David Allen is a productivity consultant hailed as the leading authority in the fields of personal and organizational productivity. He is also the founder of the David Allen Company, an executive coaching organization that uses his “Getting Things Done” (GTD) methodology. Getting Things Done is a work-life management system that has helped countless organisations and individuals bring order to chaos.

After spending decades doing in-the-field research and practicing his productivity methods, David wrote the book Getting Things Done. The international best seller was published in over 28 languages and was heralded by TIME magazine as “the defining self-help business book of its time.” He released a new version of the book in 2015, complete with new updates, insights, and discoveries on the GTD methodology.

The brilliance of the GTD method has earned it an almost cult-like following, with Wired calling it “a new cult for the info age.” His ideas has also been popularized on the Howard Stern Show as well as on blogs like LifeHacker, 43 Folders, and The Simple Dollar.

 

This week’s episode talks about the concept of outcome thinking, the importance of doing a weekly review, and the key habits people should implement in their lives.

David also shares his thoughts on minimalism and essentialism, his framework for saying no, and the type of technology he uses that helps him implement his GTD methodology.

For those who want to minimize stress and maximize productivity, David offers the following advice, “Getting things out of your head is the first major thing that people need to do.”

 

Guests