Hey there,

We survived our first weekend on the slopes. Kudos to those who take the little ones on the reg. Today, I wrote a long piece on David Allen's Getting Things Done (GTD) framework. It's been a cornerstone of my workflow for nearly 2 decades - but recently I've been wondering if it's still worth learning this productivity system.

We've got two fantastic free events coming up. First, this Thursday join Liz Fosslien and Mollie West Duffy for a workshop on avoiding burnout, saying no and navigating uncertainty. We'll also discuss a recent viral tweet on What Adulthood Feels Like?

​Click here to sign up for the free event with Liz and Mollie.

Then the following week on 4/19 we have our free 3-day $10K Bootcamp. It's our biggest event of the year and we'll teach you how to design a system to achieve your goals (while working less). You'll learn how to:

• Stay focused on the most important things in life
• Think bigger (versus making smaller things better)
• Stop putting things off until some imaginary future date
• Invest in improving your mind, career and relationships

Is “Getting Things Done” still worth it?

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Let’s time travel back to the year 2001. I was a newly-minted college graduate. The Blackberry 5810 was the hottest device in tech. Trent Dilfer was a Super Bowl champion. It would take another decade for our lives to be dominated by Instagram-scrolling.

Around that time, I picked up my first copy of David Allen’s productivity classic Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity. This book invokes a paradox of emotions for RadReaders. For starters, with its ridiculously high “purchased to read” ratio it’s a classic Tsundoku Book. (I.e. the Infinite Jest of productivity.) And for those who have attempted to Get Things Done (aka "GTD"), it clocks in at 352 pages. Seriously, who has time for that?

Personally, the book transformed my career. The philosophy made hitting deadlines effortless and fast-tracked many of my BHAGS while helping me be an attentive manager. Using GTD felt (and still feels) like the ultimate cheat code — to this day, I’m still bewildered by how few professionals have a system to organize their projects and priorities. (If you’re one of them, we’ve got a pragmatic solution for you.)

However, in the past 20 years, a ton has changed about work and the tools we use. Look no further than 2001's "hottest tech."

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David Allen described his system using manila folders, physical inbox trays and yellow legal pads. Clearly it has withstood the test of time. But it was also designed before iPhones, What's App, Inbox Zero, Slack. Let's face it, GTD is in need dire need of a revamp. Here’s how I would tweak GTD to work in 2022.

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Here are this week's top reads:

// one

Beyond insecurity: the right kind of ambition

5 minutes | Zat Rana
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I’m strongly in the camp that ambition is a double-edge sword and each of us must assess “what’s behind my ambition?” This quote, wow:

If this resonates, I highly recommend this interview on Overcoming the Scarcity Mindset with my friend and teacher Andrew Taggart. (FYI — this is the cached version, as the site appears to be down.)

→ Read the post​

// two

Choose your status game wisely

5 minutes | Of Dollars and Data
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Let’s move from ambition to status. Many of us (myself included) seek validation and acceptance from our peer group. Status can be displayed overtly (a Burberry trench coat) or subtly (playing Beach Volleyball on a Monday morning). It can often feel damn good. But it can also torment you. What are the hidden costs of status? (Hint: Status requires expensive “maintenance”). I'm currently digging Nick's book Just Keep Buying: Proven Ways to Save Money and Grow Your Wealth.

→ Read the post​

// three

Negative self-talk: 5 ways to silence your toxic inner critic

4 minutes | Stylist

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We’ve all got a nagging inner critic - you know, the one who tells us we’re stupid, worthless or unloveable. Any inner dialogue that tells us, in one way or another, that we’re not good enough. But this voice isn’t insurmountable - and there are things we can do to overcome it. To start? Notice it, observe it, accept it, replace it, question it and then do something that feels good in your body.

→ Read the article​

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// four

Take the "Think in Colour" quiz

10 minutes | Knack
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A 15 question quiz to see how black and white your thinking is. It’ll rank your curiosity, flexibility, open-mindedness, and capacity for empathy. A (not so) fun fact that I learned in taking the quiz? The average five year old asks 120 questions a day. The average 40 year old? Only four. Yikes.

→ Take the quiz​

// five

We all live with little gods that should be murdered

4 minutes | Twitter
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It’s painful to realize that no matter how productive you are, there will always be more on your to-do list than you can possibly tick off. But once you do, you can move on from a doomed-to-fail approach of trying to do everything to focus on the few tasks that truly matter. Here's an example of learning "Mood-first Productivity."

→ Read the tweetstorm​

Below the fold

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ICYMI

• ​Six ways creators are monetizing beyond content creation (ConvertKit, 8 Mins): A mini-profile on how we decided to grow the RadReads business.

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LAST WEEK'S MOST READ

• ​​If you had a year to live, would you read any business books? (Rad Reads, 504 clicks)
• ​A tragic life (Twitter, 496 clicks)

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And finally, this Spurs fan nails the Since You’ve Been Gone lip synch.

With gratitude,

Khe

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