GTD Masters: Interview with Jason from BlackBeltProductivity.net

Master Series

This post is part of a series I’ve dubbed the GTD Master Series - a collection of short interviews with well-known GTD bloggers who many consider to be masters of their craft. Enjoy!

Today on GTD Masters, we’ll be chatting with Jason Echols, the second half of the productivity duo over at Black Belt Productivity. While I must confess that I haven’t spoken to Jason as much as I have to his partner-in-crime, he comes off as a very cool customer. Michael suggested him as a candidate for my little interview here, and he was nice enough to oblige. So sit back, relax and drink in the wisdom of another productivity ninja!

For those who aren’t familiar with you, would you give a brief personal introduction?

My name is Jason Echols.

I am 34, have a wife (married 10 years), daughter (6) and a son (4) …Oh and a two year-old calico cat we found at the church and gave a home to. I have a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. In 2003, I completed my M.B.A. from Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. I have experience in both public and corporate accounting. For the last 7 years, I have worked for a large aerospace corporation.

This guy tagged me via email and then instant message (from out of nowhere ?) about a year ago. His name was Michael Ramm. He saw me posting on the GTD boards at davidco.com, and saw that I too lived in Alabama. In the following weeks, we spent a significant amount of time getting to know one another via instant message. We found that we had a lot in common. After much discussion, we decided to start a collaborative blog about GTD. Three weeks later, Black Belt Productivity was born.

How did you get started with GTD? Was there a particular event/experience that led you to want to be more organized/productive in general?

The manager that hired me into my current job was, like Michael, someone I had a lot in common with. He and I were alumni of the same university. We had similar interests. So as he and I talked one day, I noticed this book on the bookshelf in his office. It was Getting Things Done. I asked about it and he started to tell me about GTD and how it had helped him. Within three weeks, I had read the book, and started constructing the original rev of my “system”.

This was huge for me, because at that time, my “system” was my head. I did not take very good notes. I did not file anything. My house was “IN”. I was out of control. I had to disciple myself to adopt GTD as a lifestyle.

Over the last several years, the reduction in stress has been such, that my wife once told me that I am a different. The stress must have made me snappy from time to time.

In your opinion, what’s the biggest pitfall of GTD for people just starting out?

In my view, any of the methods that David teaches will help a person become for effective. You can implement as much of the system as you want. However, for me, there are several fundamentals that are vital to getting real benefits from using GTD.

• You have to get all of the “stuff’ out of your head and into a trusted system. True “mind like water” cannot be achieved outside of this.
• A weekly review is a must to keep on top of your system. David often talks about being ok with knowing what you are not doing. The weekly review is the opportunity to make sure you are on top of all of your projects. You can review everything, including your someday/maybe list. You can make a cognitive choice to not do something.

What’s the thing you like the least about “canonical” GTD?

David seems to think that there is no real “canonical” GTD. Outside of the fundamentals, GTD is all about what makes the system work for you. There is no “one way” to handle every project in your system. David is good at offering guidance in his seminars as to how he would handle specific “stuff”. But ultimately, it is up to us to determine what approach makes the system work most effectively.

GTD is not about doing it for the sake of doing it. The goal is to get the stuff in our lives unstuck. GTD, is about making us effective in meeting our commitments. So every person will have a tweak that makes the system work best for them.

That is why you see so many people in places like the 43 Folders Forum or DavidCo’s Forum. People are sharing ideas and thoughts on what makes GTD most effective for them with people who are looking for such knowledge. The black belts are sharing with the brown belts, if you will.

Which aspect of GTD did you find the most difficult to implement? Which was the easiest?

The most difficult for me was the weekly review. It was merely a time factor. As a father of young children, when the weekend comes around, they want to see “Dada”. That is great!!! I just have to get a little creative with my weekly review times every now and then.

The easiest was, no question, the 2 minute rule. It helps me keep my inbox manageable. Very rarely do I have so little energy that I want to make it the “30-second rule” or something like that. “Yeah, I have 2 minutes to do that.”, and ZAP!!! Its gone.

How did you deal with any frustrations when you first started with GTD? Do you have any “inspirational” items that encouraged you to stick with it?

I had an extra step in my frustration management process. I would read the DavidCo forum. At the time, I had not yet discovered 43 Folders (Michael introduced me to that board). But I did not have problems that others had not experienced before me. Most of the answers reference the book. So in the end, I would end up back in the book. That is a lesson for all of us. If you have questions…read the book.

These days, there are a lot of great resources for GTD wisdom. The blogoshpere, forums, and other places provide great insight to the GTD user. Michael and I chat a lot about our systems, and the approach we take to GTD. It is great to have someone who you bounce ideas and thoughts off of to help you make your system more effective. Having that second head to think through things can only help you.

Please briefly describe your current GTD implementation (tools, applications, etc.).

I use a hybrid of sort between lo-tech and hi-tech. I use a leather covered circa junior for general capture. I just expanded mine with 1” rings for more paper capacity. I keep my Lamy Studio fountain pen handy in the pen loop. Its not a GTD thing…I just like fountain pens.

I use a BlackBerry Pearl for my “ubiquitous capture tool”. I have equipped it with Voice Recorder Plus to allow me to use it as a voice recorder for capture on my commute. It also serves as my electronic list manager. I can sync it with Outlook on my laptop, so it is also a portable version of my hard landscape and contact list. Oh…and it’s a phone too. ?

I have been using mind maps to organize my projects and next actions. Mind Manager 6 Pro is a wonderful brainstorming tool that I have used for that purpose. However, I am looking at some online solutions as a potential replacement, at least in terms of project and action organization. I will continue to mind map for brainstorming.

Currently, Michael and I are both working with multiple web based solutions to see what works best for us individually.

Final Thoughts, etc.

Getting Thing Done has helped me be able to manage the “stuff” in my life with less stress, and more effectiveness. I believe that at least some parts of GTD would help almost anyone in any role of their lives.

Adopting GTD has added to the quality of my life by making the time I spend with those who are important to me more meaningful. I can say that because I am not spending the time I should be focused on my friends and family, freaking about that open loop inside my head that is keeping me awake at night, and sucking the life right out of me.

Being a part of Black Belt Productivity has allowed me to get to know a lot of great people through the minor miracle of social networking. I have met an awesome friend in Michael. I hope that BBP has many years as a reliable resource for all things GTD.

Thanks, Brett, for asking me to do this. It was my pleasure.

As always, it’s a privilege to have another GTD master who’s willing to spend some time to do my little interview here. Thanks again to Jason for his willingness to participate - and be sure to drop by blackbeltproductivity.net or subscribe to their RSS feed!

Technorati Tags: , , ,


If you enjoyed this post, won't you consider a Stumble?

February 27, 2007 | Filed Under GTD, GTD Masters 

Popular Posts

Backpack: Get Organized and Collaborate

comments