Guest blog: my life with Getting Things Done®

Dr. Peer Wiethoff is the Foreign Trade Manager at NOKIA and has been a user of Getting Things Done® (GTD®) for over nine years. His journey with GTD revealed interesting benefits for him, even as a person who is already organised. Peer is now a certified GTD Trainer

After the first week of consistent application, Peer left the office on Fridays and was surprised by what he found: nothing. He found nothing. There were no thoughts about the unfinished work on his desk; no thoughts of the ongoing projects… His head was empty. He truly had a weekend.

Best of all was his next holiday, in Thailand: “In the past, my mind used to be in the office for the first three days of the holiday,” he said. “This time, however, I was present from day one; I could switch off, lie on the beach and simply enjoy the feel of the sun on my face.”

Back in the office, 500 unread emails awaited him. “Thanks to GTD, I even felt relaxed about this daunting number of unread mails.” Peer processes and organises his inbox consistently and always brings it back to zero – usually two to three times per week.

In addition to the personal increase in productivity, Peer reports that he was “more effective”. “I collect delegated tasks on my ‘waiting for’ list. If I get no feedback, I ask for it. My leadership is clearer, and since using GTD, I’ve even noticed team members and colleagues behaving more ‘loyally’ towards me.” At regular meetings with employees, both parties are aware of which topics are pending and can run through them together – in a similar way to the Weekly Review®. Peer says the entire team benefits from transparency across all projects. “There is no longer a sudden ‘scuffle’ around forgotten tasks or projects.”

“Thanks to GTD, I keep a clear head even in very challenging situations. I know that with GTD I can map everything, because there is always a desired result and a next action. That sounds – and indeed is – quite simple, but sometimes I need a little more planning than these two reference points (results/next actions) in order to have all projects clearly mapped out and off my mind.”

In conclusion, he says, “With GTD, I not only do much more, but I’m also much more relaxed and can be 100% present and focused on whatever what I do – or not do, for that matter!”

Peer Wiethoff has been conducting internal GTD training at NOKIA for over year in his capacity as Foreign Economic Manager.