How to get things done GTD

I’m usually the kind of person who doesn’t need a whole bunch of help with things. Or at least that’s how I see myself. I’m a self-starter and a self-motivator who can learn and do anything. Or so I like to think…

The truth is that there are many times when I need help and because I’m the way I am I often don’t know when, or how, to ask. I bet there are all kinds of people out there who feel the same way. We’ve all been in over our heads at one time or another and it’s no big deal to call out for a little help now and again. In fact, by asking for help when it’s needed, we can make our lives easier and help out those around us.

This last weekend I did a bit of research and found quite a bit (ok a ton) of information on the topic. Turns out that asking for help is harder than I thought!

Public speaking can be very stressful. I know that whenever I get up in front of a crowd I go through a panic moment. It takes a lot of discipline, practice and preparation to put on a good presentation and even knowing what you need to know can be hard.

A year or so ago I wrote on the subject of first time speaking. Since that time I’ve been able to use many of those tips as well as some new tricks to help get myself ready for speaking engagements. I also had a chance to spend time with a speaking coach which helped more than I’d have ever guessed.

Now when I’m speaking, while not 100% comfortable, I do feel much better and I’m able to not only make it more fun for me, I think I pass along that good feeling a bit more to my audience. I’ve got several good tips, tricks and resources that will hopefully help some of you. These things should help whether you’re speaking at a large conference, giving a small internal presentation to you coworkers or classmates or giving a sales pitch. They’re pretty universal.

Just a quick reminder to make sure you regularly back your essential files up. This goes double for those of you who are highly organized.

You can also file this under: “Learning From My Mistakes.”

I recently lost (beyond recovery) a whole bunch of important personal project files. See, since I’ve been into GTD I’ve been really organized, which is great — except when you accidently delete your “current-projects” folder which contains all those neatly organized files. I had thought it was backed up, but I was wrong. Well, not 100% wrong, but it hadn’t been backed up for quite awhile and I lost some important files and hours of work.

Since we’ve been on the topic of cleaning this week, let’s talk laundry! I was thinking that laundry is a pretty good example of how an organization system can work…or fail miserably.

I’ve been asked a few times if I’ve got any tips on getting (and keeping) organized. I’m a pretty organized person, but by no means am I organized enough to say I’m a master. So, while I don’t really have a whole lot of specific tips ready to share on organization I can tell you how to never lose another sock!

I’ve been using this method for awhile now and so far I’ve only lost socks I wanted to lose.

Keeping my clothing organized is key. Trust me, there is a connection between never losing a sock and getting organized. Hopefully an obvious one, but even if you can’t see it, at least you’ll know where your socks are.