About a year ago I discovered David Allen’s Getting Things Done. I was feeling completely overwhelmed with my PhD research and this guide to productivity really helped me get a grip on what I was doing. It is also a very effective system for a pastor, especially the idea of dividing lists of things to do into contexts so that you only look at what needs to be done when you are at a place you can do them. Since ministry can be so ambiguous, take place in so many settings and inherently based on responding to crises and being available to people with all sorts of needs Allen’s concepts are especially fitted for this type of work. To begin the year, I’ve been doing a review and check up on my system.

There’s all sorts of resources and discussion on the net, apparently GTD has become popular among IT type folks as well. Lifehacker.com, one of my favorite sites to follow recently posted this GTD Roundup.