Featured photo: Paul Vahur with David Allen at GTD Summit in Amsterdam, June 2019.
Is it possible to be swamped with projects, crazy ideas, numerous things to do and still be present with anything you are doing or experiencing? Yes, it is – if you have a trusted place where you can put all your must-s, should-s, would-s, and could-s. A system that remembers things for you and reminds you of them at the right time and right place. Getting Things Done® (GTD) methodology is the best guide for creating such an external brain and I have experienced it firsthand.
I have practiced GTD for 7 years now and experienced both immediate benefits: zero inbox and falling asleep without oh-I-forgot’s waking me up again; and also long term gains: being able to take on more demanding projects with increasingly less stress. It has changed how I engage with my work and life – what were problems before have now all become projects to work on (or let go). GTD is a simple system (5 simple steps) but there is lot of depth to it and it takes some time to master, like every art and craft. After 7 years I’m still discovering new aspects that help me take my productivity to the next level.
Most of us are doing knowledge work where we have to figure out what exactly do we need to do next. It has its own best practices and after some time we figure out some of them. In fact, it’s impossible to enjoy some success without at least knowing few of those practices. But very few of us have figured out more than 2 or 3 of them on our own. Getting Things Done is a complete set of such fundamental practices. They are easy to understand and learn and you can implement them quite easily to enjoy some quick wins. Making those practices a habit and getting most out of them however will take some time and expert guidance. We in GTD Estonia are here to support you on your journey of learning to achieve stress-free productivity.
The idea of GTD Estonia was born in June 2019 when I attended GTD Summit in Amsterdam. I was privileged to meet with the creator of GTD, David Allen and had my dog-eared GTD book autographed. I also met with many GTD coaches and trainers world-wide. The whole experience was so inspiring that I decided to join that remarkable group of entrepreneurs and educators in their mission of having a world with no problems, only projects.
Getting new business started is an exciting process but it always takes longer than what you expect at the start. Working part-time as an L&D Manager and adjusting to the reality of 2020 added additional delays but I have a solid workflow system that helps me stay focused and moving forward one next action at a time. I was lucky to have Neeme Kari to join me as a Co-founder of GTD Estonia and help make this crazy idea a reality.
A little over year later we are happy to launch GTD Estonia and bring GTD Fundamentals training (English language version first, then Estonian) and other GTD offerings to individuals and organizations in Estonia. Our goal is to bring more awareness about Getting Things Done and help build thriving community of GTD enthusiasts. We hope to accomplish it by making it easy to learn GTD with world-class training and coaching, delivering GTD speeches, and by providing free resources on our blog and social media channels.
We hope you are curious about improving your working practices and learning more about GTD. If you are, please sign up for our free monthly newsletter to receive helpful tips and best practices. Also please follow us on our social media channels – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn for more frequent tips and updates.
Thank you for reading and we are looking forward to connecting and working with you. Please reach out to us if you already are an GTD enthusiast – with your help we can make GTD the way of working in Estonia.