can’t stay in the zone long if your world is in disarray.

When you start to go over what makes GTD tick, you’ll find something important at the center of it all: yourself. David termed it as “The Matrix of Self-Management” and it has two axes, “Vision” and “Control.” On reflection, I found myself in a more personal/emotional place. I saw that David’s matrix could be seen in another way, which harmonized better with me, “Acknowledgment” and “Action.”

My wife, Robin, and I recently attended David Allen’s NYC RoadMap Seminar and were thoroughly impressed. With David’s vibrant demeanor and eight hours of digging into our own psyche a lot can be uncovered. If you’ve ever been interested in attending a seminar or knowing more of what the Allen group is like this article is for you.

Record every important thought, when it hits you, so you forget nothing. Track everything that is time- or date-sensitive on your calendar. Break your to-do lists down by when and where you can do those things. Single out the items that will take more than one step to finish and track them separately. Clearly distinguish between things you are actively committed to completing and the things you’ll get to, but can’t focus on now. Keep good reference systems. And, review often.

When I first sat down to think about the interface for Liquid Minded, I wrote in my Moleskine, “The interface needs to embrace and reflect GTD.” That was a few short months ago. Little did I know at the time that this seemingly simple vision would become the rule by which every design decision for this […]