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8 Things You Should’ve Memorized a Long Time Ago

Let’s be honest – part of the reason most of us drank this GTD Kool-aid in the first place was that we were tired of forgetting things. Meetings, lunches, dentist appointments – all the crap that we were too busy (and, frankly, ill-equipped) to recall exactly when we needed to do so. So, [...]

A Roadmap to Spectacular GTD Failure

Written by Brett Kelly

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It’s rather funny to me that I write all this stuff about productivity, GTD and the like – the truth is, I’m probably one of the poorest practitioners of this stuff that there is. My system is constantly a mess, I’m always trying new little tricks and whatnot to get things working better (which [...]

How to Make Your Outgoing Voicemail Message Not Suck

Written by Brett Kelly

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I have a handful of friends who, despite numerous pleas and death threats, refuse to carry their cell phone with them. They’re perfectly willing to leave it in the car while out somewhere, or leave it in their bedroom while watching television in the living room. Personally, these are stack-blowing, what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-you-types of behavior, [...]

The Definitive Guide to Covering Your Ass

Written by Brett Kelly

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Doing the kind of work I do, I’m often asked questions like “Do you know if the changes to suchandsuch.com were pushed to the live site?” or “Did Timmy get those edits done?”. Hell, even in my own house: “Did [mother-in-law] give [son] a bath?”. Questions to which, most of the time, I [...]

Tips for Environmentally Friendly GTD

Written by Brett Kelly

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As many of you probably already know, today is Blog Action Day! Today, we’re charged with discussing the environment…
I have a confession to make – I’m not what you’d call “environmentally conscious”. I don’t recycle. I drive an old, gas-guzzling car. I go through index cards like there’s [...]

When There’s No Toilet Paper: Avoiding a Descent into Savagery

Written by Brett Kelly

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A word of warning: This post is about going to the bathroom. Some of the more intimate details of the activity are discussed in detail. Despite my attempt to veil some of the more colorful aspects of using the can, this post really is a bit gross. Continue at your own risk, [...]

Ask the Readers: How do you Handle Time-Based Reminders?

Written by Brett Kelly

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Throughout the many iterations of my personal GTD system (from all-digital to purely analog to a hybrid of the two), the handling reminders has been the one component that’s been the most prone to drastic change and restructuring. There are several ways one might deal with this problem, with each one’s success depending heavily [...]

10 Ways You Will Change When You Become a Parent

Written by Brett Kelly

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My Wife and Daughter
Just about every Thursday of every week, I get together with my brother to roast coffee, drink beer and have a few laughs. We hang out his house, are accosted by his two Bassett hounds and just sorta chew the fat and hang out. We always have a good time, [...]

Sidekick iD: Cell Phone Accelerated, But Somebody Forgot the Wiper Fluid

Written by Brett Kelly

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For the last year or so, I’ve been carrying around a Motorola RAZR as my primary mobile communication module (what mere mortals might call a “phone”). Honestly, it got the job done, but I was never in love with it. The form factor was awesome if you just kept in your pocket the [...]

Turn Your Daily Drive From Madness to Manageable

Written by Brett Kelly

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Living in southern California, traffic is as common and everyday as the sunrise. Assuming normal “work” hours (9-5, so to speak), just about any freeway in the land will be packed to the gills with cars during rush hour (which is a funny name, if you think about it – nobody is actually rushing [...]

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